Expansion of Regional Supermarkets in Zambia: Finding Common Ground with Local Suppliers

Mwanda Phiri () and Francis Ziba
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Mwanda Phiri: Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research
Francis Ziba: Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research

A chapter in Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2019, pp 43-58 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Supermarkets, which have become a key feature of Zambia’s retail sector, provide formal-market value chains that can trigger local development and even hold the potential of agro-processing for export. This chapter investigates how Zambian suppliers integrate into supermarket value chains. As a first step, the potential related to these value chains is discussed. Based on structured interviews with three major foreign supermarkets and 99 local firms, the authors then show that (potential) local suppliers overestimate their participatory preparedness. They rate their own capacities much more favourably than supermarkets do, and also somewhat misunderstand the latter’s procurement criteria. Other key challenges are the delayed payments by supermarkets, the low output of many local firms and the lack of financing to upgrade production processes. Supermarkets promoting their own brands causes additional competition for local suppliers. Based on this assessment, the authors provide policy recommendations to help Zambia benefit from clear opportunities in the retail sector.

Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:aaechp:978-3-030-06206-4_4

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-06206-4_4

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