Nakumatt has suffered blow after blow with evictions from several high-end malls across the country including the Junction Mall (Nairobi), Hazina Trade Centre (Nairobi), Nyali Mall (Mombasa) and Nanyuki Mall (Laikipia) but the loss of the holding company’s outlet at the Mega Mall on Uhuru Highway in Nairobi hit them where it hurts.
The Nakumatt store in Mega Mall was among the first outlets that the owners of the chain store, the Atul Shah family, opened in Nairobi after leaving Nakuru where the retailer was started.
Nakumatt Mega was located in a strategic location just next to the Highway Mall and not far off from the Toyota and Nissan dealerships on Uhuru Highway as well as being a stone’s throw away from the Nyayo Sports Complex.
The expiry of Nakumatt’s lease for the store on September 30 was the end of the road for a store which recorded impressive sales through the 26 years it was stationed there.
During the store’s heydays, business was booming making it the most profitable of all Nakumatt outlets across the country.
Nakumatt Mega was set up shortly after the first one on Ukwala Road-behind the bus station picked up, but the former would become so successful that many people actually thought that it existed before the latter.
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Vacation Notice
The retailer’s administrator Peter Kahi had sent out a notice to all of Nakumatt’s tenants on September 17 asking them to vacate since the retailer no longer owned the building.
“Kindly vacate to avoid any inconveniences or forceful eviction from the landlord. We will do the needful in respect of the security deposit as applicable. Subsequently, kindly but urgently settle the huge outstanding rent and utility bills by September 30.” said Kahi.
The notice compounded the woes that the holdings company was already facing having been evicted from Thika Road Mall (TRM) on July 3, 2017, Junction Mall on October 1 2017, Nanyuki Mall on January 2, 2018 and the Nyali Mall on March 7, 2018.
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Nakumatt Ukay’s demolition on August 10 must also have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Shahs who were already smarting from the country-wide evictions.
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