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Kampuni ya Massmart kutoka Afrika Kusini inayomiliki maduka ya Game imesema Desemba 25, 2022 ni mwisho wa maduka yake kutoa huduma Tanzania.
Massmart imefikia hatua hiyo ikiwa ni miezi 12 ya kujaribu kuuza maduka hayo nchini Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya na Uganda kwa wawekezaji wapya wa ndani bila mafanikio.
Kampuni hiyo inasema kwa sasa wako kwenye hatua za haraka kuanza uuzaji wa jumla wa bidhaa zilizopo katika maduka yote kwenye nchi husika.
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It is not the ideal Christmas gift that their customers and workers were hoping ,as South African retail giant Massmart, owners of Game Stores, has set December 25 as their last trading day in their outlets in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana after failing to find buyers.
In a notice that has widely circulated, the firm says that the first phase of consultations which was focused on the reasons for the proposed closure have now been completed and a decision has been reached to close the affected stores.
The firm says that immediate steps as part of the process is to initiate a stock clearance sale in all their stores in each of these countries. “We anticipate that the last trading day for our Game stores in each country will be on 25 December.”
The stores’ official shutdown, will mark the end of its seven-year struggle in the market and adding to a growing list of local and foreign retailers that have closed shop in recent years in East Africa including another South African retailer Shoprite.
The closure comes after a 12-month period during they tried without success, to sell the stores in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda to local investors. “We would like to thank our Game colleagues, customers and business partners for their loyal support during the years that we have operated in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda,” reads the notice.
Tanzania has become a tough market for retailers following the collapse of several supermarkets that set up shop in the country including Shoprite and Uchumi.
THE CITIZEN
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Septemba, 2022 GAME walitangaza kukosa wawekezaji
Kampuni ya biashara za maduka kutoka Afrika Kusini Massmart, ambayo inaendesha Maduka ya Game, inapanga kufunga maduka yake Afrika Mashariki, baada ya maduka makubwa pinzani kupuuza ofa, na kutoa mwelekeo mpya wa matatizo yanayokabili biashara ya maduka makubwa katika eneo hilo.
Kampuni imesema imeshindwa kupata wanunuzi wa ndani wa maduka yake 14 ya Game nchini Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana na Nigeria baada ya kuyaweka sokoni mwaka jana.
Kampuni hiyo imeanza mazungumzo na wafanyakazi wake kabla ya kufungwa rasmi kwa duka, kuashiria mwisho wa mapambano yake ya miaka saba kwenye soko na kuongeza kwenye orodha ya maduka yanayofunga biashara zake katika miaka ya hivi karibuni.
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The retailer said in March last year it would also explore the option of engaging potential buyers to improve the performance of some of its stores under the management of investors and entrepreneurs with a better understanding of local market conditions.
“Massmart initiated a process over a 12-month period to investigate... the opportunity to sell our East and West African stores to local investors. Unfortunately, this initiative did not deliver a meaningful outcome,” the company said.
Anton Wagenaar, a director at the South African retailer, said the decision to exit East Africa was made in March 2020 and the supermarket commenced negotiations with various landlords to surrender their leases ahead of time.
Game vice-president of merchandise Neville Hatfield said the review had sought to “investigate, as a preferred option, the opportunity to sell our store to local investors”, but the initiative had “unfortunately … not yielded meaningful results”.
“We have, therefore, initiated potential store closure consultations with our staff members in the potentially affected stores,” Mr Hatfield said. The planned exit of retailer Massmart will add to the growing list of firms from Southern Africa to close shop in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
It comes a few months after Shoprite, another Southern African retailer, closed shop. Shoprite cited underperformance of its supermarkets for the closure. The firm said the underperformance was worsened by impacts associated with Covid-19.
But fierce competition from cash-rich retailers such as Naivas, Quickmart and Carrefour in a sector, could also have contributed to the exit. Investment analyst George Bodo said most South African firms launch in the country without a proper understanding of the Kenya market demographics.
Mr Bodo said unlike South Africa, East Africa does not have a large thriving middle class.
“The retail penetration in Kenya does not seem to be growing,” he said, adding that the informal channels such as kiosks, open-air markets and local shops still rule. “They don’t seem to get it right because they come thinking that the retail penetration here is huge. The South African and Kenyan markets are very different,” he said.
Before that, the South African owners of Nairobi’s Fairview Hotel, Town Lodge and City Lodge Two Rivers also exited the Kenyan market over mounting debts. City Lodge revealed that it sold three hotels in Kenya and one in Tanzania to real estate investor Actis for a combined Sh1.0 billion.
The company indicated the East Africa units were loss-making to the tune of Sh2 billion as at the end of 2020.
Earlier in 2017, Tiger Brands, also of South Africa, left the Kenyan market after disposing of its 51 percent stake in the local unit, Haco Tiger Brands, to late billionaire businessman Chris Kirubi, who then held the remaining 49 percent share.
THE CITIZEN
