The new Chief Executive Officer of the troubled retail supermarket Uchumi, Julius Kipng'etich has unveiled a new strategic plan that would see a few of their branches relocated.
Kipng'etich announced that loss making branches in Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nakuru would be moved to strategic locations, this is in a bid to ensure that the business would stabilize in a 100 days.
In Uchumi's new profit making plan, Kipng'etich has also worked towards strengthening their relationship with their suppliers, he has stated that so far Sh500 Million has been paid to suppliers out of the Sh1 Billion that was owed.The newly appointed CEO outlined that this move would help cement their relationship with both local and regional suppliers.
The retail chain supermarket has in the past had difficulties with their service providers due to lack of payment that led to empty shelves and low supplies.
With the new management, a partnership with Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) that was suspended four months ago has been renewed, this according to Kipng'etich is aimed at enabling shoppers to settle their power bills and shop in the same location.
As he stipulated the new plans for the supermarket, Kipng'etich said that Kenyans would soon refer to Uchumi as the 'King Of Fresh'.
Uchumi recruited audit firm KPMG to conduct a forensic investigation to look into irregularities by the past management which an earlier audit firm failed to capture in its audit reports.
Their newly recruited finance director Sam Oduor had stated prior to the unveiled strategic plan, that Uchumi might have 'to shrink to grow'. Results of the forensic survey by KPMG have however not been released.
