British High Commission’s, Head of UK Trade and Investment-(UKTI) Greg Gibson and Irfan Porbanderwalla, the Clarks Footwear Africa and Middle East President, Shah disclosed that the retailer will be investing more than Sh300million to boost its lifestyle footwear retail capacity/FILE
The opening of the new store which is also the 75th Clarks store in the Middle East and Africa follows last year’s opening of two operational stores at Thika Road Mall, Junction Mall and Prestige Mall alongside the currently inactive store at the Westgate Mall.
To meet growing consumer demand, Nakumatt will also be opening the doors to its fifth Clarks store at the Village Market shopping mall before the end of the month.
Speaking during the launch of the new Clarks Galleria concept store, Nakumatt Holdings Managing Director Atul Shah disclosed that the retailer has lined up similar store openings in Nairobi and Mombasa before the end of the year.
At the launch function graced by the British High Commission’s, Head of UK Trade and Investment-(UKTI) Greg Gibson and Irfan Porbanderwalla, the Clarks Footwear Africa and Middle East President, Shah disclosed that the retailer will be investing more than Sh300million to boost its lifestyle footwear retail capacity.
All the new stores, will host all of Clarks beautifully versatile and perfectly crafted footwear with effortless British style signature brands including women’s, men’s and kid’s shoes.
“One year since we opened the first Clarks Footwear concept store at the Thika Road Mall, we have registered tremendous growth at all the existing locations and have now sold more than 18,900 pairs of Clarks shoes,” Shah confirmed. “With such growth, we have strategically decided to make further investments geared at facilitating the expansion of our lifestyle footwear franchise stores in Nairobi and Mombasa,” Shah added.
At the current pace of growth, Nakumatt plans to open similar fully fledged stores and smaller Shop in Shop outlets at its existing and proposed locations in Mombasa, Nairobi, Eldoret, Nakuru and Kisumu, next year.
On his part, Gibson disclosed that bilateral trade between Kenya and Britain had grown by 13pc last year to hit the Sh190 billion mark. With the growing footprint expansion for British heritage firms such as Clarks in Kenya, Gibson noted that the two countries continue to enjoy an equal trade balance and pledged further mutual support.
During the occasion, Porbanderwalla, the Clarks Footwear Africa and Middle East President said; “We are excited at the opening of this new Clarks store which reflects the growing demand for quality footwear products in this market.”
Enjoying a more than 180 year heritage, every Clarks shoe is made the proper way, blending traditional craft with cutting edge innovation and technology. The international design team, based in the UK, takes inspiration from the unique Clarks brand archive and the rich melting pot that is British culture.
C&J Clark Limited, owners of the Clarks brand, the privately held footwear business, was founded in Street, Somerset in the UK by the Clark family in 1825. Still based in Street, the Clarks Group designs, develops and sells a wide range of footwear and accessories for men, women and children. The Clarks brand is renowned worldwide for quality and style with comfort.
The Clarks Group has built on its success as the leading shoe company in the UK to become a £1.5 billion global business operating retail, wholesale, franchise and online channels in over 100 markets worldwide.
