Leading supermarket chain Naivas has opened its 100th branch and targets two additional units by the end of the year as it seeks to grow its market share.
The 100th branch on King’ara Road in Lavington, Nairobi will be followed by two more, one on Mwanzi Road in the capital city while the 102nd unit will be in Kakamega town.
Naivas is cementing its position as the leading local supermarket chain amid growing pressure from Quickmart and the French-owned Carrefour.
The three alongside other small retailers are seeking to take control of the vast market that was left following the deaths of Tuskys, Nakumatt and Uchumi.
“Our expansion is not limited to Nairobi alone. We are going to open two new branches by the end of this year, one will be in Kakamega and the other along Mwanzi Road here in Nairobi,” Naivas told the Business Daily on Thursday.
The new store has seen Naivas pull further from Quickmart and Carrefour with the two keen to cut its dominance. Quickmart has 59 stores, making it the second biggest retailer in Kenya, while Carrefour, which entered the country seven years ago, has 20 outlets.
Like its rivals, Naivas is aggressively growing its footprint in the capital city and strategic areas that include major highways as the race for the Kenyan market hots up.
The three are racing to tap into the market that was left by the collapse of Tuskys, Nakumatt and Uchumi supermarkets mainly due to large debt and mismanagement.
New entrants like Massmart and Shoprite of South Africa folded their Kenyan operations after failing to gain traction in the competitive formal retail market.
Another local retailer which was family-owned, Mulleys Supermarket also went under last year.
In June this year, the family of the retailer’s founder, the late Peter Mukuha Kago sold an extra 11 percent of the company for an estimated $41.7 million (Sh5.8 billion) in a deal that saw foreign investors take controlling ownership.
The deal cut the family’s stake in Naivas to 49 percent from 60 percent, making them minority shareholders.
