Tuskys sees room to triple its Kenya store footprint
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| Tuskys CEO Dan Githua. PHOTO| Nairobi Stocks Review |
Tuskys wants to aggressively expand its supermarket network. Tuskys CEO Dan Githua has said the company plans to open lots of stores across East Africa both directly and through franchise arrangements. In franchise arrangements, Tuskys will allow third-parties to set up supermarkets under its brand. It will then receive payments for brand license. Tuskys CEO Githua sees a huge market for supermarkets in Kenya, saying there is room for Tuskys to triple its store footprint in Kenya.
To accelerate its store network expansion, Tuskys struck a deal with Vivo Energy that allows it to open quick service shopping outlets at Shell petrol stations. Vivo Energy is the company that distributes and markets Shell brand products in Africa. Therefore, the partnership with Vivo accords Tuskys an opportunity to rapidly expand its footprint across East Africa by planting stores at Shell stations. In addition to Kenya, Tuskys has operations in Uganda as well where it runs seven outlets.
Tuskys eyeing 20% of revenue from ecommerce
As Tuskys expands its physical store network, the retailer is also building out its online presence. The retailer early this month revamped its online shopping platform with the launch of a marketplace for third-party sellers.
Tuskys aims to generate 20% of its revenues from online sales by around 2022. Adoption of online shopping is on the rise in Kenya and a growing number of retailers have entered the ecommerce field. Safaricom (SCOM), Kenya’s top mobile operator, is one of the ecommerce providers in the country. Safaricom runs its ecommerce business under the Masoko brand.
The other ecommerce players include Naivas, Jumia and Kilimall. Tuskys has four million customers. Kenya is home to about 50 million consumers, meaning Tuskys has a long growth runway ahead.
These expansion plans by Tuskys comes as the supermarkets operator prepares for IPO as early as September next year.