Uchumi Supermarket To Be Auctioned in Seven Days over Debt

Financial tribulations facing the ailing Uchumi Supermarket seem to be far from over with a possibility of several of its outlets as well as assets being auctioned in seven days over a 67-million shillings debt.

A supplier moved to court seeking permission to auction the retailer over the 67 million shillings worth of goods supplied but not paid for. Auctioneers have already obtained court orders and Uchumi management has been served with the same.

The court order was secured by Euromart which says it supplied a range of products to the retailer including fridges, trolley and shelves and that they have never been paid for the last five years.

Uchumi has up to seven days to pay the debt failure to which auctioneers will swing into action and sell off several of its properties.

In February this year, Uchumi plunged into more trouble when it released its 2017 financial year results that ran into losses. The loss after tax increased by 63.6 percent to 895 million shillings as compared to 2016.

The ailing retailer has released the results with poor bottom-line numbers after suspending the process in December 2017.

READ: More Tribulations For Uchumi As Loss After Tax Rises By 67.3%

Revenue fell by 71.5 percent on a year-to-year basis to 526.97 million shillings while the cost of sales reduced by 67.3 percent on a year-to-date basis to 380 million shillings.

Operating expenses declined 15.5 percent on the back of a reduced workforce due to the closure of some branches in East Africa.

The retailer sector in the country seems to be going through an economic turmoil with giants such as Nakumatta and Uchumi being on the receiving end.

Nakumatt Supermarket has already closed down almost 80 percent of its branches across the country and has been ejected in several stores over unpaid rent.