During the week, Chicken Cottage, a UK fast-food chain announced a partnership deal with Express Kitchen, a subsidiary of AAH Limited to open 50 outlets at Hass Petroleum’s service stations in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda this year.
The first outlet is scheduled to be opened in Nairobi in April 2022. The partnership with Chicken Cottage follows a similar deal announced in November 2021 by Hass with US pizza chain Papa John’s.
AAH Limited is the majority shareholder of Hass Petroleum Group which operates 150 petrol stations in ten African countries.
Chicken Cottage which runs 75 restaurants across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, will compete locally with fast-food chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) which has 22 outlets.
The entry of the fast-food retail chain into the Kenyan market is supported by;
i) the brand’s need to increase its geographical footprint,
ii) the strategic market approach by Hass to attract customers who fuel for Chicken Cottage which will boost their revenues,
iii) the vibrant youthful population in the country who are expected to form a large part of the firm targeted clientele particularly through e-commerce, and,
iv) Nairobi’s rise as a hub for international corporations supported by the developing infrastructure.
The Kenyan retail sector performance is expected to be supported by the opening of new franchises such as Chicken Cottage and the rise of e-commerce through online payments and deliveries complementing sales in physical outlets.