Eveready-branded batteries will no longer be on the shelves from next month, its distributor said yesterday after it officially announced termination of supply contract with Egypt’s Energizer.
Eveready East Africa said it has faced persistent challenges in the supply chain after it started sourcing the batteries directly from Energizer Egypt from September 2014.
This followed the closure of its dry-cell factory in Nakuru due to an influx of “cheap and counterfeit” imports.
Managing director Jackson Mutua, however, said they have a separate agreement with Energizer which allows the company to retain its corporate name, Eveready. He said the company’s new range of batteries will largely be manufactured in China and marketed under the Turbo brand.
“The Turbo will also include portable flashlights, light bulbs and car batteries,” he said.
Mutua said the new brand is expected to support the company’s diversification agenda, adding that growth has nearly been stagnant over the past two years.
The supply contract, Mutua said, has been restrictive and they will instead introduce their own dry cell brand to be independent and have control of the supply chain.
“The stagnation was caused by those restrictions. However, we possess significant and specific comparative advantage that we will leverage on to grow our business,” he said at a media briefing in Nairobi.
“Our business was greatly limited under the previous arrangement with Energizer and its subsidiaries, and we could not therefore respond correctly to market changes by availing the kind of products that our consumers want, or adopt pricing and other strategies that are suitable for this market.”
