Top Ten Supermarkets in Kenya: Who Shaped in and Who is Out?

The retail sector in Kenya had for a long time been dominated and controlled by two supermarkets, Nakumatt and Tuskys.

This is no longer the case since the entry of a number of other smaller supermarket chains that have ended up overtaking the retail space due to a number of different factors.

Early this year, Cytonn Investments in one of its reports disclosed that the retail sector was expected to record increased activity in 2018 as seen through retail chains unveiling expansion plans.

The report further noted that the industry would continue to register expansion of stores and entrance of foreign outlets, and that can be seen from the fact that a number of new stores keep popping up as time goes by.

Supermarkets in Kenya have been are distributed in different towns and cities across the Country. Some of them in Shopping Malls and others at strategic places within residential areas.

Nakumatt supermarket held the top position until when it started facing challenges that led to the closure of almost all of its branches. It had taken over as the anchor tenant in most of the biggest malls across the country, but that is no longer the case.

After the decline of Nakumatt, French retailer Carrefour became the undisputed king of high-end retailers with locations at Junction Mall, The Hub in Karen, Sarit Centre in Westlands and Two Rivers.

Naivas and Tuskys supermarkets have also not been left behind as they have taken advantage of Nakumatta’s exit and they have gone about scooping up the locations including Nakumatt Moi Avenue and others in Kisumu, Kisii, and Eldoret.

Naivas Supermarket, is currently the retailer in Kenya, is expected to open a new 24 house retail store in Naivasha, the west of Nairobi, with the move following the opening of another shop in the capital Nairobi late 2017.

Naivas supermarket has grown to become the best local supermarket taking over from Uchumi and Nakumatt.

Retailers such as Naivas and Ukwala, now Choppies, tend to target low-income earners and use this core attribute to attract customers whereas supermarkets such as Cleanshelf and Tumaini often operate in small-sized shopfronts but strategically located for convenience have grown in number.

Carrefour, on the other hand, which has its main supermarkets located at Two Rivers Mall and Thika Road Mall targets the high-end class of people. This can be seen from the fact that it has taken over as the anchor tenant at some of the biggest malls.

The Game store is one of the international brands which have set camp in Kenya. One of their stores is located at Garden City Mall along Thika Superhighway.

If you are looking for groceries and healthy foods, Foodplus Chandarana and Cleanshelf Supermarket are the best.

Here is a list of the top ten Supermarkets in Kenya currently. The list is based on the number of active customers, Value for money and availability of goods.

• Naivas Supermarket
• Tuskys Supermarket.
• Choppies (formally Ukwala)
• Eastmatt Supermarket
• Quickmatt Supermarket
• The Game Store
• Carrefour Hypermarket
• Tumaini Supermarket
• Foodplus Chandarana
• Cleanshelf Supermarket