SEFALANA BREATHES LIFE IN TO MOLAPO CROSSING MALL
Molapo crossing mall is buzzing again with activities thanks to the opening of Sefalana Supermarket, aka The Big One II, which has transformed the place over night after the closing of a major retail outlet there over a year ago.
he new Sefalana supermarket has established itself as a top-class outfit for lovers of quality shopping experience.
In anticipation of high volume of shoppers the new look store has two entries/ exits for shoppers to access the complex from either side of Molapo Crossing Mall.
The Molapo supermarket was renovated at around P16 million to offer a unique shopping experience while creating 120 new jobs for Batswana.
They are not yet done with exploiting the Gaborone market, as group managing director (MD), Chandra Chauhan announced at the event that Sefalana is set to open another big store in Kgale, opposite the Engen fuel station. The Kgale plans are, however, subject to regulatory approvals.
Other doors are to swing open at the Tutume and Ramokgwebana villages, before close of the year, while a manufacturing plant is also set to operate, adding to the need for employment creation, according to Chauhan.
Chauhan said despite the last two years of difficult trading conditions due to COVID-19 challenges, Sefalana revenue hit P6.293 billion, with a record high profit of P290 million, which saw Sefalana paying out record dividends of P100 million. This included P46 million to the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund, its largest institutional shareholder.
Chauhan, who is in his 18th-year as the group MD, says when he first joined Sefalana in the same portfolio in 2004, its profit was P1.1 million.
Eighteen years on, its profit is P290 million. Chauhan explained that 18 years ago when he first became the MD, Sefalana’s market capitalization was estimated to be P260 million. It is now estimated at P2.6 billion.