Quickmart will launch five to six new stores by the end of 2020 as part of its expansion plan, following its  acquisition by Sokoni Retail Kenya, owner of the Tumaini supermarket chain. It has also opened a new outlet in Ongata Rongai, southeast of Nairobi but is the behind the launch schedule it outlined in September.

At the time of the acquisition, the combined Quickmart/Tumaini network was 24 outlets overall, of which 18 were in Nairobi (the remaining stores are in Kisumu and Nakuru) – the third largest network in the country. Both chains operate larger neighbourhood supermarkets in outlying suburbs of Nairobi and satellite towns and target what they identify as the underserved neighbourhoods of the Kenyan market.

Back in September, Quickmart said it would launch a further 6 stores in Kenya in 2019. It will not hit that target. The new Ongata Rongai outlet is the first new store since that announcement, and the merger of Quickmart and Tumaini. Quickmart’s next outlet will be in the suburb of Hurlingham (Quickmart Chaka), the company’s third 24/7 supermarket. We understand it will open in December 2019.

So the five to six new stores due to open in 2020 include four of the planned stores that were originally due to open in 2019. Quickmart has been secretive about where its next stores will be. In fact, it is actively seeking to muddy the waters, advertising that it is hiring in:

Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Malindi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kapsabet, Machakos, Kitui, Lodwar, Kakamega, Nyeri, Kiambu, Meru, Isiolo, Murang’a, Bungoma, Kisii, Homa-Bay, Kirinyanga, Iten, Kericho, Narok, Lamu, Busia, Vihiga, Siaya, Nanyuki, Makueni, Kitale.

The reality is that many – perhaps most – of its new stores are likely to open in and around Nairobi. However, with the exit of both Choppies and Nakumatt from Kisumu in the next two months, six supermarket sites are in play. Tumaini – soon to be rebranded as Quickmart – already has a store in Kisumu. We think Quickmart is a prime candidate for some of the vacant sites.