Sefalana Opens Molapo Store, Announces Kgale Plans
Sefalana opened its doors on Wednesday amid great pomp at a new store located at Molapo Crossing mall’s shopping space previously occupied by Pick n Pay.
The Molapo Crossing Shopping Mall store, named Setlhoa 2 after the spacious and luxurious Setlhoa found along the A1 Highway (another of Sefalana’s stores), has two exits for shoppers to access the complex from either side of its parking lot.
The Molapo store was renovated at around P16 million to offer a unique shopping experience while creating 120 new jobs for Batswana.
It would seem Sefalana is not yet done with exploiting the Gaborone market. The group managing director (MD), Chandra Chauhan announced at the event that Sefalana is set to open another big store at 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 shops, while a manufacturing plant is also set to operate, adding to the need for employment creation, according to Chauhan.
He said despite the last two years of difficult trading conditions due to COVID-19 headwinds, Sefalana revenue was 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 18thyear 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 cap was estimated to be P260 million. Now, almost two decades later, the market cap estimate stands at P2.6 billion.