In Africa, LC Waikiki has stores in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco with plans to open in Algeria/TIM OLOBULU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 15 – Turkish based global fashion retail company LC Waikiki has opened its first store in the newly opened Two Rivers Mall at a cost of Sh 155.2 million.
Located on the ground floor of the biggest mall in East Africa, the 2000 square meters store is expected to attract Kenya’s middle-class and the upper class.
Country Manager Kremena Pencheva says the company’s decision to launch the store in Kenya is based on Kenya’s stable economy, its position in the region and its growing middle class among others.
“Kenya is attractive because it is a gateway to East Africa and the wider Sub Saharan region. It Is also our preferred first stopover because it’s so retail oriented. We, therefore, hope to appeal to people with our wide product range that includes women’s, men’s, kids wear, maternity, baby wear and sportswear among others,” Pencheva said.
Apart from the Two Rivers store, Pencheva said plans are in the pipeline to open more stores in the country with a second store scheduled to open at The Hub, Karen.
Through these stores, LC Waikiki is targeting to sell to about 140 million people spread across the East African region.
“Apart from the Kenyan branches, we do not have immediate plans of spreading in the Sub-Saharan region as our immediate focus is the North African region.”
In Africa, LC Waikiki has stores in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco with plans to open in Algeria.
The Two Rivers store has directly created jobs for 30 Kenyans. Additionally, the store is also planning to create opportunities for Kenyan suppliers.
LC Waikiki has 750 stores worldwide with locations in now 36 countries, which include Albania, Belarus, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and China among others.
The Fortune 500 company’s revenues topped Sh310 billion in 2015.
Going forward, the company aims to have 1,500 stores opened around the world by 2023.
“We are also aiming to be one of the top three fashion retail brands in Europe by 2023,” the company’s Operations Director Ilker Hacioglu said.
