Three former Shoprite stores were closed last month for renovations and upgrades by regional retailer, Nakumatt Holdings, who is expanding its operations into Tanzania and has now officially opened the first of its three new branches in Dar es Salaam at Mlimani City Mall, which will be known as Nakumatt Mlimani.
According to Atul Shah, Managing Director of Nakumatt Holdings, the upgrading of the three new stores cost more than USD 3 million and represents a large step in the retailer’s regional expansion plans.
“The opening of Nakumatt Mlimani is a long held dream come true as we have been considering various avenues to establish our presence in Dar es Salaam and other parts of Tanzania since 2010,” Shah stated at the opening of Nakumatt Mlimani, “This opening, also sets the stage for our 50th branch opening by mid-August which will be a key milestone as we’ll have achieved our Nakumatt 2.0 Strategy goal a clear six months ahead of the February 2015 target.”
Alongside Nakumatt Mlimani, the regional retail chain also already operates Nakumatt Moshi, which opened 2011 near the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and has plans to open its Tanzania headquarters in Nakumatt Pungu Road in Dar es Salaam as well as Nakumatt Arusha soon.
In addition to the opening of its new branches in Tanzania, the retail chain is also actively preparing to open three new stores in Kenya by the end of the year.
Nakumatt currently boasts 40 branches across East Africa with 1.5 million sq. ft of selling space and a turnover of over USD 450 million.
