Supermarket chain Naivas will open two branches at Nairobi’s Greenspan Mall and Imara Shopping Mall in the next two weeks as it steps up its expansion in the country.
The establishment of the outlet at Greenspan Mall, which is owned by Nairobi Securities Exchange #ticker:NSE -listed property investor ILAM Fahari I-Reit #ticker:FAHR , had been delayed by a court case filed by former tenant Tuskys which is in financial distress.
The retailer is targeting thousands of shoppers around the region with a high population density.
“They will be situated at Greenspan Mall in Donholm and at Imara Shopping Mall in Embakasi ,” Naivas chief commercial officer Willy Kimani said an interview with Business Daily.
The two branches come as Naivas races to defend its market leadership against its closest rivals in the retail space that have also been expanding in the past few months.
The new stores are expected to raise the retailer’s branch network to 81. Naivas opened its 77th branch at Aga Khan Walk, Nairobi in the space vacated by troubled Uchumi Supermarkets last year.
QuickMart, which has 48 stores to date, plans to open a few more in the coming months.
Naivas’ expansion at Greenspan Mall faced hurdles last year after Tuskys failed to surrender the premises derailing it from taking up the premise, which it had planned to open in 2021.
The court however allowed the mall owners to sue Tuskys for the surrender of the lease and stopped the landlord from seeking the remainder of its rent arrears to allow an insolvency petition to proceed.
botieno@ke.nationmedia.com