Kenya Insights

Tag: Nakumatt

  • Auctioneers find no buyer for ex-Nakumatt CEO’s home

    Auctioneers find no buyer for ex-Nakumatt CEO’s home

    Auctioneers have failed to find a suitable buyer for the home repossessed from former chief executive officer of Nakumatt Supermarket, Atul Shah over a Sh2 billion debt owed to Kenya Commercial Bank Group.

    The high-end home located in Nairobi’s Lavington was put up for sale in July, nearly three months after the High Court threw out a petition that sought to overturn the forced sale by the lender to recover their money. The auctioneers attributed the failure to general slowdown of economy in real estate.

    Mr. Atul offered his Lavington home – a four-bedroom villa with a domestic servant quarters and a semi-permanent generator room as security in  2011 to account for Sh25 million in the multibillion-shilling loans the fallen retailer acquired from KCB.

    The property known as LR No. 5/134 (IR No. 49802) but commonly identified as House number 3 is located at Elite Gardens Estate in Muthangari while it’s title is held on a leasehold interest for a term of 45 years with effect from September 1, 1989.

    Phillips International Auctioneers demanded a refundable fee of Sh1 million from interested parties to obtain a bidding number and catalogue before the auction date. The auctioneers also demanded buyers to deposit 25% of the asking price by bankers’ cheque by the close of business of the auction date.

    “The balance will thereafter be payable within 90 days to the charges, failure to which auction deposit will be forfeit,” auctioneers said.

    The mega regional retailer which grew from a small mattress shop was at its peak in 2014, Nakumatt when it was valued at a whooping Ksh. 35B and had announced plans of cross listing in all regional stock markets in a plan that was set to materialize in 3-4 years.

    But in 2017 just before celebrating its 3oth anniversary, the retailer began shutting down branches across the country orchestrating its slow and unceremonious fall from regional glory to January 7, 2020 when it was liquidated.

     

  • UHURUNOMICS: Bankrupt Nakumatt Shuts Down Kisumu’s Mega City Branch

    UHURUNOMICS: Bankrupt Nakumatt Shuts Down Kisumu’s Mega City Branch

    Former East Africa leading retail shop Nakumatt has closed down one of its only remaining 6 stores. The Mega City Branch in Kisumu was yesterday closed indefinitely and employees who had no prior information about the closure were slapped with the devastating news via a notice had been displayed on the doors.

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    The closure of Mega City now leaves the once-giant retailer with only five branches in the country.

    According to the furious 37 employees who were rendered jobless with immediate effect, the retailer had not paid their three months salary arrears.

    Angered former employees said that the management of the. Mega City Branch had earlier this year alleged that Sketchers shoes worth Sh900,000 mysteriously disappeared, a move that saw their salary slashed in half as a way to compensate for the loss.

    “There is no single day the store has been broken into, so the news of our salary being cut was absurd,” said a visibly angry employee Julius Ochuka.

    Angry Ochuka cussed that they had sacrificed themselves to survive on the peanut payments they were given with hopes that they would be paid in full this month.

    This is the razor blade a huge number of Kenyans were bluffed to support carelessly without a second thought of how deep it was going to cut the already bankrupt and debt-ridden economy.

     

  • Choppies Stores Are Shutting Down Across The Country

    Choppies Stores Are Shutting Down Across The Country

    Choppies supermarket has shut down its Kiambu town branch just days after the retailer closed the Bungoma outlet.

    The Botswana owned retail stores were closed owing to stock shortage and debts.

    The Kiambu Mall developer in 2017 picked Choppies as the anchor tenant dropping also collapsing former market giants Nakumatt Supermarkets.

    The developer said that was arrived at due to financial difficulties around Nakumatt, a similar fate now suffered by the Botswana retail chain.

    Early last year audit reports after closure of debtridden Uchumi and Nakumatt revealed massive revenue losses adjudicating to infighting at the management level, as it is with Choppies Management in Botswana.

    The retail’s other outlets across the country are also dangling with empty shelves.

    Kisumu, Nanyuki, Embakasi and Mombasa road branches are at the edge of closure.

    Chopies has six, all struggling, branches in Kisumu city and eight others spread across Nakuru, Kisii and Kericho.

    “Choppies workers have not been paid in full to date. They have also failed to pay suppliers for a while now and this explains the closure of some branches and empty shelves on others. The supermarket is now dealing with similar issues faced by Nakumatt and Uchumi,” said Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers (KUCFAW) Secretary General, Bonface Kavuva.

    Choppies are barely 4 years old, they ventured into the country by taking over Ukwala Supermarkets in 2016.

    Choppies troubles blew up in 2018 when Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) and Johannesburg Stock Exchange halted the trading of its shares over the retail’s failure to release financial results for the year ended 30 June 2018.

    The retailer has since been facing innumerable challenges with the latest being the suspension of its CEO Ramachandran Ottapathu.

    Earlier in March, the board announced that the company would embark on legal and forensic investigations and would follow its recommendations which saw Ramachandran fired in May.

    Choppies operations are currently in seven African countries.

    The retailers stores operating in the new markets are down to 212 from 260.