Closure at Choppies Enterprises Limited (Nanavac Pty Ltd)

A workplace stops operating, is placed on care and maintenance, or resumes operating after a period of closure.

verified

What happened, in plain words

The Botswana listed supermarket group said it would stop trading in Zimbabwe and sell its 30 stores. It said shoppers had moved to informal traders who pay no rent or tax, cutting footfall in formal shops by up to 30 percent. The stores were later taken over and rebranded as Sai Mart. The exit of a regional chain showed how the shift to informal trade is reshaping who employs retail workers.

Not stated

People reported

The source did not give a countable number, so none is shown

30 November 2024

Date of the event

high

Confidence in the record

How the number was arrived at

No worker figure reported, only the 30 store count

Evidence

Field	Value
Source	ZimLive
Link	https://www.zimlive.com/choppies-supermarket-announces-plans-to-cease-zimbabwe-operations/
Source last opened by the platform	Never checked
Evidence retrieved	20 August 2026
Fingerprint of the source page	Not taken. The page has not been read successfully.
Published by the source on	30 November 2024
Employer	Choppies Enterprises Limited (Nanavac Pty Ltd)
Sector	Retail & Wholesale
Where	National
Status on this platform	verified
Counted in published figures	Yes

Stores were later sold and rebranded as Sai Mart, confirmed in March and April 2025 reporting.

The rule this record had to meet

A workplace stops operating, is placed on care and maintenance, or resumes operating after a period of closure.

Evidence required: The name of the site and the operator, the date operations stopped or resumed, and a statement from the operator, a landlord, a local authority or an established publication.

Read thisWorkforce events are a record of what a named and citable source reported. They are not a census of job losses or job creation in Zimbabwe. Many changes in employment are never announced, and small employers are almost never reported at all, so the picture here leans towards large employers, listed companies, the public service and unionised sectors. Read the evidence link on any event before relying on it.

As at 5 Oct 2026, 14:40. Method version unknown.