Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Alois Vinga – LISTED tyre manufacturer, National Tyre Services (NTS) has recorded a massive 99 % sales volume increase despite the adverse effects of Covid-19 lockdowns.
In a recent trading update, the company recorded a leap in sales volumes attributed to improved strategies.
“Overall, volumes for the period October to December 2020 increased by 99% compared to the same period last year, despite Covid-19 challenges faced.
“Growth is attributed mainly to effective marketing initiatives and availability of stock,” NTS said.
The volume of new tyres sold in the quarter increased by 213% compared to the same period last year as the company continued to implement robust marketing strategies to promote sales complemented by good stock availability.
The retreading volumes for the period increased by 21% compared to the same period last year due to focused key account management effort to retain strategic fleet customers.
On the services category, volumes increased by 87% compared to a similar quarter in 2019 driven by good service delivery to customers.
The sales volumes increased by 28% compared to the same period in the previous year mainly due to stock availability and marketing effort to push sales.
However, NTS experienced hurdles induced by the Covid-19 lockdowns locally and abroad.
“Movement of stock into Zimbabwe was further curtailed by cyclones that delayed berthing of ships at Beira with stocks from China and India.
“The market experienced noticeable stock outs particularly in December 2020. Locally, critical demand for forex to import essential requirements including Covid-19 testing kits, vaccines and raw materials, weighed in,” NTS said.
Going forward, the company expects Covid-19 pandemic effects to subside as infections continue to come down due to the rollout of vaccines.
Priority will be directed towards ensuring the continued viability of the business, will be cost control, an uninterrupted supply chain and avoidance of loss of capital against inflationary pressures.
