Carrefour Kenya has taken up the space vacated by Shoprite at Westgate Mall in Nairobi last year as it seeks to strengthen its hold as a top retailer in the country.
The supermarket chain started operations at the facility situated on Mwanzi Road in Westlands yesterday, stepping up competition for customers with retailers such as Naivas that has a presence in the area.
Franck Moreau, country manager of Carrefour Kenya at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, on Tuesday said the new store is targeting residents of Westlands, Parklands and the larger Thigiri area that are currently underserved by the retailer.
“The new store we are opening today is situated at Wastage Mall in Westlands. It is situated at a space that was vacated by Shoprite last year,” he said.
The new outlet, coming barely a week after the retailer took up the space Nakumatt Holdings vacated at Centrepoint Mall in Diani will become its 12th branch in the country.
The store that occupies 1,500 square metres will provide employment to about 200 workers in Nairobi.
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 environment 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.