Nakumatt Supermarket: This is our story

QUESTION: Nakumatt is entering a market where its closest competitor in Kenya and Uganda – Uchumi – has already established itself. What tactics will Nakumatt employ to be ahead of the competition?

ANSWER: Our secret to success will be our corporate commitment and mission to provide a differentiated retail experience for our customers. This we shall do by providing an all under one roof retail solution for the widest possible selection of products and services.

As is now our corporate signature, we shall also be presenting a world class ambience which provides our shoppers with a pleasant shopping experience.

At the same time, we are also considering opening a 24 hour store complemented by the stocking of our private brands which include Nakumatt Blue Label and Nakumatt Select range of products.

Our commitment to differentiated customer service will also be delivered through the resolute commitment to deliver five star services as enshrined in our brand promise. Our brand promise commits us to provide Quality, Value, Service, Variety and Lifestyle. Indeed, if; you need it, we’ve got it!

Are you threatened in any way by the existence of Uchumi in Tanzania? What are Nakumatt’s strengths?

Not all. Nakumatt Holdings, is today the leading premier retailer in East Africa. We operate nearly 50 branches across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda and we remain confident of our capacity to further deepen our presence within the region and beyond. At all times, we strive to hold all our competitors with the respect they deserve.

For more than two decades now, we have shaped and built our business on our founding principle of providing a variety of affordable, quality brands as well as excellent and superior service to our customers.

Our store formats include convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets. On a daily basis, we serve well over 200,000 customers and offer a range of over 100,000 products making us the biggest retail service provider in East Africa.

Among other unique positioning statements, at Nakumatt, we passionately believe in active social engagement with our customers and environment and have ensured this principles constitute a core part of our business.

In addition, we continue to spearhead various community development project in health, entrepreneurship, sport, culture, environment, education and urban restoration. We have worked hard to build solid relationships with customer, employees, suppliers, corporate partners and with the East Africa community at large.

What should Tanzanians expect from Nakumatt?

Tanzanians should expect a retail revolution from Nakumatt. We are embarking on a process to revitalize the retail experience in Tanzania. As mentioned above, we shall be maintaining an all under one roof proposition which means our customers will never need to visit multiple stores for their retail needs. We shall strive to cater for all our customers by providing the widest variety of retail products possible.

In addition, Nakumatt is committed to playing a key role in the promotion of formal retail development in Tanzania. The penetration of formal retail is still low across Sub-Sahara Africa and averages 14 per cent, yet it has an addressable potential of up to 90 per cent.

The transition rate from informal to formal is also regrettably too low at an average rate of less than 10 per cent. This means that a vast majority of informal traders are not growing to their full potential as entrepreneurs.

Within the wider marketing mix, this can be attributed to wide range of issues including the constant lack of government policy on retail trade development in many countries. During the recent opening of Nakumatt Mlimani, the Deputy minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing Hon. Janet Mbene assured us that the government of Tanzania through her ministry will soon formulate a suitable Retail Development Policy to guide developments in this sector. This is welcome sweet music to our ears as our dream is to play a part in transforming and mentoring a roadside hawker to a kiosk owner and ultimately to a supermarket operator!

One of the reasons why Shoprite decided to leave was that the South African firm found it hard to source a larger chunk of its products locally. What is Nakumatta’s take on this?

We are fully aligned to supporting local suppliers. Indeed, one of our key business strategies is to concentrate on our core business which is providing a conducive market for retail products. This simply means that we hardly import any product placed on our shelves in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania or Rwanda.

We prefer to leave the role and business of importing or sourcing supplies to local and international entrepreneurs.

During the opening, I was categorical that the success of that particular branch and indeed all other Nakumatt branches in Arusha and Moshi will remain heavily reliant on Tanzanians as Nakumatt hardly manufactures, packs or imports any commodity.

The supply role will remain an opportunity for Tanzanian businessmen. We also hope to see local manufacturers growing to be our Nakumatt Blue Label partners. With Nakumatt Blue Label, private brand, we are deliberately providing a platform for local retail products.

Already, we have a wide range of products sourced from Tanzania among many other parts of the world. Tanzanian products such as those of the Azam range are by all means world-class products and we shall in the spirit of globalizing retail trade; be stocking Azam products in our Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda stores.

There’s a lot of cross border opportunities that local suppliers will now need to catch sight of beyond the local market. We shall also provide the much needed business mentorship support to ensure that Tanzanian manufacturers and suppliers progressively meet the required packaging and quality standards.

How many branches does Nakumatt plan to open in the next five years? Where?

Our five year plan will revolve on growing Nakumatt to a truly Sub- Saharan retail player. Tanzania will always hold a special place in our hearts as it’s the favoured country to host our 50th branch (Nakumatt Arusha) in coming days.

That said, we plan to double our branch footprints up to 100 stores in the next five years with operations across East Africa and beyond.

How many jobs will Nakumatt create for Tanzanians?

In the next two years and given our growth trajectory, we have a clear opportunity to employ more than 1,000 Tanzanians in our branch network.

 By all means we shall remain an equal opportunity employer and Tanzanians employed at our Dar es Salaam, Moshi, or Arusha branches will also be considered for promotions and related work placements in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.