A Harare textile firm Paramount Garments (Pvt) Ltd is in talks with troubled Bulawayo clothing concern Archer Clothing Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd with a view of resuscitating operations of the Belmont-based company recently placed under provisional liquidation, Southern Eye Business has learnt.
Gamma Mudarikiri Own Correspondent
Information obtained yesterday indicates officials of the Harare company last week visited Archer Clothing Manufactures (Pvt) Ltd premises as negotiations over a possible takeover of the business intensify.
The Bulawayo firm was laid low due to a myriad of problems, top among them a harsh economic environment and a liquidity crunch which has seen several local firms close or listed in critical condition.
Talk of a possible resuscitation of Archer Clothing Manufacturers, which threw into the streets hundreds of workers, has created excitement in the market at a time Bulawayo’s revival has attracted the attention of the Zanu PF administration.
Paramount managing director Jeremy Yomans confirmed the latest developments around a possible takeover of the Bulawayo concern, saying discussions with Archer were ongoing.
Yomans said he could not disclose finer details of the negotiations, adding it was still premature to do so.
“We are in discussions with Archer, but at the moment it is still too early to give much details on the issue,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“We don’t want to raise people’s hopes too high yet.” Archer recently gave notice to its creditors to lodge claims with the liquidator by mid-September as the company continues to struggle to stay afloat.
The company was placed under judiciary management in 2010 after being seriously hit by shortage of working capital, obsolete machinery, power challenges and cheap imports which remain major constraints crippling viability of industries in Bulawayo.
In the same year the clothing company scaled down operations laying off 270 contract workers and 210 permanent employees.
The company is one of many entities wrecked by the decade of economic downturn.
As of July this year, at least 20 companies in the city had been put under judicial management while 10 others were facing liquidation.
The textile industry in Bulawayo is the hardest hit.
Some of the Bulawayo firms under judicial management include textile giant National Blankets, Tabs-Avon Lighting, Asmara, Belmont Leather, Textile Mills, Security Mills and Universal Component.
Economic analyst Eric Bloch is on record saying the possible remedy for Bulawayo firms under judicial management or facing liquidation is to merge or source new investment to remain afloat as the government continues to struggle to finance their recapitalisation.
Twitter feedback @mudarikirig
