CAMEROON – French retail group Carrefour is planning to open a new store in Douala Cameroon in the framework of its expansion in Sub-Sahara Africa in partnership with CFAO retail.
The new store sits on 1100 m2 land, including a 700 m2 sales area, which will offer a range of food products including those made in Cameroon.
According to reports by Business in Cameroon, the new outlet will create 80 direct jobs and a number of indirect jobs.
The inaugurated store will be the second in Douala but third in Cameroon following the launch of its outlet in the country’s capital, Yaounde last year October.
Carrefour opened its first outlet in the country in 2017 in Bonamoussadi, Douala.
In the framework of its sub-Saharan Africa expansion plan, the retailer intends to open five supermarkets in Cameroon by the end of 2020.
“We have started looking into other towns. In four or five years, we could open new supermarkets outside Douala and Yaoundé.”
Luc Demez – CEO of CFAO Retail Cameroon
The scheduled stores will include its first-ever Supeco shop, specializing in the Cash & Carry concept where people can buy things in bulk.
Supeco will join BAO, the first brand to try the concept in the country in 2018.
In addition to that Carrefour-CFAO Retail is currently building another store at Ekoudou, in front of the Multi-purpose Sports Complex in Yaoundé to be opened in the first quarter of 2021.
The store dubbed Carrefour’s PlaYce superstore is being constructed but completion has delayed due to marshy ground.
With the launch of the PlaYce superstore, Carrefour and CFAO Retail will have completed their first phase of their expansion in Cameroon with an investment of about XAF80 billion (US$134m).
“We have started looking into other towns. In four or five years, we could open new supermarkets outside Douala and Yaoundé,” says Luc Demez CEO of CFAO Retail Cameroon.
In the East African region, Carrefour has obtained a sh.3 billion (US$28.3m) loan facility from South Africa’s Standard Bank Group to finance its expansion in Kenya, 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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