Carrefour brings the footfalls back to Oasis Mall

March 11, 2020 in Business, Companies, Trade & Industry by Editor

Oasis Mall is rapidly bouncing back as a major shopping centre in Kampala thanks to a rebound in traffic driven by French retailer Carrefour.

Carrefour debuted in Uganda last December when it became the anchor tenant at the mall, taking up the space vacated by fallen Kenyan retailer Nakumatt. Through aggressive pricing of everyday consumables such as milk and huge discounts on a variety of other Ugandan and East Africa manufactured goods, the retailer has attracted shopper’s way past the festive season.

The retailer is offering incredible prices on fresh milk with premium brands like Jesa selling at UGX 2300 while other such as Mega are down to UGX2200 a litre. Even Milkman, which has been pursuing a strategy of maintaining a uniform price throughout the year has been driven down to UGX 2400 a litre. The promotional price for Lato powdered milk has further come down from the initial UGX 13,200 for a 0.4kg tin, to UGX 10,500.

With arguably the best bakery in town, the store has also become a favorite for the expat community who have finally found a source for European grade breads and pastries.

The positive impact of the anchor tenant is already visible in the parking lot where shoppers struggle to find slots and improving occupancy. Save for the top level which is yet to get tenants, the first two levels of the store are at least 70 percent subscribed.

Carrefour’s stretched out discount period is having a knock-on effect on major retailers in town such as Shoprite, Quality and Master, who have been forced to match Carrefour’s discounts on popular cereals brands such as Kellogs and Weetabix.

Oasis Mall had fallen into rapid decline following the collapse of regional retailer Nakumatt, who was pursuing a hypermarket model in 2016. A small trickle of traffic was sustained by outlets of American fast food chain KFC and Uganda diner Café’ Javas.