Shoppers at a Carrefour branch in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG French retailer Carrefour has opened a new store in Nairobi’s Nextgen Mall at a space that was vacated by Souk Bazar supermarket last November.
Carrefour, whose local franchise is held by Dubai-based conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim, started operations at the property on Mombasa Road Monday, stepping up competition for retailers such as Naivas that also operate along the same region.
The new store by the retailer that has been on an aggressive expansion plan in Kenya will be its ninth outlet in Nairobi and tenth countrywide.
“It’s finally here! The new Carrefour is now open at the Nextgen Mall. Bring your friends and family for the same quality products and unbeatable prices,” said the retailer on its social media page yesterday.
The new store occupies 1,800 square feet and comes barely a month after the retailer opened its first branch outside Nairobi at City Mall in Nyali.
The branch is also coming up at a time its close rivals such as Shoprite plans to exit the Kenyan market, citing poor business that led to the loss of more than Sh3 billion last year.
Choppies Supermarket —which has its roots in Botswana — has already exited the Kenyan market. The retailer had been struggling to grow market share in an increasingly competitive retail market characterised by the merger of some of its rivals like Quick Mart and Tumaini.
Apart from City Mall branch in Nyali, Carrefour has taken up spaces previously occupied by struggling local retailers Uchumi, Shoprite and Nakumatt at prime spots including Village Market, Sarit Centre, Junction, Galleria and Thika Road Mall.
The retailer last June took up space at Mega on Uhuru Highway in Nairobi. The space was previously occupied by Nakumatt.
Carrefour and Naivas are now the leading supermarket operators after Nakumatt and Tusksys’ operations collapsed from their debt-fuelled expansion strategy.
