MOROCCO – Chari, the leader in the digital distribution of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods in Morocco, has launched a new chain of B2B stores to meet the needs of local grocery stores.
The first two stores of this chain were opened on March 16, in Casablanca and el Jadida, Morocco, with plans of opening 100 stores by 2024.
The distributor has particularly digitized the stores, allowing shoppers and grocery shopkeepers to order products they need on an electronic terminal and pick up the goods in less than ten minutes or have them immediately delivered to their stores.
The Chari physical points of sale also offer a ‘click and collect’ service allowing the shopkeepers to order the products they need on Chari’s application and come pick them up at any Chari Store at the time that suits them best.
In addition, the stores will also serve as logistical dark stores and neighborhood warehouses for a 2-hour delivery of any products ordered from the Chari eCommerce app.
The company intends to also use these stores as a training point for the digital tools offered by Chari, such as Chari’s e-commerce app, and Karny.ma, a credit management/bookkeeping app, helping shopkeepers improve their procurement and better serve their customers.
“We are excited to launch this new chain of B2B stores for grocery stores in Morocco,” said Ismael Belkhayat, co-founder of Chari.
“We are confident that these shops will help grocery stores digitize, improve their product offerings and increase their profitability. We are committed to providing quality products at competitive prices and to helping grocery stores go digital to better serve their customers.”
Chari B2B stores offer a product range of more than 1000 SKUs, covering about 100 brands ranging from food products to hygiene products.
Belkhayat noted the company offers grocery store owners easy access to a wide range of quality products at competitive prices, allowing them to facilitate their supply to better meet the needs of their customers.
After a successful proof of concept in Morocco, Chari aims to become a leader in its space across Francophone Africa.
Chari has started its expansion in the Sub-Saharan Africa region with the acquisition of the Ivory-Coast-based app Diago, after also entering the Tunisia market in August with the acquisition of the mobile credit book application Karny.
Diago, founded in 2021 by Amidou Diarra and Ali Ouattara, two former managers at Glovo and PepsiCo, is an app that connects neighborhood shops to FMCG producers and importers.
Diarra and Outtara remained as CEO and COO, respectively, to oversee the local business growth before expanding the app’s footprint to other Sub-Saharan African countries.
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