Carrefour bids for its biggest store in Kenya in former Nakumatt Mega

Sep 26, 2018

Carrefour MAF
Carrefour is eyeing the former Nakumatt Mega space in Uhuru Highway. If it succeeds, Carrefour will soon open its biggest branch in Kenya and become the third largest supermarket chain in the country, behind Naivas and Tuskys.

Just two weeks after a court in Kenya ordered ailing retailer Nakumatt out of its Mega branch – a store in Nairobi’s Uhuru Highway -, competitor Carrefour is reportedly bidding for the space. According to Trendtype’s Dashboard on the Leading Modern Retailers in Kenya, Carrefour currently has approximately 32,450m² of retail floorspace in Kenya, having only opened stores in Nairobi. If it succeeds in taking the Uhuru Highway space, it will soon open its biggest outlet to date and add a further 16,000m² to its portfolio. This will make it the third largest modern supermarket chain in Kenya, behind domestic retailers Naivas and Tuskys, and the market leader in its price spectrum.

Majid Al Futtaim, Carrefour’s franchisee in Kenya and Egypt stressed the importance the location of Uhuru Highway, classifying it as one of the “most strategic shopping spaces available” in Kenya. Country manager Franck Moreau said that the retailer had expressed “interest in taking up the retail space” but that further details about the deal could not yet be disclosed.

Carrefour, which has entered Kenya in 2016 had, until late last year, assumed a strategy of sustained and cautious growth, with only 2 stores opened in 2 years. However, the crisis in Kenyan retail – dominated by domestic players – and especially the demise of market leader Nakumatt -, meant a change in Carrefour’s strategy. This was emboldened after South African giant Shoprite announced a much anticipated entrance into Kenya, with seven stores to open in Nairobi and Mombasa, until the end of 2018 (all of which are yet to open). In the past 10 months, the French retailer opened 4 stores and grew its floorspace by 17,200m².

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