Sameer Africa Goes Back To Making Tyers To Ride On High Demand

“The Boards’ decision to return to the tyre business reverses the earlier communicated decision made on 20th April 2020, to exit from the tyre business,” Sameer Africa said in a cautionary statement on the business strategy as the week kicked off.

The statement now signifies Sameer Africa’s plans to reinvest in the tyre business renouncing its earlier decision to shut the business. The company is targeting to capitalize on the increased demand for tyres in Kenya to make a comeback.

In its four years strategic plan (FY 2021-2024), the tyre maker says it will run the business under the Yana brand anchored on ‘both the company’s real estate portfolio and its extensive tyre industry experience’.

“This change has been justified by the sustained demand for the ‘Yana’ brand and the success of the Company’s turnaround efforts in 2020,” the company added in the statement.

Sameer Africa was first incorporated in Kenya in 1969 as Firestone East Africa Limited. The company’s principal business is the importation and sale of tyres and allied products and the letting of investment property.

They operate primarily in Kenya, with tyre operations in Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi. Sameer Africa PLC is 72.15 percent owned by Sameer Investments Limited, a leading economic force in East Africa with over thirty years’ experience in Kenya’s industrial and economic development.

The company also confirmed the appointment of Peter Gitonga as the Managing Director with effect from January 1. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Strategic Management.

He has previously served in various capacities at the senior management level and as a director of the company.
The company will have to deal with cheap imported tyres from China and India which have heavily eaten into its Yana brand market.

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