Choppies will on the 26th of June this year open a new branch in Maun. The store will be the 45th in Botswana and the second in Maun.
The Director of Choppies, Ramachandran Ottappath, said that the one store they had in Maun was of smaller size and is on one side of Maun, putting it out of reach for some residents of Maun.
“Though one may argue that Maun is a very small town, not everyone drives and can reach the other end of town by walking.”
Ottappath also said that though the recession has affected Maun because of the slowdown in tourism, they are not focusing on the short term.
“We are here on a long term basis so we can’t limit ourselves; we will always have ups and downs but we have to move forward,” he said.
He said that though Choppies had also been affected by the recession, it was the mining towns that were especially affected, and listed them as Jwaneng, Selibe Phikwe, Letlhakane and Francistown.
Ottappath admitted that they have opened a store in all prime locations in Botswana except for Tsabong, noting, however, that in the next three months they will open Tsabong’s very own Choppies.
Choppies has five other stores in neighbouring South Africa.
“Trade is fine and by August 5 more stores will be open in South Africa as our target is to open 10 stores in that country,” he said.
The chairman of Choppies and former president Festus Mogae will be at the opening occasion, along with other dignitaries, including health and social work representatives from the area.
Choppies will also donate at least 100 hampers to different destitute families in Maun.
