Nakumatt Holdings Ltd., the biggest retail chain in East Africa by outlets, is seeking to raise as much as $50 million to open new stores over the next four years, Managing Director Atul Shah said.
Nakumatt, which has 40 outlets across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda covering a floor space of 1.5 million square feet, wants to open an additional five stores and expand into two new countries, Shah said in an interview last week in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. Nakumatt, based in Nairobi, sells a range of products from furniture to electronics.
“We are in the process of opening four additional stores in Uganda and one more in Kenya and intend to use part of the funds to enter new markets with immediate targets being South Sudan and Burundi,” Shah said.
The retail chain, founded by the Shah family in 1987, is looking to raise funds either from private equity companies or local and international financial institutions, Shah said. It may also enter into a partnership with other retail chains in exchange for a stake.
“We are evaluating the best financing model to adopt,” Shah said. He declined to identify the parties involved in discussions.
Nakumatt expects its sales for the 12 months through February 2013 to be higher than the $450 million it reported the previous year.
“The additional seven stores we opened last year and a 17 percent increase in sales over the festive period has boosted our turnover,” said Shah. Nakumatt opened its 40th branch in Thika Town, Kenya, in February.
Source :bloomberg.com
