Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim is expanding its footprint across Kenya and is now present at 12 locations in Nairobi.
The retailer is now the new anchor tenant at the Southfield Mall in Embakasi, formerly occupied by Choppies. Southfield Mall becomes the 12th Carrefour store in Nairobi and the 16th countrywide.
It projects that by the end of the year, it will be occupying a total space of 3,000 square meters on two floors – a full hypermarket model.
“In our efforts to provide our customers with unbeatable prices and value, our latest expansion will provide even greater convenience to the communities that live in proximity,” said Franck Moreau, Country Manager of Carrefour Kenya at Majid Al Futtaim Retail.
The store will have a grocery range and a complete fresh food assortment, including butchery, bakery and fruits and vegetables, as well as cheeses and ready-to-eat items.
This new location will allow customers to enjoy an e-commerce delivery service, and a promotional area to display the best offers.
“Similar to 2020, grocery retailing remained one of the most active segments in the retail sector. Leading local and international supermarket operators continued to battle for market share dominance, through expansion and capitalising on the void left by struggling retailers,” commentary from Knight Frank Kenya.
Kenya’s retail sector has been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic according to Knight Frank Kenya, a real estate consultancy firm, Kenya Market Update H1’2021 report.
For instance, the average prime retail rents registered a 4.8 per cent decline from Kshs 457.4 per SQFT recorded in FY ‘2020 to Kshs 435.6 per SQFT in H1’ 2021.
This was attributed to landlords cutting down on rental prices as concession measures to retain existing tenants as well as attract new ones amidst the tough economic environment.
Average occupancy rates for retail spaces ranged between 70.0 per cent and 80.0 per cent, similar to last year, with more established malls such as Capital Centre registering up to 90.0 per cent occupancies.
“The second half of 2021 projects a positive outlook for this sector mainly due to the economic recovery, roll out of vaccinations, reopening of the economy and the easing of containment measures.”
