Nakumatt Junction on Ngong Road in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Nakumatt Supermarket has closed its Junction branch in Nairobi,
even as the retailer banks on cash injection from a new strategic
investor to address its frequent stock outs at its outlets.
In
a public notice released Sunday, the cash-strapped retailer said it had
relinquished its rights over the premises pursuant to a surrender dated
September 15, 2017.
“The premises will be closed to
the public from October 1, 2017 and no trading will be permitted at the
premises,” read the notice.
However, Nakumatt
directors, authorised agents and employees will be permitted access to
the premises for the purpose of removing the tenant’s stock, items and
property.
The family-owned business is fighting to cut
back on massive debts owed to suppliers estimated at Sh15 billion as at
February 2015, a situation that has been pilling pressure on its
operations.
Last month, the retailer shut down its
Thika Road Mall (TRM) branch, barely a month after closing its outlet at
the NextGen Mall on Mombasa Road after just nine months of operations.
In
May, Nakumatt publicly announced plans to close its poorly performing
branches in Kenya and Uganda as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at
saving the retailer Sh1.5 billion annually.
The announcement saw the Haile Selassie branch located at the Kenyatta University Plaza closed down.
In
February, the retailer shut its Ronald Ngala branch, citing low sales,
and earlier in the year it closed a branch in Uganda that had
accumulated rent arrears estimated at about Sh8.5 million.
It
also shut down one of its two warehouses – where it stored imported
goods as well as furniture and electronics on Mombasa Road.
Nakumatt
and Tuskys recently announced that confidential merger talks were
ongoing, but a formal agreement was yet to be reached.
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