The store has so far recruited just over 200 staff members at the Hub hypermarket and projects to employ over 500 by the end of 2016
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – French retail giant Carrefour has opened its first hypermarket in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa at The Hub Karen Mall.
The retail chain which is also the anchor tenant at the Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi’s Runda mall occupies over 60,000 square feet of retail space and is brim-filled with new and world class retail experiences.
Carrefour has a strong global presence across Asia, Europe, South America and slowly making its mark in Africa with hypermarkets in Egypt, Morocco and now Kenya.
Locally, Carrefour will be operated by Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Retail, the exclusive franchise holder.
“The Hub Karen Mall’s letting strategy is to encourage the placement and operation of new and exciting brands from around the world. New brands and concepts into East Africa will find a home here at The Hub and hence, Carrefour’s placement into this mall fits this strategy. We are thrilled with the opening of Carrefour here and wish them every success for the future,” said Jonathan Yach, Mall Manager of The Hub, Karen.
This brings the number of international and local brands and businesses to 57 stores that have set up shop at the Hub Karen Mall.
According to the Knight Frank’s “Shop Africa 2016” report, Nairobi is a hotspot of retail development in Sub-Saharan Africa with 470,000 square metres of development in the pipeline.
US Research firm Nielsen ranked Kenya Africa’s second biggest formalised retail economy after South Africa.
According to the research firm 30 per cent of Kenyans do their shopping in formal retail outlets compared to 60 per cent in South Africa.
The new hypermarket offers more than 30,000 items, including fresh produce and groceries, a fresh bakery, home appliances, electronics and general merchandise. The hypermarket sits on 5000 square metres of shopping space.
“At Carrefour, we are committed to offering the best price and best merchandise in a pleasant shopping environment because we are in the business of creating great moments for everyone everyday. We want to meet the needs of our customers who are in pursuit of a shopping experience that will leave them happy and coming back for more. We are also pleased to see the benefits of Carrefour’s presence in Kenya through job creation and support for local producers,” said Franck Moreau, Country Manager, at Majid Al Futtaim – Retail Kenya
Kenya is ranked ahead of Ghana which has only four per cent of its population shopping in formal retail shops, and both Cameroon and Nigeria, in which only two per cent of shoppers visit supermarkets.
The report from the firm says 41 per cent of Kenyan shoppers frequent formal retail outlets because of the wide range of products they offer, which they cannot find in the traditional outlets.
The report says the most prevalent traditional stores in the studied countries are convenience outlets—table tops, kiosks, market stalls.
