TENDAIISHE NYAMUKUNDA AND BRIAN SITHOLE
Zimbabwe’s largest retailer, OK Zimbabwe Limited, has promised a bigger and better OK Grand Challenge this year, with US$1m worth of prizes up for grabs and support from more than 40 local brands, Business Times can report.
Introduced in 1988, the Ok Grand Challenge is the biggest and longest-running retail promotion in Zimbabwe, which encourages consumers to shop, save, and win.
This years’ Grand Challenge is special because OK Mart has been included to the promotion, a move which is expected to drive more volume.
This year’s edition of the OK Grand Challenge, which was launched on April 3, 2024 at OK Mart Hillside in the capital Harare, runs up to June 8, 2024.
Over 50 vehicles are up for grabs and a Ford Ranger XLT double cab will be the grand prize.
Lucky shoppers will be able to enter the competition by spending at least US$10 in any OK store or any OK Mart outlet.
Each of the eight OK Mart stores will be giving away a Hyundai H100 utility vehicle.
Speaking on ZiFM Stereo over the weekend, OK Zimbabwe CEO Maxen Karombo said OK Mart , which contributes more than 20% of the group’s total turnover, is an integral part of OK Zimbabwe.
With a network of over 73 stores, including 52 OK shops, 9 Bon Marche outlets, 8 Ok Mart stores and standalone liquor stores, OK Zimbabwe is the country’s largest and most diversified retailer with over 82 years of trading experience.
“It is a genuine execution of our purpose. We exist solely to make happiness tangible and we want to plant smiles firstly on our employees because a happy employee can serve a customer better and if our customers are coming through and giving us so much business then our business relationships with our suppliers is nothing else but happy and as our suppliers get a lot more business we grow the value for business, shareholders and ultimately we plant smiles in the communities we live in,” Karombo said.
He added: “The OK Grand Challenge is one such an activity to plant smiles in our communities, so it is bigger and greater. This year we included OK Mart which we have not usually included but we did it for several reasons.
“OK Mart is a very unique business to us. One third of the business is for households, another third is for traders.
“People who want to buy then resell maybe in the rural areas or somewhere else they are running an independent outlet and then a third of the business is really focused on corporate clients, people who want office supplies and at times what is big for us there is companies who are buying groceries for employees.
“In each of our Ok Mart stores, companies, traders and institutions stand a chance to win that particular truck. You can participate in the usual OK Grand Challenge through OK Mart even if you buy goods worths US$10.”
The Grand Challenge promotion, according to Karombo, is the first of its type in Africa.
Karombo said the Grand Challenge will be essential to regaining the clients that the informal traders were able to entice. Formal enterprises have been negatively impacted by informalization, high taxes, and high compliance costs.
” I think we want to bring back our traders’ franchise. You may be aware of the devastation informalisation has caused to our formal retailers.,” Karombo said.
He added: “Customers who come to OK Mart will find us to be very friendly. We provide a friendly environment where you won’t be jumping over water or worry about your car or worry about being duped into buying products that are not genuine. More importantly, is that we provide a customer value proposition that allows us to negotiate better and more favourable prices on behalf of our customers.”
The launch of the OK Grand Challenge coincided with the introduction of Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), a new currency backed by gold and foreign currency reserves.
Karombo said: “We welcome the new currency and applaud the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Dr John Mushayavanhu) and his pledge to safeguard its value going forward.
So, anyone can walk into OK today as we are accepting ZiG. We welcome you and we hope you will take advantage of the prices we have set for OK Grand Challenge.”
As is customary, a prestigious horse race in June will mark the end of the promotion period.
