One of the leading supermarkets in Mozambican regional capital Tete has burnt down, just ahead of the busy Christmas period. The store, also known as VIP, burned down on November 30th. Delays getting sufficient fire fighting apparatus to the site has meant the supermarket has been completely gutted.

VIP Supermercado is one of Mozambique’s Spar franchisees. The company operates two stores in Tete, a regional capital with a population approaching 3m people. The gutting of this store leaves three Shoprite supermarkets in the city, a large Choppies supermarket and a small number of independent supermarkets.