Business Reporter
WestProp Holdings Limited’s gesture to float between 10 to 25% on property sales on Black Friday is set to enable qualifying members of the public to access decent accommodation in yet another humanitarian gesture extended to locals.
A market analysis of global trends across the globe shows that retailers are preparing for what they hope will be yet another record-setting global shopping spree on Black Friday, the fourth Friday of November, which this year is Nov. 24.
The day is known for crowds lining up at big-box stores to pounce on door buster discounts during the early hours after of Black Friday which normally marks the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season in some countries.
In Zimbabwe, leading property firm, WestProp Chairman, Doctor Louis Michael said the group will take the opportunity to promote the communities.
“We are very committed to uplift the communities as provided by our theme Live, Work, Shop and Play. As a board we recently approved around US$500 000 subsidy to make it easier for locals to purchase of more than 35 stands on Black Friday.
“This is an opportunity for people to get anywhere between 10 to 25% discount on the purchase of the land and three apartments at Millenium Heights,” he said.
The company has emerged as a game changer in the property sector with the latest half year results showing that the Group’s net profit after tax totaled US$ 2,721,188 for the half year ended 30 June 2023 with an aggregated fair value of USD 201,750,000 for the Group’s land banks including 70% interest in Sunshine Developments (Private) Limited.
The half-year operating expenses rose to USD 2,374,208 compared to USD 1,249,458 for the same period last year due to Initial Public Offer (IPO) expenses and listing requirements of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).
About Black Friday
Starting around the 1960s and early 1970s, police and bus drivers in Philadelphia used the term “Black Friday” to refer to the chaos an influx of people to the city created before the Thanksgiving weekend. Visitors would trawl the stores in Philadelphia on Friday with their Christmas lists looking for gifts. Shoplifting and parking violations ensued.
Department stores re-branded the term to “Big Friday” to put a more positive spin on it. But the name did not stick, and since the 1980s retailers began to describe Black Friday as the day when their retail ledgers are allegedly “in the black,” or operating at a profit, as customers start holiday shopping, according to Marcus Collins, a marketing professor with Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
