South African Retailer Foschini To Take Over Kenya With 3 More Outlets After Openng Sterns

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Kenya is definitely a fashionable city, shopping malls everywhere with various brands, however the work of the designers and even styles symbolized by their very popular fashion tribes are still yet to make an impact in the everyday clothes being sold at their stores and malls.

However, before the country can make this change, South Africa’s Foschini is set to open three more chain stores in the East African country.

 

Businessdailyafrica.com recently reported ‘South Africa’s clothing retailer Foschini Group has set its eyes on opening of three more outlets after marking its entry into the country with a branch at Nairobi’s Junction Mall.

Foschini Group, which has 22 different retail brands under its label, has opened Sterns — a contemporary and classic Jewellery shop that targets individuals in the lower-middle, middle and upper income class — at the Junction Mall.

The firm plans to open three additional stores — Foschini women’s wear shop, Markham targeting men and a second Sterns store — at the Village Market before the end of the year, with further plans to open 10 more next year.

“Sterns store is our first entry into Kenya and the East African market. We’re bringing something fresh into a market that has for a long time been dominated by closed family businesses. We aim to cater to individuals in all categories,” said the Foschini Group Kenya area manager Isabelle Achila in an interview.

The Fix and Exact fashion lines, Totalsports and Sportscene sports and street wear brands, AmericanSwiss — a jewellery line and @Home, a homeware and interior décor store, are other retail brands the group is looking to introduce in Kenya. Foschini’s entry is expected to create more than 100 jobs for locals.

“We believe that Kenya is a strong emerging market with opportunities for growth. Our mission it to be the biggest retailer in Africa and we plan to introduce other brands that are doing well outside South Africa,” said Ms Achila.

The group’s debut in the local market was scheduled to happen in 2015 but the delay in completion of the Two Rivers Mall where Foschini Group has booked 10 stores and the construction of the Village Market extension saw them push back entry dates. The firm had also embarked on an expansion drive in West Africa delaying its entry into the Kenyan market.

South African fashion brands such as Foschini and others also face severe competition back in their country SA with foreign and Western retailers that have expanded into South Africa. A reach for other African countries is a good source to help the national retailers establish competition with their competitors.

Read more about Foschini’s expansion into kenye here

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