Majid Al Futtaim Expands in Africa With First Carrefour Store in Uganda

Uganda is Carrefour’s 16th market globally

Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall, communities, retail across the Middle East, Africa and Asia have unveiled its first store in Uganda, expanding its presence in the East African region.

The first Carrefour store, one of the largest supermarket chains around the world, in Oasis Mall, Kampala, with over 150 employees recruited.

The store covers over 2,800 square meters and was initially occupied by the now-dead Nakumatt Holdings.

Hani Weiss, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Retail, said: “We just opened our first  Carrefour Uganda store in Kampala. Great achievement by my  Majid Al Futtaim colleagues in Uganda. Looking forward to see for myself how they serve #GreatMoments to our customers with over 20,000 products sourced from 230 local suppliers!

In June, Weiss said their success in Kenya was what made them plan for the first-ever Carrefour stores in Uganda, ‘which will further cement our position as a leading customer-centric retailer’. This announcement brings us a step closer towards realizing our long-term expansion plan for East Africa,” he said.

Carrefour is expected to open the second store in the first half of 2020 at the refurbished Metroplex mall in Naalya and will be the anchor to that mall.

The store stocks up to 20,000 products, a mix of international and local brands, all certified by relevant government agencies, applying international hygiene standards in order to guarantee food safety to customers.

Majid Al Futtaim has recruited 130 Ugandan employees and has contracted 50 more from external local companies. The company has also engaged 260 local suppliers to stock the Carrefour store in Uganda. The company owns the franchise rights to operate the Carrefour brand in over 30 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Today it operates over 300 stores in 16 countries across that network.

Uganda is its 16th market. Carrefour started operations in East Africa with its entry into the Kenyan market in 2016 and operates seven stores.

Majid Al Futtaim pledges to phase out single-use plastic

Majid Al Futtaim has committed to phasing out the single use plastic from all its businesses across the world by 2025. The decision will affect 26 malls, 13 hotels, 46 VOX Cinemas and nearly 300 Carrefour stores.

This involves removal of freely distributed plastic grocery bags from all Carrefour stores in 17 markets by 2025, as well as other single-use plastic items from across the company’s business units, inclusive of straws, cutlery, containers and trays, said Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer at MAF– Retail.

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