Uchumi
| Public company | |
| Traded as | KN: |
| Industry | Retail trade |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Nairobi, Kenya |
|
Key people
|
Catherine Ngahu Chairperson Julius Kipng’etich Chief Executive Officer |
| Products | Supermarkets |
| Revenue | Net Sales:US$165.4 million (KES:14.458 billion) (2014) |
 Aftertax: US$4.398+ million (KES:384 million) (2014) |
|
| Total assets | US$78.8 million (KES:6.885 billion) (2014) |
|
Number of employees
|
4,500+ (2015) |
| Website | uchumicorporate |
Uchumi Supermarkets, often referred to simply as Uchumi, is a Kenyan supermarket chain. The word uchumi means "economy" in Swahili.
Uchumi is headquartered in Kenya. As of September 2014[update], Uchumi was one of a number of Kenyan supermarket chains that serve the region, including market-leader Nakumatt, Tuskys, Ukwala, and Naivas. In June 2014, the company's assets were about US$78.8 million (KES:6.885 billion), with shareholder equity of approximately US$38.4 million (KES:3.357 billion).
The company was founded in 1975, as a public limited liability company, by three Kenyan parastatal companies: Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation, Kenya Wine Agencies Limited (KWAL), and Kenya National Trading Corporation. The main objective at the time was to create outlets for the equitable distribution of commodities and to create retail outlets for Kenyan manufactures. In 1976, Uchumi's shareholders signed a management contract with Standa SPA, an Italian supermarket chain, to train Kenyans to run the new enterprise. The shares of the company were listed on the (NSE) in 1992.
Uchumi closed down, albeit temporarily, and was placed in receivership during June 2006 after 30 years of business. It was simultaneously de-listed from the NSE. At the time, its closure was described as "one of the greatest corporate disasters in independent Kenya history". A government-led rescue plan, however, was initiated and consequently five Uchumi outlets, all in Nairobi, were reopened on 15 July 2006 under interim management and a caretaker administrator.
By January 2011, the retail chain had returned to profitability and applied to the Kenya Capital Markets Authority to re-list its shares on the NSE. Approval to re-list on the NSE was granted in May 2011 and trading in the shares of Uchumi resumed on 31 May 2011.
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