Naivas supermarket opens its doors for an express store in Uthiru, Nairobi. This becomes 91 store across the country. The leading retailer has been on an expansion spree since it sold its stake to investors. In December 2022 alone, the retailer opened three stores. These are Ojijo Road in Parklands, one in Nairobi West, and an express store in Uthiru. Festival activities are many December which makes consumers buy a lot. Goods consumption during this season is high. This could be the reason why the retailer is doing these rapid store openings during the month.
As the market becomes competitive, Naivas fights for its share through rapid expansion. It targets low to high markets through food market concept. Coupled with promotions that are offered weekly and monthly they have won good share in the market. Closely following in the fight for the market is Quickmart, Carrefour, Food plus Chandarana, Magunas, and Cleanshelf among other supermarkets.
It seems the retailer learned lessons from the weaknesses of collapsed giants like Tuskys, Nakumatt, and Uchumi to strengthen its management. Supermarkets in Kenya have not had a good history in the past decade. Uchumi was the first to take off from the market when it collapsed in 2015. Later, Nakumatt and Tuskys closed doors. South African Choppies and Shoprite exited the Kenyan market after failing to trade competitively.
Recently Naivas sold its stake to a Mauritius-based investor, IBL amounting to forty percent. Investor used an investment named Mambo retail that saw Mukuha’s family drop in shares of the business to 60 percent. This was after Amerthis Limited sold its stake to IBL and successfully exited the investment in the business.
Naivas has been improving in its performance, especially after Amethis bought its shares in 2018. According to reports, it made a profit of sh. billion in the year ending June 2021. This was an improvement from the previous year when they made Sh.1 billion.
IBL has a long-term strategic focus on East Africa’s market. After staking in Naivas, it has done some other investment transactions in different sectors. Although they have not disclosed the companies, reliable sources indicate they are in for a deal with pharmaceuticals and solar companies. This affirms their determination for the market that has been lacking funding in many projects with brilliant ideas.
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