Farmers World, the Malawi-based agribusiness, announced a rebranding to its image in order to enhance its visibility among the general public. Although the company guaranteed that its business focus was not changing, it announced the opening of a new Savemart outlet, Farmers World’s consumer-focused grocery supermarket chain.
Farmers World has unveiled a new brand identity in Lilongwe, Malawi. The company presented a new logo with the same colours but a more modern and refreshed look. Farmers World Marketing Manager David Lecluse said that the move aimed at enhancing the brand’s visibility and taking it to greater heights in serving both farmers and the general public better. Mr. Lecluse stressed, however, that agro services and goods would continue to be the company’s top priorities, despite the additional effort to target average consumers.
This effort includes the increased investment in Farmers World’s grocery supermarket chain, Savemart. As well as the new branding, the company announced the opening of a new Savemart outlet in Lilongwe. Unlike Farmers World, Savemart caters to general public offering a range of grocery items from both Malawian and international brands – more than in a typical Farmers World outlet. Savemart has three stores in Malawi – two in Lilongwe and one in Luwinga in Mzuzu. It has laid out tentative plans for a further 12 stores but not disclosed timings and locations.
In Malawi, Savemart is up against strong competition, both from domestic and international players. According to our analysis of the leading supermarket chains in Malawi, the grocery market is dominated by domestic retailer People’s Trading Centre. The main international retailers are Walmart-owned Massmart (with two Game stores) and South African supermarket chain Shoprite (with seven stores between Shoprite and Usave).
Both Savemart and Farmers World are owned by Mauritius-based Meridian Group, which was partially acquired by investment fund Phatisa in 2016. Meridian originally focused on local manufacture, the distribution and trade of agricultural commodities. The company operates across Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Most recently, Meridian has increased its focus and investment in grocery retail, either through own brands and chains or through third party operators. In Malawi, the company operates three retail chains: Agora, Farmers World and Savemart.
