Naivas Supermarket plans to open four more stores in the next four weeks as it expands and competes for market share growth with its closest competitors in the country.
On October 31, the first store will be launched at Greenwood City Mall in Meru, which was built in part with funding from private equity firm Fusion Capital.
The second store will open a week after October 31 in Kahawa Sukari, Kiambu County, just opposite Engen Petrol Station, while the third will open at the same time in Ruai.
The fourth store, which is scheduled to open in mid-November, will be located on Ojijo Road in Nairobi’s Parklands.
The new stores will bring the retailer’s nationwide branch network to 90 as it fights to maintain its market leadership against an aggressive QuickMart, which has opened 10 branches in the last 10 months.
“We are excited about the new developments coming up, especially our grand entry into Meru town, the first Naivas in the upper Mt Kenya region,” said Naivas chief commercial officer Willy Kimani in an interview with Business Daily.
“What we’re saying is that we’ll keep filling the gaps as the holiday season approaches.”
He stated that the four locations will sell packaged foods, fresh vegetables, and fast-moving consumer goods like beverages.
In recent months, the retailer has been on an aggressive expansion drive, taking up prime space vacated by competitors as well as new strategic locations.
Aside from the four new stores set to open in the coming weeks, Naivas also opened two new stores in Kayole and Naivasha along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in June.
In the fiscal year ended June 2021, Naivas reported sales of Sh65.1 billion and a net profit of Sh2 billion, representing a net margin of 3.18 percent.
This was an improvement over the previous year, when it earned Sh1 billion on Sh54 billion in sales, for a net margin of Sh1.9 percent.
