In the Desire of Conquering East African
Supermarket Business: What Went Wrong
in Nakumatt Supermarket
Felix Adamu Nandonde1
Abstract
By October 2017, the East African Community’s (EAC) largest retailer was declared bankrupt. All stores within and outside Kenya, namely Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania were closed. Many suppliers in EAC took the retail company to court after having suffered huge losses. Some few suppliers looted the stores with the aim of compensating themselves for the incurred losses. Simply put, Nakumatt’s reputation was in the mire and the company headed for a total collapse. Everyone in the region was asking himself/herself, what might have gone wrong to Nakumatt supermarket. In general, the current case is a lesson that sheds light on the rise and collapse of one of the largest household names of retail stores in EAC.
