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Nakumatt set to sell 25% stake to foreigners
Nakumatt Oasis Mall in Kampala. The retail chain seeks for cash to support its expansion plan in East Africa. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa.
What you need to know:
Nakumatt is set to open four new outlets in Kampala, bringing its stores in Uganda to eight.
Nairobi - Supermarket chain Nakumatt Holdings has started talks expected to lead to the sale of nearly a quarter of its shares to foreign equity investors.
Nakumatt regional director for strategy and operations Thiagararajan Ramamurthy said on Wednesday that the retail chain seeks cash to support its expansion in East Africa.
“There are quite a few global players very keen to partner with us and we are still at initial stages of discussions,” Mr Ramamurthy told the Business Daily on Wednesday.
“Mr Atul Shah (Nakumatt’s managing director) will share when something crystalizes and is ready.”
The chain, which targets middle and upper income customers, has 40 branches in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and hopes to open outlets in Djibouti, South Sudan and Burundi.
It is embarking on $14 million (about Shs36 billion) expansion drive that will see the chain open eight new shops between October and February, as it eyes a 15.3 per cent growth in revenue.
Nakumatt is set to open four new outlets in Kampala, bringing its stores in Uganda to eight and an equal number in Kenya — pushing its outlets to 37.
“As a group we have hit gross revenue of over $650 million (Shs1.7 trillion) in the year to February and we project about $750 million (Shs1.9 trillion) for the 2013-2014 year,” said Mr Ramamurthy.
The sales rank it the largest retailer followed by Tuskys and Uchumi, which reported revenues of Sh25.2 billion and Sh15 billion respectively last year.
Nakumatt, which was launched in 1965 but has been owned by Mr Shah’s family since 1978, has over the past decade been courted by South African retailers who were keen to reduce their reliance on the southern Africa market.
