Primacy Bedding was formed by Press Chambe, who refused to give up on his dream of owning his own business despite experiencing numerous setbacks in the previous ventures he had tried to get off the ground. Before coming up with the idea of a bed-making company, Press attained a higher national diploma in computer science and worked as an assistant programmer and assistant data analyst for local companies based in Harare between 1998 and 1999.
However, his true passion was in business and in 2005, after being encouraged by a friend to switch trades, he found himself importing suits and other clothing from Dubai and reselling them to civil servants and anyone else who could afford them. He explained how his first venture hit a brick wall.
It became challenging for me because usually you would only get money from the customers at the end of the month when they are paid. You would go to their workplace expecting to collect money only to be told by others that the person you are looking for has been dismissed from work or is now with another company. So I made huge losses.
He embarked on a new strategy by opening a boutique in town and started selling his clothes from it. Again, things went south because of the stiff competition that resulted in customers preferring to buy from other clothing shops. Press recalls how the huge arrears in rent he found himself grappling with forced him to consider his next move. Although faced with such obstacles in his journey, giving up was not an option for the resilient man.
In 2015 I stopped selling clothes because I was in huge debt and decided to focus on selling at home industries in Glen View because there were more people there. This meant that the market was much bigger for all of us.
However, in another sad twist of events, he encountered yet another setback. Numerous fire outbreaks at his workplace resulted in all his clothes being destroyed. This was a major drawback capable of making anyone give up. But Press Chambe is not an ordinary man because somehow, in the middle of all these disasters and disappointments, he still found the determination and eagerness to continue with his entrepreneurial journey.
I decided not to give up and we would encourage each other because these fires would affect many of us so it became a matter of encouraging each other to raise money to buy more items to sell. Giving up was not an option and will never be an option to me.
As he continued selling clothes and fabrics, Press stumbled upon an innovative idea of solving a major challenge that many customers who were buying beds found themselves being confronted with.
There was a lot of noise from customers because many people who were making beds were using recycled springs and used coils. Their customers would later come back frustrated and complaining about the condition of their mattresses after the springs would have either collapsed or lost their shape within just a single day. This happened a lot of times, to such an extent that it was also causing domestic disagreements between husbands who would have sent their wives to buy these beds. This gave me the idea to start making beds using new raw materials as a way of solving the challenges that I saw’
Primacy Bedding was born when Press started importing springs and buying machines that enabled him to shape the coils properly and come up with new durable mattresses. His products were well received by customers, who previously could not find such products in the home industries. It was on this part of the journey that he witnessed how having a partner who supports you in business can help you to succeed. His wife who at the time was working in procurement at one of the companies in Harare decided to quit her job and join him in the bedding business as the operations lead, responsible for procuring the machines and the materials they needed for their business. Her experience in engineering procurement was a game-changer and helped the company quickly mechanize its processes.
For the first time in his endeavors, things started taking a turn for the better and in October 2019, he decided to move his business to their current workstation, located in the Willowvale area of Harare.
Relocating the business to Willowvale was motivated by the fact that we were expanding and imagine buying expensive bed-making machines that could have been destroyed by a fire? I realised that for us to grow, we needed a secure, proper place of our own.
Although the Covid pandemic slowed down his business and delayed his plans, the production capacity of Primacy Bedding was greatly enhanced during the beginning of 2020 when bed spring coiling and quilting machines the company had bought were finally delivered to their premises.
Besides catering for their own customers, Primacy Bedding also developed the capacity to supply several bed manufacturers in many home industries in Harare. They also sold finished beds to other upcoming and established companies, especially those that were failing to meet their own demand.
As a trained and qualified programmer and data analyst, Press is also using technology to market the beds they make to prospective and existing customers. This approach, which he started implementing during the Covid pandemic, has helped him to position Primacy Bedding as a brand that is associated with strong and comfortable beds.
Asked to explain the composition of the market he serves, Press said Primacy Bedding has been well received by people from different walks of life.
We have an online shop. We use an online platform to advertise our beds and this is where we get a lot of the customers who then actually come here to our offices to buy the beds. We also supply many schools and colleges. Many of them have now realised that beds that are made of springs are more durable when compared to the others. We also supply those who have boarding houses located around universities and schools as well as lodges operating in the hospitality industry. We also make beds for retailers. We do this either through our own brand or using specifications that they would have requested.’
While the use of machines increases production, Primacy Bedding currently employs ten full time workers who have all been assigned to specific roles.
From shaping springs and coils to assembling mattresses and bed bases, the complicated process of making a furniture item that is vital for providing comfort when one needs to rest has been simplified by Press and his colleagues.
They have achieved this by breaking the entire process into stages and then incorporating the use of spring coiling and quilting machines to produce many beds within a very short space of time.
The machines that we are now using have helped us to scale up production. For example, before we started using machines, everything was being done manually so in one day, we would have everyone making springs and then later moving on to the other stages of making a bed. This was labour intensive and we could not complete more than 20 beds within a given time. Today, we can make about 60 mattresses per day so we now have a better capacity.’
Press is determined to grow his business and eventually achieve the capacity to export some of the beds they are making beyond the borders of Zimbabwe. He believes that the ability to make a footprint in foreign countries will not only enhance Primacy Bedding’s revenue flows but will also put them on a growth trajectory that will lead to further expansion.
Going international is definitely one of the main objectives for Primacy Bedding and right now we are looking into this seriously. It can not be done overnight and we are currently brainstorming the idea by looking at all the modalities of operating outside Zimbabwe. Such an achievement will have positive outcomes because it will help us to bring in foreign currency.’
As he looks to the future with a lot of optimism, Press is also hoping that some of the key raw materials used to make beds will be available for purchase on the local market in the near future.
We use carbon wire which we buy from Chinese companies that would have imported it from outside Zimbabwe. If our industries start manufacturing these wires then our customers will be happier because the prices of beds will definitely go down for everyone. Currently, this wire costs between $500 and $600 per tonne in China and the landing costs of importing it pushes that figure up to around $1 600. If this wire is available in this country, the competition will push the prices down.”
As he continues with his entrepreneurial journey, Press also takes time to assist and advise others involved in bed making, or any other business, about how to navigate some of the roads he has travelled. He always emphasizes to them the need to take their work seriously by producing what the customer wants.
Those who would like to enter this type of business should know that one of the important things is to make sure that their products are of a very good quality. At first, it will be difficult because you will not have all the money you require to achieve your dreams but building a name for yourself is a long process that requires a lot of patience.’
He discourages businesspeople from short-changing their customers by producing sub-standard products as such a practice always results in poor sales and loss of revenue opportunities. He also believes that spending wisely and making decisions that will lead to the growth of the business is key to success.
It is wise to plough back the money that we make in our businesses towards improving them. Unfortunately, the downfall of many people comes from their wrong decision to spend lavishly and live extravagant lifestyles. There is no point in buying many flashy and expensive cars when you can just simply purchase a car you will use for the purposes of growing the business.’
As a way of giving back to the community, Press also spends some of his time encouraging young people to stay away from illegal drugs and other negative practices that destroy their future.
By encouraging the youth to take part in sporting activities, he enables them to realize other beneficial ways to spend their time and engage in activities which are productive to their health and mental well being.
‘Together with a close friend of mine, we are involved in a snooker club in Chitungwiza and we encourage members to say no to harmful substances such as drugs through taking part in sport. I am the patron of that club and I take care of their welfare when it comes to the league matches that they play. The league is made up of 22 teams.’
His strong belief is that if young people become idle, then they are likely to get involved in bad activities. As they take part in their snooker matches, he advises them on how to navigate their way in their journeys of life.
The story of how Press followed his dream to become a businessman, how he picked himself up from disappointment and how he literally rose from the ashes – against seemingly insurmountable odds – to establish Primacy Bedding is an inspiring one that one usually sees only in the movies. You cannot help but marvel at this African entrepreneur’s tenacity and unyielding self-belief. You are left asking yourself what he is going to conquer next.
