Uchumi spent Sh200m monthly to keep troubled subsidiaries in business

NAIROBI: Uchumi Supermarkets has been spending nearly Sh200 million every month to support the Uganda and Tanzania operations, the firm said Thursday, revealing for the first time the cost of retaining the two subsidiaries.

The revelation came only a day after the retailer announced a full exit from the two markets, which involved shutting down the branches and subsequent disposal of inventories. Managing Director Julius Kipng’etich said in a public notice that the Ugandan operation had been about four times as loss-making as the Tanzanian one, over the past two years. “Uchumi has been providing approximately Sh200 million every month to Uchumi Uganda and Uchumi Tanzania to enable the two entities meet the financial obligations. Unfortunately, efforts to turn these businesses around have proved futile and the board considers that it is no longer tenable to continue support,” the retailer said in a notice.