- Tsaone Segaetsho
In an exclusive interview with The Executive Botswana this week following the release of Choppies Group’s 2025 financial year results, Group Chief Finance Officer, Minnesh Rajcoomar, acknowledged that Kamoso Africa, which the Group acquired two years ago, continues to underperform, weighed down by persistent losses across its divisions.
When presenting the 2025 results this week, Choppies highlighted the financial strain of the acquisition. The Group noted that the previous year’s net finance costs included a P6.5 million credit linked to the Kamoso transaction. Without this adjustment, net interest could have declined from P112 million in the prior year to P100 million.
Kamoso Africa was integrated into Choppies with a portfolio comprising Liquorama, Builders Mart, Mediland, Lemepe, Mont Catering and Refrigeration, among others. However, Rajcoomar confirmed that many of these businesses remain loss-making.
“The businesses are underperforming, and we need a clear turnaround strategy to bring them up to the standards of our grocery segment, which continues to perform well,” he said.
Reflecting this focus, the Group’s 2025 results outlined “Strategic Priorities”, with the turnaround of hardware and Liquorama operations at the forefront. Rajcoomar admitted that the hardware and building materials division, in particular, had been “inherited in a difficult state”, citing poor supplier relations, weak management, and a lack of inventory investment.
According to Choppies directors, the hardware business endured three years of operational decline before the acquisition, including inventory shortages, customer attrition, and constrained cash flow that limited access to credit lines. The Group anticipates that it will take a further 12 to 18 months to complete the recovery, with plans to open new stores and expand into markets where Choppies already operates.
“We had to put the right management in place and re-establish supplier credit lines to rebuild trust,” Rajcoomar explained. “We have also worked on aligning pricing structures with our grocery operations to restore margins and return the business to profitability. This turnaround is ongoing, but progress is being made.”
