Formal retail outlets in Harare are now shadows of their former selves, reflecting Zimbabwe‘s deepening economic challenges.
Retailers, including prominent chains like OK Zimbabwe and N. Richards Wholesale, face severe downsizing, with essentials like cooking oil and sugar vanishing from shelves. N. Richards’ Tynwald branch is set to close, and stock clearance sales signal distress across the sector.
Economic analyst Gift Mugano attributed the crisis to governance failures and dwindling public trust in the Zimbabwean Gold (ZiG) currency, now trading at ZiG40 per US dollar on the black market. Informal markets are thriving as formal retail collapses.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to address fiscal and regulatory burdens threatening the sector’s survival.
