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The Interview
RAM OTTAPATHU CEO of
Standard Chartered Private Equity, an investing arm of Standard Chartered, recently acquired 13% of Choppies Enterprises Ltd, a leading Southern African grocery retailer. We spoke to Choppies CEO, Ram Ottapathu, who shared the companies humble beginnings and key moments that have helped lead to this its latest milestone.
C
hoppies Enterprise Limited (“Choppies”) CEO, Ram Ottapathu, joined the company in 1992 when it was just a single
store in Lobatse, Botswana.
Ram began his career at Apollo Tyers, a leading multi-national tyre manufacturing company in India, where he spent four years before joining Choppies. Ram holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from the University of Calicut, India, and is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India, as well as a member of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants.
What more can you tell us about Choppies Enterprises Limited?
Choppies is the leading grocery retailer in Botswana with fast-growing operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Choppies is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and is the largest private-sector employer in Botswana, employing more than 6,000 people (and more that 10,000 in its three markets combined).
The Company has grown from a single store in 1986 to more that 100 supermarkets and hyperstores across three countries.
Choppies distinguishes itself from its
competitors in the region by truly living up to its “Value for Your Money” slogan. We are the leader in value retail in southern Africa, delivering the highest quality products at the lowest prices.
Choppies’ mission is to be the best service provider of Fast Moving Consumer Goofs (FMCG) on the African continent and to always be the leader in the industry. Our vision is to give our customers the best value for their money. We deliver and execute on our mission and vision by living up to the Choppies values:
• Commitment to our customers
• Honouring individuality while maintaining diversity
• A teamwork culture which easily translates objectives into goals
• Progress through healthy competition
• Preserving values and ethos of people around us
• Integrity and trust
• Engaging is fair and honest business practices
• Sincerity and openness towards customer criticism
What have been some of the Groups most defining moments over the past five years?
Over the past five years, Choppies has been transformed from a local grocery retailer to a regionally renowned retail group. In 2008, Choppies opened its first store in South Africa, and has since grown in its store footprint to more than 20 stores. The South African expansion has initially focused on semi-urban communities in the North West, Northern, Free State, and Limpopo provinces. In 2012, the Company opened a
large distribution
centre in Rustenburg, and used that facility to service its current South African Network. This distribution centre will support the rapid store roll-out across South Africa.