Uchumi’s restocking plan kicked off in low gear yesterday with key supplies still missing on the shelves.A spot check by the Star at some Uchumi stores yesterday showed few food items such as milk, meat, vegetables and fruits were the only new supplies.
The retailer had hoped to start receiving fresh stock after it reached a new supply deal with suppliers on Friday.
However , by 10am, no supplier had made any deliveries to any of the outlets, according to sources at the retailer’s headquarters in Nairobi.
Chief executive Julius Kipng’etich said the shelves are still empty because supply processes have to be sorted out gradually.
“Supplying is a process. We sent out the orders over the weekend and we expect the goods to start trickling in for the next two weeks,” he told the Star.
The Friday deal was negotiated by Uchumi management, Association of Kenya Suppliers and Trade Principal secretary Chris Kiptoo.
Suppliers agreed to the deal after they were promised to get payments for goods within 30 days of delivery.
The parties also agreed to open an escrow account where all proceeds from sales, beginning yesterday, will be banked to clear outstanding debts.
An escrow account is a temporary pass -through account held by a third party during the process of a transaction between two parties.
Uchumi also outlined a debt settlement plan through which it targets to clear supplier debt by August.
“If they all come back, we expect by end of June sales will have grown to Sh300 million,” said Kipng’etich.
