Carrefour eyes prime Nakumatt Junction Mall space
Nakumatt Junction on Ngong Road in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- The owners of the Junction Mall last week closed an outlet belonging to Nakumatt Supermarkets which has been an anchor tenant, after the High Court set aside orders that allowed the troubled retailer to escape an initial eviction bid two weeks ago.
French retail giant Carrefour says it is gunning to take over space left by the troubled Nakumatt Holdings at the upmarket Junction Mall in Nairobi.
Carrefour, whose local franchise is held by Dubai-based conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim has three outlets in the country. It opened its maiden outlet at The Hub, a shopping mall located in Nairobi’s upmarket Karen suburb last year.
“As announced before, Carrefour is actively seeking opportunities to grow and expand its footprint in Kenya and the region. We will therefore consider taking up the anchor tenancy at The Junction,” Carrefour Kenya country manager, Franck Moreau, said in interview on Friday.
“We will notify you formally, should we take the space.”
The owners of the Junction Mall last week closed an outlet belonging to Nakumatt Supermarkets which has been an anchor tenant, after the High Court set aside orders that allowed the troubled retailer to escape an initial eviction bid two weeks ago.
The management of the shopping complex, which is majority-owned by the wealthy Ndegwa family, said Nakumatt’s agents and employees can now only access the premises to remove their “stock, items and property.”
Owners of the mall said Nakumatt owed it rent arrears of between Sh50 million and Sh75 million.
Carrefour said this month in November it will take over Nairobi’s Thika Road Mall space vacated by Nakumatt.
