Kenya is in the middle of an exciting economic development, with massive industry expansion taking place across sectors and a significant and all-important economic growth of the middle class. Considered to be the financial, communication and transportation hub of Eastern and Central Africa it benefits from a positive GDP growth supported by a high level of computer literacy, especially among the youth. In an environment that is not only rapidly developing but is considered to be highly investment friendly one company has watched their country grow around them and has supported it with their own immense development. Jack Slater spoke with Business Development Director of Nakumatt Holdings Ltd, Mr. Neel Shah.

BEDDING MASSIVE AFRICAN GROWTH

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

“Nakumatt opened

its fifth store

in 1996 and its

tenth by 2003,” Neel reveals,

“In 2008 the company ventured

outside Kenya into Rwanda

and by 2009 it had opened its

first branch in Uganda. In 2011,

we opened our first branch

in Tanzania. At our current

standing, the company has

approximately 1.5 million sq ft of

selling space across our region.”

A great deal of their success

is attributed to their standing

as a one-stop-shop, a location

where families can come for all of

the items they require for their

shopping. An ease of service,

the availability of goods and the

benefit of lower prices proves to

be a valuable asset for the local

home maker.

“You can get everything you

need from a Nakumatt store,”

Neel tells us. “Someone coming

to the country for the first time,

looking to set up home here can

get everything they need to do

so. While we don’t stock food or

produce for grocery shopping

we have moved the focus away

from that. We started out selling

mattresses and bedding and

have grown from there.”

Focusing on the household

goods, including electronics,

furniture, kitchen goods,

outdoor, leisure and lighting

has certain worked for them.

From humble beginnings they

now employ over five and half

thousand across their forty

stores.

The staffing is something of

particular interest to Neel.

“Many of the employees from

our original shop still work in the

company today,” he says proudly,

“And are now branch managers

and production managers.”

Internal promotion, backed

NAKUMATT

What started as a standalone Nairobi shop in 1987, has grown to become the largest supermarket chain in east Africa. Over the past two decades Nakumatt has ridden a high wave of growth and opened over 40 outlets across the east African region.

with systematic training at their in house training facilities, retraining

and evaluation has created a sense of loyalty for Nakumatt that has

added significantly to the culture of the company. Comprehensive

training is provided to each of the staff which is regularly and

studiously updated. A low turnover of staff is always impressive in any

retail environment.

“All of our employees at various branches are east African,” explains

Shah. “We firmly believe in empowerment of local communities and

people and as such employ locals.”

Importance of using local tradeSeeing the value in local trade, Nakumatt is dedicated to supporting

local trade. At the moment 50 percent of all Nakumatt’s products are

sourced locally and it’s looking to increase this percentage in the next

three years. Additionally, Nakumatt also utilises local distributors and

importers.

“The importance of making use of local companies to support

Nakumatt Holdings is that it spreads the strength of our product by

spreading the wealth across our suppliers as well as increasing the

relationship we share with them,” Neel explains, “Major companies

such as ourselves have a responsibility to support local service

providers.”

Customer loyalty should always be rewardedWhen Nakumatt re-activated its customer reward programme

in 2011, they received high promising feedback and it’s subscribed

Endeavour Magazine | 57

EAGM regional offices and showroom have now moved to their newly created state of art Corporate Centre at Tea House in Mombasa.Our new premises is conveniently located in Mombasa City Centre with easy accessibility, adequate private parking facilities and security.The Corporate Centre boasts a large modern showroom facility and will be the centre for EAGM Group’s regional presence.

info@eagm.com | www.eagm.comEveryday, a billion meals are enjoyed using our products

customer base jumped from 500,000 to 700,000 in under a year. Neel,

along with the other board directors, chose to push the campaign

even harder in 2012 with this has carried onwards into 2013 and it

now stands at over 900,000 subscribers.

“The customer reward programme contributes to approximately

75 percent of our total sales,” Neel says, “The loyalty is definitely there

and we are looking to pursue this in the future.”

Safe Investment And ExpansionAt the start of 2013 they launched their Private Label Programme

across 12 categories with highly positive results but the main focus is

on the expansion of the stores.

“Expansion is the plan and within 3 years we want to double our

footprint of established stores and double our turnover,” he predicts,

“We have already identified our locations and are looking to open ten

new stores per year.”

In such a thriving and fast growing economy the strategy is clearly

to get ahead on the competition from foreign countries and brands

that will soon be looking to cross borders. In establishing such a

presence not only in terms of square meters but also in the minds of

the Kenyan population and the vast number of their customers they

have safeguarded a hardened loyalty.

“Kenya is after all an exciting place to be,” Mr. Neel Shah concludes.

NAKUMATT

00254 20 359 9991

WWW.NAKUMATT.NET

www.littlegatepublishing.com