Meikles () is the popular name given to Meikles Hotel in central

Harare, Zimbabwe Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, Meikles'

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and Meikles Limited, the company which owns everything including the hotel, the department stores and Meikles' TM Supermarket chain and other retail outlets. The company owns stock in Rebserve + Kingdom Financial Holdings. The company was listed on the

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, or ZSE, is the official stock exchange of Zimbabwe. Its history dates back to 1896 but has only been open to foreign investment since 1993. The exchange has about a dozen members, and currently lists 63 equities. The ...

in 1996 and its

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...

was ZW$6.3 trillion at the end of 2005. In November, 2019, Dubai-based Albwardy Investments stated that it will buy Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for $20 million and would upgrade it.

History

In the late nineteenth century three brothers, John Meikle (1868-1949), Stewart Meikle and Thomas Meikle (1862-1939) emigrated from

Strathaven Strathaven (; from gd, Strath Aibhne ) is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is the largest settlement in Avondale. It is south of Hamilton. The Powmillon Burn runs through the town centre, and joins the Avon Water to the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In 1892 the brothers opened a successful trading business in Fort Victoria in

Victoria Province Masvingo is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.485 million as of the 2012 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces. Established as Victoria Province by the British South Africa Company, it was one of the ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

. In 1915 Thomas Meikle opened a hotel in present-day

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

. Meikles had social and cultural prominence as the premier hotel in Harare.

Operations

Hotels The company owns the Meikles Hotel, Cape Grace Hotel in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislature, legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the sec ...

and The Victoria Falls Hotel in Victoria Falls in a joint venture arrangement. Retail Meikles Africa Ltd owns several department stores in Zimbabwe operating as Meikles, Greatermans and Barbours. The company operates the Zimbabwean franchise for the South African Health and beauty retailer Clicks and also owns the TM Supermarket chain.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

*Bridger, P., House, M., and others, 1973. ''Encyclopaedia Rhodesia'', College Press, Salisbury, Rhodesia.

External links

Meikles Annual Report 2011Meikles Group/ Meikles Limited
Companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Holding companies of Zimbabwe Hospitality companies of Zimbabwe 1915 establishments in the British Empire Hotels in Zimbabwe Hotels in Harare