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Carrefour takes over Sarit Centre space left vacant by Uchumi

By HILARY KIMUYU February 28th, 2018 2 min read

French retailer Carrefour hypermarket has taken up space vacated by the struggling Uchumi Supermarket at Sarit Centre Mall in Nairobi’s Westlands.

The new hypermarket will be located on the ground floor of one of Kenya’s most strategic malls and will bring to five the number of the retail chain’s branch network in the country.

This will be the third space Carrefour has taken from two of Kenya’s struggling retailers.

They have so far occupied two former Nakumatt stores which were located Thika Road Mall and The Junction in Nairobi. Its other branches are located at The Hub in Karen, Two Rivers Mall.

The Majid Al Futtaim, franchise holder of Carrefour said it will open its doors to customers in April 2018 and will initially operate using the partial selling area model, similar to what Carrefour has applied in its TRM and Junction stores.

FIRST CLIENTS

“We are elated to be making our entry into Westlands area, which we consider to be very strategic for our business. The Carrefour store at Sarit Centre gives us an opportunity to present our differentiated services to thousands of customers who visit this mall every day, due to its prime location,” said Franck Moreau, Country Manager, at Majid Al Futtaim – Retail Kenya.

The location of the store at the ground floor of the mall will, however, be temporary, as Carrefour has already signed up as one of the first clients at the new wing of the mall, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

When fully operational, the Carrefour store at the Sarit Centre will stock over 30,000 food and non-food items, and host specialist sections such as, fresh produce, groceries, a fresh bakery, and a butchery.

With the new store at Sarit Centre, the staff base for the retailer will go up to 1,400 within two years of operations in Kenya.

Majid Al Futtaim currently operates over 230 Carrefour stores across 15 markets and continues seeking opportunities to open stores in Kenya and the rest of the greater East African region.