Not so basic after all: New, creative entrant wins yet another property award

By Evans Ongwae

The Basic Land strip mall concept, a new retail phenomenon in the country, has won yet another award!

During the seventh Africa Property Investment Awards in 2023, Basic Land Kileleshwa Mall reached the finals in the ‘Best Retail Development Award’ because of its architectural beauty.

And this year, on November 21, Basic Malls emerged among the Top Property Awards 2025 winners.

Mr Duncan Kinuthia, the man behind this concept, says retail is evolving, and his stripped-down mall is a response to customer demands.

According to him, gone are the days when it was fashionable to establish huge retail spaces of up to 30,000 square feet, comprising several floors.

Basic Malls have only two floors, because shoppers don’t want to go higher than that.

Retail space

Mr Kinuthia says 20,000 or 25,000 sq ft is now the norm.

“Basic Land remodelled the retail space, based on research into consumer behaviour,” he explains.

The Basic developments represent a notable shift in the convenience retail shopping landscape, redefining the way people approach their retail experiences.

Initially, in developing Basic malls, Mr Kinuthia sought to address the needs of Quickmart, a retail chain he founded almost 20 years ago.

He would find an ideal location to set up Quickmart as the anchor tenant.

However, he later realised that the other tenants wanted to move to the new Basic mall locations, too.

And so, he moves with them. “I have been moving with my tenants wherever I open a Basic mall,” he says.

As the founder and chief executive of Quickmart, Mr Kinuthia had little time to start real estate ventures.

When in 2019 he sold part of his shares to a strategic investor and left management in the hands of other professionals, he had the time to conceive and build Basic Land.

Basic has several mall projects spread across the country. 

Mr Kinuthia started with one mall in Thome (Kiambu County) followed by Nyali (Mombasa), Kileleshwa (Nairobi), Narok Moran (Narok), State House Nakuru, and Banana Road (Kiambu). 

More Basic malls, he says, are in the pipeline. They include Likoni (Mombasa) Elgon View Eldoret (Uasin Gishu), 58 Nakuru and Kenyatta Avenue (Nakuru). State House Nakuru and Elgon View are due for completion in December 2025.

Ultimately, Mr Kinuthia plans to have Basic malls in all counties.

Basic has supported tenants who represent banks, pharmacies, fashion and apparel, furniture and beddings, restaurants and offices.

That is in addition to Quickmart, the anchor tenant in all the Basic malls.

Convenient shopping

The malls are more than a shopping convenience. As attested to by the two awards won so far, they are an architectural marvel with their simple, spacious and airy design, bringing to fore the expertise and environmental considerations in their design and structure.

Beyond the architecture, the Basic Malls’ appeal lies in the location, convenient shopping and free parking. 

Mr Kinuthia explains that at Basic malls, shoppers enjoy the open-market feel while benefiting from the organised, mall structure.

To inject sustainability, the Basic malls are going solar. Nyali is the first one to install solar, with the rest expected to follow suit.