Local top tier supermarket chains face test of radically changing market

Uchumi, once the largest supermarket chain in Kenya, has had to close down several branches to stay afloat [File, Standard]

Kenya’s top tier supermarkets are caught between a rock and a hard place. Small retailers have replaced them on the residential space and deep-pocketed foreign chains are leading the assault for the premium upmarket.

Researcher Isaac Kariuki, in a 2011 study on the challenges and survival strategies of supermarkets in Nairobi, observed that Kenya’s top tier supermarkets were significantly stratified.