Panda Mart Enters Kenya’s Retail Market With A $7 Million Investment

South African Retailer, Panda Mart, has opened its first retail store in Kenya, with an investment amount worth $ 7 million (Sh1.14 billion). Precisely, Panda Mart has taken up 8,956 SQM worth of space at Nairobi’s Garden City Mall, consequently joining Carrefour Supermarket as the mall’s two main anchor tenants. Notably, this brings the mall’s overall occupancy rate to 92%, having taken up space previously occupied by South Africa’s Shoprite and Game Stores Supermarkets.

Garden City is a two-floor affluent mall owned by Actis and is located along Thika Superhighway. Its construction commenced in 2011 and officially opened in 2015 with a gross leasable area of 33,500 M2. As such, Panda Mart has occupied 28% of Garden City’s leasable area.

Garden City Mall, Nairobi

As East Africa’s business hub, Panda Mart also disclosed plans to open four more branches in the country, and further expand its footprint in Africa where it currently has 12 branches. The expected outlets in Kenya will be opened within six months, and located in Karen (Nairobi County), Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret counties. Interestingly, these are also Kenya’s key retail hubs, with Nairobi topping the list as highlighted in Estate Intel’s 2023 Retail Evolution article. 

Source: Estate Intel

Panda Mart’s entry comes at a time when various international retailers including Game Stores, Choppies, and Shoprite have ceased operations in the country. This is underpinned by financial constraints and stiff market competition from local retailers such as Naivas and QuickMart, among others. As such, Panda Mart has entered the market as a wholesale trader of household goods such as furniture, electronics, and cosmetics, away from the popular and fast-moving consumer goods by supermarkets. Interestingly, this is now becoming a trend, with China Square having opened two similar outlets last year at Unicity Mall in Ruiru, and the Waterfront Mall in Karen. We expect this trend to continue shaping Kenya’s retail sector while bridging the vacancy gaps ailing various Kenyan malls.

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