Game over as SA retail chain exits local market
By Jacktone Lawi, October 6, 2022
South African retailer Massmart which operates the Game Stores, has begun talks with staff on the planned closure of its three branches in Kenya after efforts to sell the business failed.
The firm has in the last year revealed plans to sell its stores in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, marking the latest of a string of retreats from East Africa by a southern African firm.
However, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed retail giant said on Wednesday that it did not find domestic buyers for its 14 Game stores in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria after putting them up in the market last year. The move marks a six-year stint for the retailer in Kenya and further extends the poor run by the South African retailer chain.
“The performance and the complexity in running those businesses is something that frankly we needed to address. We’ve commenced a formal sales process, and we’re currently in discussions with potential purchasers to take on those stores,” Massmart CEO Mitch Slape said last year.
Massmart, majority-owned by American super chain Walmart, made its debut in Kenya with Game Stores in 2015 with its first store at the Garden City Mall, to cash in on the growing demand for retail outlets in the country. –Jacktone Lawi