Nakumatt opens first former Shoprite store in Tanzania

…sets stage to open two more in coming days

Regional retailer, Nakumatt Holdings, has officially opened the first of its three new branches in Tanzania, formerly owned by Shoprite, the South African retailer.

As part of a phased out opening plan, Nakumatt Holdings, has now opened what will be its flagship store in Tanzania at Mlimani City Mall, to be known as Nakumatt Mlimani. The 48thNakumatt store has been outfitted to the signature Nakumatt corporate colours and layout.

Alongside Nakumatt Mlimani, the retailer is also burning the midnight oil to ensure the opening of Nakumatt Pungu Road; in Dar-es Salaam, which will also house its Tanzania Headquarters and Nakumatt Arusha in coming days.

By opening the three key branches in succession, Nakumatt will have effectively boosted its branch network to 50, a milestone that was part of its Nakumatt 2.0 corporate development strategy earlier announced way back in 2011.

Speaking at the opening of the first Nakumatt store in Dar-es Salaam, at a function officiated by Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing Hon. Janet Mbene; Nakumatt Holdings Managing Director, Atul Shah, said the opening of the three new stores upgraded at a cost of more than US$ 3million, is part of the retailer’s regional expansion plans.

With the opening of Nakumatt Mlimani, Shah, pointed it out that Nakumatt now has two running stores in Tanzania. Nakumatt Mlimani joins the existing Nakumatt Moshi which opened its doors in 2011 in the bustling town at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro.

“The opening of Nakumatt Mlimani is a long held dream comes true as we have been considering various avenues to establish our presence in Dar-es Salaam and other parts of Tanzania since 2010,” Shah confirmed. “This opening also sets the stage for our 50thbranch opening by mid-August which will be a key milestone as we’ll have achieved our Nakumatt 2.0 Strategy goal a clear six months ahead of the February 2015 target,” He added.

The three former Shoprite stores were closed last month to facilitate major upgrade works consistent with Nakumatt in store and customer experience standards. Alongside the opening of the three Tanzania stores, Nakumatt is also gearing up for the opening of three new stores in Kenya by the end of the year.

Nakumatt, will also be taking up space as the anchor tenant at the upcoming Ksh500Million Green Square Mall, in Kericho town. Nakumatt’s, corporate growth strategy, which is based on a leasing model, Shah recently said, is heavily reliant on the availability of suitable property developments to house its supermarkets or hypermarkets.

And added: “We currently, have running operations in 12 Counties and we are engaging with a number of property developers across the country to guarantee a steady supply of suitable malls in Machakos, Nyeri, Kajiado, Garissa, Embu, Naivasha, Narok Busia and Homabay.” To meet Nakumatt requirements, Shah, further encouraged Property Developers and Project Managers, to consult the retailer for advice on the ideal Architectural layouts and related amenities.