Casino Cash & Carry Cameroun (3C Cameroun) will shortly launch what it is calling Cameroon’s first warehouse supermarket, under the new retail banner “Bao”, in Douala’s Bassa industrial zone.
Casino first announced the new cash and carry concept in September 2017, hiring through October and November that year. The new store is set to launch in late March 2018 and will have a retail floorspace of 2,000m² in a 7,500m² site.
Modelled on similar stores Casino has prototyped in South America, the Bao concept will offer around 3,000 SKUs to both wholesale and retail consumers. Customers will receive larger discounts for buying in bulk. If successful, Casino plans to launch nine more stores, including more stores in Douala, Yaoundé, Bafoussam and Ngadoundéré. Casino has invested FCFA1.3bn ($2.5m) in the Bassa store, and will spend FCFA20bn-FCFA25bn if it builds out a 10 store network.
Casino already has five stores, operated by Mercure’s Sodicam, in Cameroon: two Leader Price supermarkets and three Casino supermarkets. Casino is under increased pressure in Cameroon with the arrival of French rival Carrefour in December 2017, and launches of Spar and Super U stores in recent years. and the spurt of store expansions from domestic chains including Mahima (part of the Choithram’s Group), Santa Lucia, Dovv, Kado and others.
