Leading clothing shop Edgars Stores which also runs Express Clothing shut most of its outlets last year, while Power Sales also closed some of its branches. CCZ Matabeleland region manager, Comfort Muchekeza, said the clothing industry’s survival was being threatened by imported clothes from neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana which were sold on the informal market.
“Our large clothing shops are closing and this has many negative implications on our local clothing industry. This means that our local industries are losing their target market and they will suffer for that,” he said. Muchekeza also noted the increasing number of vendors selling old clothes from Botswana and Mozambique at flea markets citing that there was need to protect the local clothing industry from total demise.