Dar es Salaam is home to businessman Vasant Champsi and his string of family-owned supermarkets. He’s no flash in the pan, and comes from a long line of successful businesses spanning 100 years.
Vasant’s vision was to set up a one-stop-shop where customers could find their day-to-day necessities without the hassle of long queues and endless browsing. From humble beginnings, he started Shriji’s Supermarkets, a growing supermarket chain that has taken Tanzania’s retail sector by storm.
We started off in the retail trade in 2000 with a good experience and background in the trading as our family has been trading in this country for almost one hundred years,” Vasant says. “I have travelled to many parts of the world and have seen and experienced various hypermarkets and supermarkets in bigger stores. That’s how I learnt this trade, by visiting them.”
Vasant is quick to add that he and his family have made the brand on their own, never having asked for assistance in setting up their supermarket chain. “We never had professionals prepare the projects or anything like that. It was something that was coming out naturally through our blood and through our vision – we have worked hard.”
When we started, we thought that 300 square metres would be enough. But where we are today, it’s easy to see that any store with less than 600 square metres will not be sufficient. If you really want to have convenient shopping for customers, then space is a very, very important factor.”
Vasant’s business has already branched into four supermarkets in the city, with views to expand even more. By providing just about every item his customers need, Vasant and his family have made sure that their supermarkets are the go-to-shops in the community. It’s been a hard road to success, though, and Vasant’s working hours are testament to the effort that he puts into his company.
You need to spend up to 16 hours a day working. If you don’t, you can’t win here – it is a tough industry but we are there at the front.”
The business world needs more entrepreneurs like Vasant. He saw an opportunity and took it with both hands and hasn’t dropped the ball for a second. In the cutthroat world of supermarket retailing, where competition is rife and mass retailers dominate, small players like Vasant can exploit a niche and compete with the best. The only prerequisite is good old-fashioned hard work.
Dar es Salaam is home to businessman Vasant Champsi and his string of family-owned supermarkets. He’s no flash in the pan, and comes from a long line of successful businesses spanning 100 years.
