Uchumi Supermarket: This is our story

QUESTION: Nakumatt, your major competitor in the region is in Dar es Salaam. Are you threatened by the coming of the retail chain? What tactics will you employ to be ahead of the competition?

ANSWER: First, Uchumi defines competition in a very different way from how the market translates presence of multiple players in a market.

At Uchumi there is a tagline that is both a policy & philosophy and is – we run after customers not after competition, this means that every team member at Uchumi wakes up each & every morning thinking about customers and how to deliver promises and meet expectations.

A good example is, Uchumi Makumbusho bus stand & Uchumi Shekilango open 24hrs while quality centre & Tabata Segerea remain open till midnight on weekends and holidays. That in itself sets up service delivery round the clock and our focus is set on how to ensure the high demand of Uchumi products and services are met. We simply focus on customers.

What are your strengths?

Rather than call them strengths, I would say this is what Uchumi is. We are the home of value – which means a customer’s overall best experience of a retail chain of supermarket. In detail, when a customer shops at Uchumi, they get more than the actual value of shopping done – the first one being quality customer service, an assurance of quality of product purchased, at the best possible market price in an environment that makes shopping an experience.

An example is, Uchumi shoppers enjoy security of possessions while shopping, it is always amazing when shoppers write to us explaining how they lost wallets & hand bags at Uchumi and are called by the shop managers to come collect them while finding everything intact. This is an absolute example of “value”….

What should Tanzanians expect from Nakumatt?

Here I can’t hide the excitement of rather explaining what every Uchumi customer should expect, this is very important to us – Uchumi customers should expect quality customer service in all our retail shops.

Talking about quality customer service, service that is evolving in improvements, from innovation to creation of more value to customers. A good example is the 24hr shopping experience that Uchumi shoppers can now access services anytime they want.

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 creating a chance for Nakumatt to occupy the space. What is Uchumi’s take on this?

Each business works around business module, Uchumi sources 100 per cent of its products from Tanzania, that is for both locally manufactured goods and imports.

Uchumi does not possess an import licence or make contacts oversees, whether in East African countries or elsewhere. Uchumi’s flagship business module is easily summarised in 3 E’s; that is; Empowering Entrepreneurs in East Africa.

The sole reason why Uchumi was established was to promote local enterprises. The promotion of local enterprises in the areas where Uchumi operates is the sole purpose of Uchumi. Uchumi does not think of how much business it does but rather how much business it creates. It’s the creation of business that matters to Uchumi rather than the making of business. A good example, Uchumi focus is not on how much its sells are but rather about how much is paid to entrepreneurs who are the suppliers and service providers from different fields.

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

The opening of Uchumi branches in guided by the framework of MOU provided by our developers such as the National Social Security Fund of Tanzania and National Housing Corporation who both are progressive landlords of Uchumi.

Under the said framework, Uchumi plans to average the number of stores to 15 in the next five years (God willing). The stores are earmarked for Arusha, Moshi, Morogoro, Mbeya, Mwanza, Musoma, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Mtwara.

Again, as mentioned previously, the opening of Uchumi branches speaks best to the objectives surrounding the creation of business for entrepreneurs in the said regions. An example is, Uchumi is now purchasing farm fresh produce such as fruits from Morogoro for distribution to its Dar es Salaam branches therefore empowering farmers from Morogoro who may have found it difficult to access markets in Dar es Salaam.

Every Uchumi branch in a region is treated like a hub of business where an opportunity of what is best produced in a certain location is purchased en masse for circulation to other parts of the country therefore encouraging trade across various parts of the country.

How many jobs will Uchumi create for Tanzanians?

Uchumi currently employs over 250 citizens in Tanzania and targets to increase the number to 2,000 in the next five years.

Uchumi staff are part of the entrepreneurs shared earlier on, focus is not to employ and pay salaries at the end of the month, Uchumi encourages cross-border exchange programmes offering exposure to Tanzania team members to learn more about retail in Uganda and Kenya, not because Uganda and Kenya are anyway better but to encourage and expose the entrepreneurs about the other side of business and sure enough, each staff at Uchumi having completed a year of retail training is sure enough a better entrepreneur.

What are the main problems faced by Uchumi in Tanzania?

I would call them challenges as opposed to problems and the main one is access to funding by small and medium sized entrepreneurs who form the back bone of Uchumi’s supply chain.

A small farmer who is expected to supply Uchumi with 500 trays of eggs each week may tell the story better. Lack of access to funding, support training and guidance pose a big threat to Uchumi.

 If a farmer does not supply Uchumi, it means empty shelves, empty shelves make unhappy customers.

Going by Uchumi key policy of local sourcing of products, the focus remains that of working round with our distributors, suppliers and farmers to find a way out but it has never been easy.