The business that runs Game shops, Massmart, has announced plans to shut down its Kenyan locations on or before December 25.
After failing to sell the company, the retail outlet made the decision to close its three outlets in Kenya.
Other significant South African retailers have had difficulty entering the East African market, which has caused them to leave markets in nations like Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The three storeys of the South African mega-retailer Massmart in Kenya will be shut down by December of this year.
After unsuccessful attempts to sell the company, Massmart, which owns and runs Game shops, opted to proceed with store closures.
BusinessDaily reports that the retail behemoth, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, claimed that despite placing its 14 Game stores in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria up for sale last year, it was unable to find local purchasers for them.
“Massmart initiated a process over a 12-month period to investigate… the opportunity to sell our East and West African stores to local investors. Unfortunately, this initiative did not deliver a meaningful outcome,” the company said.
Before December, Massmart will terminate hundreds of employees.
After failing to sell the company, Massmart started talking with employees about the upcoming closure of its three stores in Kenya at the beginning of this month.
In compliance with section 40 of the Employment Act, the retail company Massmart has already given all of its colleagues and employees a one-month notice of redundancy.
The Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers has also been informed by Massmart of the planned layoffs, and the lobby has been invited to discuss terminal benefits and potential mitigation strategies with the retailer. Hundreds more Kenyans would lose their jobs as a result of the closure, particularly at a time when the unemployment rate is at an all-time high.
Builder’s Warehouse in South Africa and Massbuild in Kenya are both owned by Massmart, which declared last year that it will not be selling its building supply outlets in East Africa.
Massive brands like Shoprite, Nu Metro, and Nando’s have left the market throughout the years as a result of the company’s and other significant South African businesses’ struggles to penetrate the East African market.
