Millenium works on reviving exports

03 Oct, 2021 - 00:10 0 Views
Millenium works on reviving exports

The Sunday News

Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
BULAWAYO’S leading exotic shoe manufacturer, Millenium Footwear says it is working on reviving its export opportunities in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region, as it had been forced to serve mostly the local market due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Established in 2000, the Bulawayo-based company has grown in leaps and bounds, having started as a small company manufacturing only sandals and moccasins.

In an interview, Millenium Footwear production coordinator Mr Chrispen Mapiye said as a company that also absorbed the Covid-19 pandemic shocks they were working on going back into export.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on our business, hence we haven’t been able to sell our products outside the country.

“We used to go for trade fairs in countries outside our borders like Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

“But as for now we are selling our products locally and we are working on reviving our markets outside the country, the Sadc and around the globe so that we can generate the much-needed foreign currency,” Mr Mapiye said.

He said the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) 2021 was an opportunity to market themselves to other countries that participated at the trade showcase.

This year’s exhibition attracted 11 countries among them; Botswana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia and Namibia. Mr Mapiye said they were coming up with new strategies to run the company and attract more customers.

“Yes, we are facing challenges as a company as our customers are limited because of the pandemic that has hit hard most of the companies.

“But as a company we always come up with strategies to penetrate the markets within Zimbabwe and outside the country,” he said.

He said the other challenge was access to foreign currency to import raw materials.

“We get the leather locally but some of the material such as glue, chemicals, dyes and the other components we get them from outside the country so it has been a bit of a challenge when it comes to this pandemic to access foreign currency.

“As a company we come up with strategies to stand on our own, yes we do need assistance but we try to strive to do better. So, we try to avoid borrowing money and work with what we have,” he said.

Among other challenges, Mr Mapiye said the leather industry was facing high electricity costs, the liquidity crisis affecting customers’ buying power, a shrinking local market and cheap  imports.

“Some of the challenges included old machinery, as well as sourcing of spare parts due to the cash crisis.

“However, that will not derail our goal that in the next five years, the company should be a net exporter, have 100 percent capacity utilisation, increased employment and would have acquired better machinery.”

Mr Mapiye urged Zimbabweans to support local businesses by buying their products so that they could grow.

He said with the Covid-19 pandemic local businesses could grow the economy through utilising local resources to manufacture products favourable to locals.

The company manufactures exotic shoes made from elephant, ostrich, buffalo, wildebeest and crocodile skin including safari, classic, safety and security shoes, as well as sandals.

It also produces belts made from cattle and crocodile hides.

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