Retailer Choppies, based in Botswana, suffered a blow in the six months to December, with the weak pula and subdued trading conditions in Botswana pulling it down. Group results showed that Botswana was no longer a key driver of revenue as its contribution fell below 50% on a weak performance in the country and poor economic conditions. "Profits in Botswana were materially impacted by the strengthening of the rand against the pula that resulted in a foreign-exchange transaction gain lower than expected compared to December 31 2015," the company said. While Botswana remains the retailer's largest market by store footprint, Choppies is finding growth in other markets. Choppies CEO Ramachandran Ottapathu said this week: "It was a reasonably good result. "My mandate is to grow the company and our revenue from Botswana has gone down below 50%. "So we can't say that it's a Bostwana-based company any more; it's becoming an international company." During the period, retail space expanded 3...
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