A customer shops at a supermarket in Nairobi. PHOTO | Salaton njau | NMG
Summary
- Quick Mart Supermarkets will open a new store in Waithaka (on Kikuyu Road) on Thursday and another along the Eastern Bypass opposite Kamakis next week.
- These two new stores will grow the upcoming retailer’s total outlets to eight, adding to the two in Nakuru, and one each in Kahawa Sukari, Ruaka, Ruai and another at Thindigua on Kiambu Road.
Family-owned Quick Mart Supermarkets is set to open two new
outlets in Nairobi over the next week, bucking the trend in the retail
sector that is currently showing signs of financial strain.
The
supermarket chain, which was started in Nakuru in 2006, will open a new
store in Waithaka (on Kikuyu Road) on Thursday and another along the
Eastern Bypass opposite Kamakis next week.
These two
new stores will grow the upcoming retailer’s total outlets to eight,
adding to the two in Nakuru, and one each in Kahawa Sukari, Ruaka, Ruai
and another at Thindigua on Kiambu Road.
“Waithaka is a
growing area benefiting highly from its proximity to both Nairobi and
Kikuyu town,” said Betty Wamaitha, Quick Mart head of marketing. “It is a
densely populated area with the store’s footprint extending to
Satellite, Kawangware, Dagoretti and up to Kikuyu town.
Quick Mart was started in Nakuru by the late John Kinuthia, a businessman from the town, who died last year.
The
supermarket chain, which is now being run by his family under the
guidance of his son Duncan Kinuthia as its managing director, opened its
first Nairobi branch in 2010 in Ruai.
Quick
Mart’s expansion in Nairobi is a positive development in a sector that
has in recent months been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Nakumatt
Supermarkets is fighting court bid by its creditors to liquidate the
business even as landlords continue evicting the business due to rent
arrears.
The retailer has closed several poorly performing branches as part of cost-cutting measures.
Uchumi
is similarly in a tight spot and is banking on the entry of an investor and government funding to keep afloat.
Tuskys,
which is seeking to merge with troubled Nakumatt, has also closed a few
branches due to rent rows with the landlords and poor performance.
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