CAPE TOWN, South Africa, 5th May 2014 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The
recently released A.T Kearney African Retail Development Index ranks
Tanzania amongst the 10 most attractive African markets for retailers
looking to expand.
For Sumesh Rahavendra, Head of Marketing for DHL Express in Sub Saharan
Africa, retail expansion is key to DHL Express’ Africa business strategy.
According to Deloitte, Africa’s middle class has tripled over the last 30
years, and the current trajectory suggests that the African middle class
will grow to 1.1 billion in 2060, making it the world’s fastest growing
continent. This growth, coupled with the forecasted GDP growth of over 6%
which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting, drives the
potential for retail growth on the continent significantly through
increased purchasing power and consumer demand.
The growth of ecommerce and access to technology has further upended the
traditional shopping experience for consumers, and retailers are
increasingly beginning to maximize the opportunities arising from the
growing number of digitally-empowered consumers, who are opting to purchase
goods via ecommerce channels
“We are now in a position to directly relate growth in our retail footprint
to growth in our earnings so we know the potential is huge.” says
Rahavendra.
According to the index, African retailers such as South Africa’s Shoprite,
which operates in more than 16 African countries, and Nakumatt, which is
based in Kenya and has stores in neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania,
have done most of the expansion, but global retailers are moving in. In
2011, Wal-Mart acquired South Africa’s Massmart, and it plans to open 90
supermarkets across Africa over the next three years.
DHL Express, who has a retail presence in over 2400 outlets across Africa,
will continue its aggressive expansion strategy in Africa in 2014. “We have
made great progress in making the global market and world at large more
accessible and connected by increasing the number of points where customers
can access DHL and our global network. This allows anyone – from a student
to a small business – to access over 220 countries and destinations that we
serve.”
Commenting on the general retail landscape across Africa, Rahavendra adds,
“Supply chains in Africa are more challenging than many other markets in
the world. The key to success is understanding these challenges in order to
offset the risks versus the opportunity which the continent offers. This
knowledge will allow retailers to service markets with a supply chain that
is agile enough to respond quickly to sudden or unexpected changes,
flexible enough to customize products and efficient enough to protect
margins. We have been active on the continent for over 36 years, and being
the only international express company to operate our own airline and
extensive infrastructure throughout Africa, we are well positioned to
connect Africa with the world.”