Naivas Supermarket is set to be the new anchor tenant at the Waterfront Mall in Karen following the exit of Shoprite. The move will see Naivas set up its 66th store that will occupy 3500 square metres at the mall’s ground floor space.
Waterfront Karen Director, David Muguku lauded the new development saying that it is in line with the mall’s strategic objective to enhance variety for shoppers.
On its part, Naivas said the entry will create 120 jobs directly and twice the number to third-party partners. Naivas Chief Commercial Officer, Willy Kimani said the store will open in mid-October 2020.
Shoprite Exit
South Africa’s supermarket chain Shoprite exited Kenya barely two years after a pompous launch. Earlier this month, Shoprite announced plans to shut down its loss making Kenyan business by December 2020.
The firm’s financial statements for the year ending June reveal that the supermarket has taken an unsecured KSh1.5 billion loan from Stanbic Bank carrying a 9.7 percent interest rate and payable in 21 months.
Shoprite cited underperformance of the Kenyan franchise closing the Waterfront branch in April this year. This was followed by closure of the Mombasa outlet leaving Westgate mall and Garden City outlets, which will be wound up by December this year.
The supermarket chain also faced stiff competition from local franchises Naivas, Carrefour, and Quickmart which have been on an expansion drive.
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