Turkish international fashion chain LC Waikiki outlet at City Mall in Nyali, Mombasa. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NMG
Turkish clothing retailer LC Waikiki is set to open its fourth
store in Kenya at Thika Road Mall (TRM) as it moves to cash in on the
area’s middle-class shoppers.
The store will take up
space previously occupied by Deacons East Africa’s 4U2 outlet which was
closed as the Kenyan firm shifted focus to its profit-making brands.
The
international clothes chain set up its first store in Kenya at Two
Rivers Mall last year in February followed by a second one at Karen’s
The Hub.
LC Waikiki then opened a third store at
Mombasa’s City Mall in the affluent Nyali suburb in June this year.The
Turkish retail giant is on a rapid expansion binge that will include
opening more stores, such as the one at TRM, in Nairobi before the end
of the year.
The firm is one of the fastest-growing fashion retailers in Europe with a turnover of $3 billion (about Sh303 billion).
They
plan to set up three stores before the year ends signals more jobs for
locals, which the Turkish firm says currently stands at 150 Kenyans on
its payroll.
“Soon we are venturing into South
Africa...Kenya was our entrance to the sub- Saharan market. I can say
that one year later, we are not regretting since this is the best
business decision,” said country manager Kremena Pencheva in June during
the launch of the Mombasa branch.
“We
want to at least have employed 300 Kenyans by the end of the year after
we open the other three branches. We strive to sell high quality
Turkish clothing ranging from shoes, clothes for men, women and kids in
all our stores,” she said at the time.
The firm’s entry
into TRM comes almost a year after South African luxury fashion brand
Woolworths exited the mall, citing low sales, noting that the shopping
complex did not serve its target market.
LC Waikiki,
which currently operates over 850 stores in 38 countries, says it
settled on Kenya as its entry point to the region due to its stable
economy, low market saturation and a fast-growing retail-oriented middle
class.
The retail chain was established in France in
1985 before becoming a Turkish brand in 1997. On average, LC Waikiki has
managed to open 150 stores each year. During the unveiling of the
brand, LC Waikiki said it was targeting 1,500 stores in Africa by the
end of 2023.
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