Naivas has opened a branch in Malindi, bringing a sense of excitement to the resort town known for its serene beaches.
Last week Thursday, in Malindi the retail store company opened its doors to the public in the wake of the festive season.
hundreds of customers both locals and foreigners jammed the supermarket to buy items they wanted as the resort town had no such large retail shop after two previous outlets failed.
Naivas is located in the same building where Nakumatt and Tuskys operated from and closed.
The Naivas Supermarket Commercial manager Willy Kimani Commercial who presided over the official opening ceremony said that was their 78th outlet to be opened in the country and eighth in the Coast region.
“This is a very important region for us when we were opening our store in Kilifi we actually promised to be coming to Malindi we did not expect to become that soon but we are happy we are in a place where two other malls were here and failed,” he said.
Kimani said he appreciate that on daily basis customers had been calling and supporting them making it possible to open.
In the expansion plan, he said they are opening another store in Embakasi and before the end of the year they will be opening another one.
The Commercial manager said the response in Malindi was awesome as many people came in large numbers even before opening and immediately after the doors have opened the mall was filled with customers.
“The shop is completely full, they are here for the offers it clearly shows there was a lack of this facility,” he said.
Kimani said Covid 19 was challenging and showed there is a need to plan well to be able to survive in business.
he said they are the only company that paid bonuses to their workers and ensure they were paid in time.
“It’s been erratic this is the first time we are seeing children in December still in school and consumption has been heavier, rains are late and things are tough,” he said.
Kimani called on the government to come up with incentives to address the issue of inflation as prices of certain goods like meat, wheat among others are going up and consumers are really getting it tough.
Locals interviewed said they were happy that Naivas had opened a store in Malindi as they will be able to get goods that could not be found in the existing store.
Nassor Mohamed Omar a bodaboda operator said they will also be able to do business carrying passengers to and from the supermarket.
he called on the Naivas Administration to open another store in Lamu county so that people can also benefit from their services.
Omar said such a store will offer employment opportunities and boost the economy of Malindi which has suffered for a long time due to the pandemic
Ali Salim Suleiman alias AlZein said they are happy because Malindi had very small supermarkets which sometimes lacked the goods people wanted.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
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