dulys
feature
African Tiger
ready to roar
The Zimbabwean economy has the potential to grow and become industrialised like most Asian countries, despite the challenges that it is going through says Duly Holding’s acting MD Michael Mutyambizi.
By Ian Armitage
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Dulys focus automotive
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imbabwe is a country on the verge of transformation. It has the potential to grow and become industrialised like most countries in Asia, despite the challenges that it is going through. Those aren’t my words. They’re the words of the World Bank. In July, while taking a seminar, former World Bank senior vice president for development economics and also chief economist Professor Justin Lin said the country’s economy was poised for growth describing Zimbabwe as “an African Tiger”. “There is possibility for the Zimbabwean economy to become the best on the continent and become an African Tiger,” he said. “The economic transformation has large room to develop the country.” Lin explained that most of the Asian countries that are now big players in the global economy were once like Zimbabwe, using China as an example. “If a country experiences economic stagnation for years, right policies can change its fortunes. Most countries were poor at one point,” he said, adding that Zimbabwe should target a seven percent economic growth for 25 years. “China is what it is today because of a 9.9 percent growth rate for the past 32 years.” Zimbabwe certainly seems to have taken inspiration from economic development experiences of East Asian powerhouses. However. Zimbabwe isn’t there yet and its economy is still recovering from over a decade of economic meltdown. “The economy is experiencing some difficulties, repeated challenges,” says Mr Mutyambizi, acting managing director of Duly Holdings Limited, a leading player in the country’s auto industry. “That has led to an unstable political environment,” he says. “As a business we’ve been able to keep our head above water but the situation is very tight. “We believe that if we sort out the political scenarios, things will start working. They are now talking of a new constitution and it looks
like we’ll have elections by June next year. But until this process is completed things are going to remain very tight.” Duly Holdings specialises in the retailing of Ford vehicles, UD trucks and a range of Mazda vehicles. Despite the obvious challenges, it is “holding its own”. “We are the sole agency for Ford and UD in Zimbabwe. We offer a professional aftersales service for all our brands throughout our branch network – branches are located in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare and Gweru. Compared to our competitors we are holding our own; that’s my view. We sell mostly Ford vehicles and UD trucks. Ford launched a new vehicle (a redesigned Ford Ranger), which is in demand here. It is so popular we have not been able to meet demand because of the resulting supply constraints. There is overwhelming demand the world over including South Africa, so there are only a few units, but whatever we get we’re selling as soon as they arrive.” He is convinced of Zimbabwe’s mediumto long-term potential and hopeful of a very bright future. “Long-term we believe there are vast opportunities in this country. If we can deal with the political issue the economy will really take off. There is also good potential for new investors who are sitting on the fence at the moment. Once the economy starts moving up we will be geared towards handling whatever challenges and opportunities will come our way, as far as the business is concerned. The company and the sales volumes will grow quite significantly. “We have set a conservative and realistic target in terms of revenue for this year and we hope to achieve it. We hope to sell around 1,200 vehicles and 200 trucks.” Most of Duly’s customers are corporate clients. “It is a 80/20 split between corporate clients and individuals,” Mutyambizi says. www.southafricamag.com
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Dulys focus Automotive
“Our environment means it is difficult for individuals to buy an automobile so we deal predominantly with corporate clients. There are some individuals with money that are buying, but it is not at the level which we would like and we are trying to attract them.” Duly is renowned for its CSR. It likes to give back. This is an important consideration for corporate clients. “Every year we come up with a different theme,” Mutyambizi says. “This year we helped a sanctuary for sick and wounded animals. We actually built a pond for the birds to help them recover when they are undergoing treatment. Last year it was disadvantaged street kids. We always come up with a project every year. It is part of the annual Ford Global Week of Caring.” Ford Motor Company plays a significant part in Duly’s success and the pair have an extremely close relationship. “In terms of supply, we always give them our projections every month for three to six months’ supply pipeline. The bulk manufacturing of the kits takes place in Thailand
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and Ford South Africa assembles the vehicles, so depending on the supply pipelines from Thailand and the overall global demand, Ford South Africa allocate vehicles to distributors in the southern Africa market. When Ford Motor Company South Africa assembles vehicles they always allocate some units to us. South Africa is the bigger market so naturally they will give them higher volumes.” Ford used to manufacture vehicles in Zimbabwe, and some way down the line, it could do so again, Mutyambizi says. “Ford Motor Company built an assembly plant in Zimbabwe, which was officially opened by Henry Ford (the second) in 1961. The plant was sold in 1965 and became Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries. They are still assembling Mazda vehicles, which they get from Japan. At one stage when the economy was still stable we bought Ford vehicles kits, which we sub-contracted them to assemble. The affinity is still there but we believe we get the higher quality product when it’s done in South Africa as they have modern
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Dulys focus Automotive
assembly machinery compared to what we have here in Zimbabwe. Some way down the line though, you never know.” So what’s the secret to Duly’s success? “We have a good reputation as far as added-value is concerned and good corporate governance is always encouraged and is the theme of our operations. We are proud of our reputation in this economy. Most customers prefer to deal with us, which indicates the value that they see in us. Whatever we sell into the market we are committed to looking after it through aftersales, support and maintenance and repair. We have really worked hard over the years to build a good reputation in this market. “We have always emphasised that we are a professional organisation and our staff are committed to ethical practice. The board does drive effective corporate governance, and although we operate in an under-developed African economy, where there are challenges, we have been able to maintain our reputation.” Training he says is vital. “We offer reliable backup services using genuine Ford, Mazda and Nissan Diesel parts and accessories as well as providing quality motor vehicle repairs and maintenance services of world class service and repair standards. In addition to these brands, the group has a Panel Beating Shop, which restores all accidentdamaged vehicles to their original finish. 6
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“Because of that, the most important area for training is the mechanics. We take on a minimum of at least 10 apprentices every year who are trained over a period four years. This is an important area for our operations, effectively looking after the product we sell. “As we deal and sell international brands with international reputations there are standards that need maintaining and that is why training is so important.” He says an additional challenge exists at c-level. “On the management side, on the top rank, it is quite challenging. Over the past 10 years we have had three managing directors leave and currently we don’t have one. The board is in the process of trying to identify a suitable guy and I’m officially looking after things until they find the right candidate. Our previous managing director left in March and filling the top level is very difficult as a lot of the good guys have left to go to Europe, Australia and South Africa.” Mutyambizi ruled himself out of the running for the job. “I’m not a sales and marketing guy, I’m basically a finance guy at heart. I don’t have the flair for sales and marketing, although I’m trying!” END To learn more visit www.dulys.co.zw
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