French retailer Carrefour will open its sixth store at Galleria Shopping Mall in July taking up space previously occupied by struggling retailer Nakumatt. Carrefour, which entered the Kenyan market in 2016, has five stores to date, located at The Hub in Karen, Two Rivers Mall, Thika Road Mall, The Junction and Sarit Centre. Majid Al Futtaim, the local franchise holder, currently has 230 Carrefour stores across 15 markets under his belt.

It is set to open another store at the Village Market in December. The Carrefour market at the Village Market will focus on food items, a model that deviates from its normal branches where the retailer stocks all types of goods including electronics in volumes

“We will open the new store at Galleria at the end of next month, using a partial selling model of 1,000 square meters,” said Franck Moreau, Country Manager of Carrefour Kenya at Majid Al Futtaim Retail. “This is similar to what we have successfully implemented at our Thika Road Mall and Junction Mall stores and allows us to cater to some of the most immediate shopping needs of customers who live and work near Galleria,” he said.

Franck Moreau, Country Manager, at Majid Al Futtaim – Retail Kenya said, “We are elated to be making our entry into Langata road area, which we consider to be very strategic for our business. This store gives us an opportunity to present our differentiated services to thousands of customers who visit this mall every day, due to its prime location.”

Last year, the chain announced a record Sh8.2 billion in sales from its local business riding on accelerated expansion of the supermarket chain. Majid Al Futtaim’s sales in Kenya are a pointer to a highly profitable Carrefour business which, with ongoing expansion drive, could see the supermarket chain morph into a multi-billion shilling operation.

The Sh8.2 billion recorded from its first four branches has been in line with Carrefour’s earlier disclosure that its maiden outlet at The Hub Karen made Sh1.54 billion in revenues in the first seven months of operation (May to December 2016).