Nakumatt Supermarket has closed its Junction branch in Nairobi, even as the retailer banks on cash injection from a new strategic investor to address its frequent stock outs at its outlets, reports the Daily Nation.
In a public notice released Sunday, the cash-strapped retailer said it had relinquished its rights over the premises pursuant to a surrender dated September 15, 2017.
“The premises will be closed to the public from October 1, 2017 and no trading will be permitted at the premises,” read the notice.
However, Nakumatt directors, authorised agents and employees will be permitted access to the premises for the purpose of removing the tenant’s stock, items and property.
The family-owned business is fighting to cut back on massive debts owed to suppliers estimated at Sh15 billion as at February 2015, a situation that has been pilling pressure on its operations.
Last month, the retailer shut down its Thika Road Mall (TRM) branch, barely a month after closing its outlet at the NextGen Mall on Mombasa Road after just nine months of operations.
In May, Nakumatt publicly announced plans to close its poorly performing branches in Kenya and Uganda as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at saving the retailer Sh1.5 billion annually.
The announcement saw the Haile Selassie branch located at the Kenyatta University Plaza closed down.
In February, the retailer shut its Ronald Ngala branch, citing low sales, and earlier in the year it closed a branch in Uganda that had accumulated rent arrears estimated at about Sh8.5 million.
It also shut down one of its two warehouses – where it stored imported goods as well as furniture and electronics on Mombasa Road.
Nakumatt and Tuskys recently announced that confidential merger talks were ongoing, but a formal agreement was yet to be reached.
