RETAIL giant OK Zimbabwe recently announced that CEO Alex Siyavora (AS) will be retiring at the end of March. Our deputy business Editor Kudzai Kuwaza (KK) spoke to the OK boss about his time at the helm of the firm and what he plans to do after leaving the company.
Below are excerpts from the interview…
KK: How would you describe your tenure as the CEO of OK Zimbabwe?
AS: I will have been CEO of the company for four years by 31 March 2021. I had been finance director for 16 years before that. So this is a company I knew and whose operations I understood. It was an exciting and challenging time, during which we managed to post some significant successes. The last year was bedevilled by the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted production, supply chains and consumption. We were in crisis management mode. It became singularly important to ensure staff and customers were safe and healthy by following precautions recommended by the World Health Organisation and the ministry of Health and Child Care, while keeping the company operating at a meaningful level.
KK: What would you say have been your achievements since being appointed to the post?
AS: I worked with a very good team of trained and experienced retailers and a supportive board. The organisation was named the top company by the Old Mutual/Financial Gazette analysts survey in 2018. It went on to earn runner-up awards in 2019 and 2020, to name but a few accolades. We increased our footprint nationwide to 67 and refurbished most of our stores. Refurbishment of stores is key to our strategy as we want our customers to enjoy improved facilities and world-class ambience. During my time at the company, we embarked on a brand refreshment exercise, which we pushed despite the difficulties of communicating our message and executing all of the attendant activities because of Covid-19. The brand refreshment exercise is ongoing.
KK: Would you say navigating through the Covid-19 pandemic was your toughest challenge during your tenure?
AS: Covid-19 was a tough challenge. The world over nobody quite understood the disease and there was no known cure. At home, we did not have manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our staff and we had in excess of 5 000 workers to look after. This was stressful. We constituted a crisis management team so we could share the burden. We needed PPEs for staff to protect them from each other and from members of the public that come to shop in our stores as well as assure members of the public that they would be as safe as possible in our stores. When we eventually could source the PPE, the prices were very exorbitant. The precautions to protect staff, namely PPEs, decontaminating the many sites we operate from, sanitising and temperature check equipment introduced additional operating costs.
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KK: What other challenges did you face in your time as OK Zimbabwe chief executive?
AS: The other big challenge was inflation. When the Zimbabwe dollar was introduced, prices increased exponentially influenced by the runaway foreign currency exchange rate and hyperinflation set in. It was difficult to cope with the frequency of price changes. Consumers could not sustain consumption levels because their earnings were eroded by hyperinflation. As a result of both inflation and the impact of Covid-19, we posted volume retreats as reported to the public during most of 2020. From the information in the public domain, the challenges also affected our competitors.
KK: Given the economic challenges the country faces, which have resulted in reduced sales due to low disposable incomes, how do you see the future of the retail sector?
AS: It is true that volumes have shrunk. But I think the future promises improvement for the retail sector. The foreign currency auction system has stabilised prices, the impact of which has been to stabilise the exchange rate and prices. That should lead to recovery in consumption. The good rainy season should put some income in the hands of farmers and their dependants, further encouraging consumption. A good harvest will reduce reliance on imported food, thereby reducing the demand for foreign currency to import food products, which will in turn contribute to stabilise the exchange rate and product prices further.
KK: What are your plans after leaving OK Zimbabwe?
AS: I still have to leave OK Zimbabwe Limited as I am at work until 31 March 2021. When I leave I will take a couple of months to rest after 20 years of service at OK and during that time I will figure out what to do next. You will be the first to know.
