KENYA – French retailer Carrefour has opened its eighth store at Nairobi Mega property along Uhuru Highway, owned by automobile dealer Car & General, increasing its footprint in the local retail space.

The Majid Al Futtaim group owned retail franchise in Kenya has from the shells of the former occupant of the space, Nakumatt, designed a new two-storey store.

“The opening of our new Carrefour store in Nairobi underscores our commitment to offering great customer experiences through high-quality retail outlets where customers can access quality products at the best prices,” said Franck Moreau, the franchise’s country manager.

He added that the new store will offer home deliveries services making it convenient to shop online during the on-going COVID-19 restrictions.

According to a report by The Star, the store will stock food, non-food items and unique specialty offerings.

In the food and beverage section the store will have groceries, fresh baked item, a roaster, bistro area and milk ATM, among others. The management said 99 per cent of the stock in Carrefour stores will be sourced locally.

A video review of the opening ceremony of the new Carrefour Mega branch, its 8th outlet in Kenya.

With the opening of the store, the retailer has created in excess of 400 jobs including 250 employees and 200 part time workers.

The retailer had scheduled opening of the branch in March, but it was postponed due to the delayed refurbishment blamed on Coronavirus disruptions.

Carrefour first set up shop in Kenya in May 2016 and it has been expanding by taking over spaces previously occupied by struggling supermarket chains, including Nakumatt and Uchumi, as well as opening new outlets.

The retailers strong foothold in Kenya’s retail sector as indicated by its bullish performance, with the supermarket chain recording a 28 percent jump in sales to Ksh18.7 billion (US$175.9m) for the year ended December 2019, an increase from Ksh14.6 billion (US$137.3m) recorded in 2018.

On the newly-released financial report, Majid Al Futtaim also made public its Kenya’s local assets as of December 2019 to be Sh7.2 billion (US$67.7m), up from Sh4.3 billion (US$40.4m) recorded the previous year.

The retailer’s other branches include The Hub Mall, The Village Market, Two Rivers Mall, Thika Road Mall, The Junction Mall, Galleria Shopping Mall and The Sarit Centre.

Recently the franchise owner obtained a sh.3 billion (US$28.3m) loan facility from South Africa’s Standard Bank Group to finance its expansion, planning to open six new outlets by the end of 2020.

The retailer is not only expanding in Kenya but also entering new markets in East Africa with the opening of its first hypermarket store in Kampala, Uganda at the Oasis shopping mall in April this year.

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