Tuskys Supermarket, Kenya’s largest retail chain by branch network & revenue, has announced that its finalising plans to expand its Kshs 3.0 billion supplier financing program to provide coverage to all its suppliers.
The facility, which is the first of its kind in the country’s retail industry will be expanded to Kshs 4.5 billion & will be backed by KCB and DTB Bank Kenya. Launched in 2014, the program covers half of the supermarket’s suppliers as of June last year.
This means that registered suppliers can choose to be paid early, once the goods have been received into the retailer’s warehouses and invoices cleared for payment. Ultimately, the initiative helps improve the cash flow of its suppliers by providing on-demand access to attractively priced working capital.
The firm’s CEO Dan Githua has also revealed plans to roll out a 3 year operating strategy at an estimated cost of Kshs 3billion. The new strategy aims to shake off competition from both local and multinational retail operators. He says the plan will be fueled by partnerships as they target to increase their branches from the current 64 to 100 branches in the next 3 years.
“We shall not be depressed by local or international competitor activity because we know we can do better as we maintain world-class standards. We cannot continue operating the business as usual. We must break down all the barriers and limitations by forging meaningful partnerships.” Mr Githua said.
“The calls for prompt payment have been loud and clear and we shall strive to ensure that we do not erode value for this business,” he said and assured that, “We shall also re-dedicate ourselves to proper corporate governance standards to enable us meet stakeholder expectations.”
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