The Reshaped Zimbabwean Consumer Market

The advent of severe economic crisis has changed the shape of the relationship between consumers and retailers, giving the former opportunities to become the latter. Zimbabwean consumers have become retailers, and this has affected manufacturers of consumer goods, with companies like Unilever SEA, Olivine, Tedco and Edgars feeling the crunch.

The Case of Unilever vs. Diaspora, 2006
Unilever SEA conducted a retail census in 2005, in order to position itself for dominance in household goods manufacturing and distribution, the tables did not turn in their favour, as they lost market share of distribution to Diaspora consumers, who became suppliers of household goods. Unilever SEA was forced to streamline operations, and close down certain sections of the business. This was unforeseen, yet its manifestation was inevitable because of three things – Diaspora, Food Shortages, and Closure of Tuckshops.

The Enterprising Zimbabwean
To every nation’s surprise, the Zimbabwean people keep advancing, especially the urban oriented ones. Zimbabwean consumers are not just consumers, but are enterprising opportunists, who have shaped the course of the economy to this date. Whatsoever policy or regulation implemented that affected the consumer they have reacted with exceptionally innovative strategies that have opened up opportunities for distribution of household goods. Many families have become distributors of household goods for retail outlets in urban centres, with more families becoming retailers themselves.

Welcome Zhimmy from China
Chinese distributors and retailers now have strongholds in Harare, and other urban centres, this being another reshaping agent in the consumption market. The Chinese household goods have affected supplies of soap, rice, flour, oil, biscuits, and other related products. The consumer also capitalised on this by becoming a downstream distributor, hence making life more difficult for wholesalers and manufacturers themselves.

I’m a survivor: Muhammad Mussa Wholesalers
In all these reshaping of consumption, distribution, and retailing, there is one wholesaler that has stood, and actually became aggressive with its business concept. Muhammad Mussa has the cheapest products, yet possessing the best brands in Zimbabwe. They neither suffered the crunches of the Price Blitz, nor those of the Chinese. This wholesaler has actually gone to the bold extent of not stocking anything with Chinese sources, as opposed to other wholesalers and
Retailers who have been colonised, per se.

The Price Blitz Horror
In 2007, the Zimbabwean government further reshaped the consumer market, after the Murambatswina blitz, with a forced price reduction campaign that caused emptying of shops, of which some were looted. Manufacturers and retailers were forced to produce and sell household goods to the willing customers. Being innovative and very aggressive, the Zimbabwean consumer bought out the stores and stored the products in their living rooms for resale in the neighbourhood. This further caused an opening of eyes of those consumers who had never deemed themselves distributors.

What next with the consumer market?
It is difficult to predict the next behaviour of the consumer market in Zimbabwe, but a few issues will be evident. The first thing in that, local manufacturers will now be competing with South African brands, forcing them to either lift the standard of packaging, raising their prices, or to divert attention to the low income mass market with cheaper products.