The growing population in Zimbabwe means that the demand for goods and services is also increasing. People spend daily on basic goods in order to survive. Despite low disposable incomes and high levels of unemployment, goods such as groceries are on high demand in Zimbabwe since they are basic goods that are used in our daily lives. This is why starting a supermarket business in Zimbabwe is a good investment decision.
Before you start a grocery shop business in Zimbabwe, you have to decide on the size of your business, location of business, products to offer and your target market. You should always carry out a feasibility study, market research and write a business plan before you venture into any business. Do not make the mistake of starting a supermarket business or any other business just because someone is doing it and he/she says it’s profitable. This article will explain how to start a supermarket business in Zimbabwe, and the supermarket business plan.
What you need
Location and Premises for your Supermarket
The location of a supermarket business plays a vital role in the success of the business as it directly affects the sales volumes and profitability. The location must be a busy place and easily accessible to facilitate easy purchasing of the goods and services by the consumers. It should be easily reachable both by foot and vehicles. A supermarket is a high volume, low margins business, so you need to get a good location with a high number of customers. Supermarkets are best located in urban centres, shopping centres, growth points and both low and high density areas where there is high human traffic. Location is a critical matter in supermarket’s attractiveness to customers. Customers always consider location when choosing to buy from a store and location provides the firm with strategic advantages. You will need premises which include the grocery shop, back offices, and a warehouse for your products.
Market research
Before you can invest your funds into this business you need to understand your market. Many small businesses fail due to poor management resulting from lack of knowledge.You need to conduct market research and come up with a market entry strategy that will keep you viable. Identify your competition and understand how they do business, what their marketing strategy is and the amount of market influence they have. What are the pricing mechanisms, marketing mechanism and the needs and wants of potential customers. Carry out a SWOT Analysis and understand whether you can be able to offer something valuable and unique from competitors. This will help you in formulating your marketing strategy.
Supermarket Products
Potential products to sell in your supermarket business include groceries such as rice, flour, drinks, bread etc and other non-food items such as kitchenware, household items, cosmetics, toys, toiletries, pet supplies etc. The important thing is to provide a variety of products for customers to choose from. It is of great importance to consider the profit margins of your products, as this is a business and it has to be profitable. You should also strive to push volumes up, in order to increase your revenue and profits. Products can be sourced from local manufacturers, wholesalers, or imported from South Africa.
Products in a Supermarket
Inventory Management
If you are to succeed you need to manage your inventory properly. Satisfy all your customer needs and make sure that they find all of the supplies they require. The demand is steady over time such it is better if you keep your store fully stocked all the time. At startup, it may be hard to stock your grocery store with all the products you need. However you can cash in fast if you focus on providing basic products that are highly demanded. Your supermarket profits will keep rolling in if you have a wide selection for your customers to choose from.
Cash flow management
Cash can be very difficult to manage in your supermarket business. When it comes to cash flow management, you cannot take chances. Account for all your cash inflows and out flows. In the first few months you may need to put back all the revenue you get back into the business to increase your supplies and grow the business. Costs for the grocery shop business include salaries of employees, rent, inventory, utilities, taxes, insurance and advertising costs.
Management and employees
As a customer-centric business, you should hire employees that are friendly and efficient. Your employees should be passionate about serving the clients. Depending on the size of your grocery store, the number of your staff will vary. These may include till operators, buyers, shop assistants, security guards, stock controllers, sales & marketing team, finance team, management etc. Good management is a determining factor in the success of the business.
Marketing your Grocery Shop Business
When you are ready to open your supermarket, you should not be afraid to tell everyone. Share with your friends, your family, your social media circle, give them reasons why they should shop at your new store. Do shop opening promotions with special discounts, giveaways, and other “little extras.” Put your best foot forward and put a particular emphasis on amazing customer service and quality products. You can also advertise your grocery store business using fliers & brochures, newspapers, social media etc. You can also do promotions where music artistes will be present, community sponsorship etc to get market your business.
Pre-Written Supermarket Business Plan : Comprehensive Version, Short Bank Loan Version, Automated Excel Financial Statements
For an in-depth analysis of the supermarket business in Zimbabwe, purchase our business plan. We decided to introduce the business plans after noting that many Zimbabweans were venturing into the grocery store business without a full understanding of the industry, market, how to run the business, the risks involved, profitability of the business and the costs involved, leading to a high failure rate of their businesses.
Our business plan will make it easier for you to launch and run a supermarket business successfully, fully knowing what you are going into, and what’s needed to succeed in the business. It will be easier to plan and budget as the grocery store business plan will lay out all the costs involved in setting up and running the business. The business plan is designed uniquely for the Zimbabwean market.
Uses of the Grocery Shop Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
The grocery store business plan can be used for many purposes including:
- Raising capital from investors/friends/relatives
- Applying for a bank loan
- Start-up guide to launch your supermarket business
- As a project proposal
- Assessing profitability of the grocery shop business
- Finding a business partner
- Assessing the initial start-up costs so that you know how much to save
- Manual for current business owners to help in business and strategy formulation
Contents of the Supermarket Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
The business plan includes, but not limited to:
- Market Analysis
- Industry Analysis
- Automated Financial Statements (monthly cash flow projections, income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, break even analysis, loan repayment calculations, start-up costs)
- Marketing Strategy
- Risk Analysis
- SWOT & PEST Analysis
- Operational Requirements
- Operational Strategy
- Why some Zimbabweans in the grocery store business fail, so that you can avoid their mistakes
- Ways to raise capital to start your supermarket business in Zimbabwe
The supermarket business plan package consist of 4 files
- Supermarket Business Plan – PDF file (Comprehensive – 83 pages)
- Supermarket Business Plan – Editable Word File (Comprehensive – 83 pages)
- Supermarket Business Plan Bank Version – Editable Word File (Short version for applying for a loan – 45 pages)
- Supermarket Business Plan Automated Financial Statements – (Editable Excel file)
The business plan financials are in USD currency.
The financial statements are automated. This implies that you can change eg value of stock bought, markup etc, and all the other financial statements will automatically adjust to reflect the change.
Get the Supermarket Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
We decided to make them affordable for anyone who would want a business plan, and the price for pre-written business plans is only US$10 for soft copies.
You can purchase via Paynow (Ecocash/Innbucks/One Money/MasterCard/Visa Card) or via Paypal. You just click Buy Now (scroll down) and you will then be taken to payment website where you make the payment. Just follow the instructions; you will be done with the payment process in 2 minutes. We will email the business plan (PDF format, Microsoft word format, and a Microsoft Excel file with the financial statements) to you within 24 hours, using the email address you provided when you were paying.
You can also purchase soft copies at our offices in Harare. Visit StartupBiz Zimbabwe, Suite 201, 2nd Floor, Morgan House, George Silundika Avenue (between 1st Street & 2nd Street), Harare . The cost of the business plan is US$10 (soft copies).
For any questions, other payment options, email us on shop@startupbiz.co.zw , call/whatsapp us on +263778798072 (Whatsapp us by clicking the link https://wa.me/263778798072) .
Supermarket Business Plan
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I really love this I didn’t know we had such a wonderful opportunity to learn business so easy in Zimbabwe
Thank you Passmore.