Published: 09 May 2014

LAST Wednesday's closure of Bhadella Wholesalers in Mutare, which had been operating in the eastern border city for more than eight decades, has been met with mixed feelings by customers and various stakeholders.

The wholesaler, who employed more than 130 workers, closed shop amid a lot of controversy.

Insiders revealed that the shop closed due to family squabbles rocking the Bhadella family with respect to directorship and financial management, while the company's lawyers said the wholesaler was reeling under the effects of the obtaining harsh economic conditions as well as the work of illegal traders who were openly selling their wares outside the company's premises.

Mutare Town Clerk Mr Obert Muzawazi said it was unfortunate that the oldest wholesaler chose to close shop.

He said it was rather unfair for the wholesaler to chiefly blame its closure on illegal traders operating there for that will automatically entail that the local authority was not doing something about it.

"For the record, Bhadella Wholesalers is one of our biggest ratepayers and we never encountered problems for the years they were in business. As business, the wholesalers helped a lot of people since the early days. They served the community well and it is unfortunate that they closed shop.

"If the wholesaler had sticking problems with illegal vendors our doors were open and we are there to assist. As a matter of fact, we usually carried out operations around the area to ensure that we flush out illegal vendors. To entirely say that illegal vendors were the main cause of the closure will be a little unfair on our part as a local authority considering the work we did. I think they have their own reasons for the closure," he said.

The company's lawyer, Mr Everson Samukange, of Venturas and Samukange Legal Practitioners, revealed last week that the closure was related to the harsh economic environment obtaining in the country.

"They can't operate profitably when they are competing with informal traders who are smuggling goods into the country and selling them at give-away prices.

"This has resulted in much of Bhadella's stock remaining untraded in the shop because people are opting for cheaper items sold outside. So it is no longer viable to operate."

Mr Samukange said the Bhadella family did not want to close the shop and they tried to source funds to recapitalise, but the obtaining situation did not guarantee profitability.

"Even if they got the funds, the informal traders will still be there and it will be back to square one," he said.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce national president Mr Hlanganiso Matangaidze said the closure of the wholesaler was shocking and disturbing.

"The closure came as a shocker. It shows that urgent intervention methods are required to address the problems facing the economy. We used to talk about big industries folding up, but the problems are now attacking the distribution and retail industries as well.

"Government has to move with speed and arrest the situation because many businesses will close shop as well. Who thought Bhadella Wholesalers would close shop? It is a shocker," he said.

Retailers who used to buy stocks at the wholesalers were not happy either.

They said Bhadella Wholesalers had become a household name not in Mutare only but in Manicaland because of its growing market which went beyond the eastern border city.

"It pains us to see a structure that we grew up seeing closing shop. What will happen  to the huge infrastructure at Bhadella? Is someone coming in to open a new venture? Is it going to be a white elephant? What is the fate of workers who used to work there? These are some of the questions we need answers from those responsible for the current situation," said an informal trader from Dangamvura, Mr Reason Chirinda.

Some transporters who made brisk business outside the wholesaler by ferrying goods said they were facing a dark moment.

"We used to make money by transporting traders, but that is now gone. I have been doing this for the past 18 years and I had made a name here as a reliable transporter, but what is next now? The closure of this shop has a telling effect to many people. It is not about the workers who were once employed here but the effects are cascading down to everyone who benefited somewhat from this commercial set-up.

"These are some of the companies Government must see to it that they are not closed because people will suffer," said Mr Tinofara Hwenje.

The closure of the wholesaler was the talk of the town last week with people giving various explanations as to the implications.

Bhadella Wholesalers had become a household name in the city such that its existence was synonymous with the growth of Mutare since 1932 when it opened its doors to the public.

In terms of infrastructure, the wholesaler is well resourced and many wonder whether that infrastructure will be left idle.
- manicapost