OK Zimbabwe posts R500 million loss as revenues halve amidst tough retail conditions

ZIMBABWE'S largest retailer, OK Zimbabwe, has reported a sharp slump in earnings, with full-year revenues to March 2025 plunging 53% to $240 million (R4.1 billion), pushing the group into a loss of $29.6m (R511 million).

- TAWANDA KAROMBO

The retailer, which competes against Pick n Pay-branded outlets in a tightening market, said on Tuesday that the performance was impacted by supply chain disruptions, currency volatility, and increasing competition from informal traders.

In the full year to March 2025, OK Zimbabwe performed a comprehensive impairment review of its cash-generating units (CGUs), recording an impairment of $10.3m due to "constrained operational capacity" which resulted in some stock-outs.

The impairments were mainly a result of the recoverable amounts of certain cash-generating units being "lower than their respective carrying" amounts. Additionally, a net exchange gain of $13.5m emanated from a re-measurement of monetary liabilities after the Zimbabwe Gold currency devalued.