French hypermarket chain Carrefour will open its fifth outlet in Kenya coming April. The new store will be in Nairobi’s Sarit Centre, vacated by ailing Kenyan retailer Uchumi, earlier this month.
Majid Al Futtaim – Carrefour’s retailer in the Middle East, Egypt and Kenya – has announced the opening of a fifth store in Kenya. The new outlet will be in Nairobi’s Sarit Centre. According to Trendtype’s Retail Database Tracker, this will also be Carrefour’s fifth store in the Kenyan capital.
The new Carrefour outlet will take the space previously occupied by Uchumi. Source: Sarit Centre
Carrefour is taking the anchor tenancy and space vacated by struggling Kenyan retailer Uchumi earlier this week. Uchumi announced the closure of its 30-year old hypermarket in the context of ongoing financial difficulties and the shutting down of its outlet in Capital Centre Mall. According to CEO Mohammed Mohammed, “the decision is part of the retail store’s comprehensive turnaround plan and new cost management strategy that seeks to streamline its store portfolio and intensify cost efficiency efforts per store (…)”.
The quick turnaround in retail tenancies speaks to the current dynamics of the sector in Kenya, as domestic retailers have struggled to sustain the investments made in expanding their operations and have been forced to close a significant part of their store networks. Carrefour opened its fourth outlet in Kenya just last month, taking what used to be Nakumatt’s anchor tenancy in Nairobi’s Junction Mall. The retailer’s third outlet opened in November 2017 in Thika Road Mall, just six weeks after the space was vacated by Nakumatt. South African retail giant Shoprite is also finalising its entry in the Kenyan market, taking some of the stores vacated by Uchumi, Nakumatt and Ukwala.
Majid Al Futtaim had announced earlier this year that Carrefour is planning to expand its operations in Africa, both in Egypt, Kenya and East Africa. Representatives of the company stressed the strategic location of the new store and the possibility of introducing Carrefour to new customers.
The Sarit Centre is a 23,200 m² shopping mall built in 1987. Its is currently undergoing expansion and there is still no information regarding the new Carrefour’s final retail floorspace. The retailer has confirmed, however, that the new store is temporary and that it has finalised an agreement with the mall owners to take a permanent space at the new wing, once it opens later in 2018. According to Carrefour, this has made it possible to influence the design of the store and guarantee significant savings on the investment. The new outlet will carry about 30,000 SKUs and between food and non-food products.
