Two top officials leave troubled Tuskys in weeks – Business Daily
Tuskys Wareng Supermarket in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on September 10, 2020. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NMG
Two top officials have left Tuskys Supermarket in the last few weeks, underlining the challenges in reviving the troubled retailer that was once Kenya’s largest chain.
The first one to leave the retailer was chairman Bernard Kahianyu, who left the position last month after his term came to an end.
“I left Tuskys as the chairman last month. I’m an old man and the job is very demanding. I can’t cope because I’m 77 years old as we speak,” Mr Kahianyu said on Thursday.
“The job needs a young person with the energy to turn the business around.”
He had served as Tuskys Chairman for the last three years, a position he took over from Mr John Kago.
The second top official who has left the retailer is Chadwick Okumu, whose position has since been filled by George Gashwe who is one of the owners of the retailer.
Mr Okumu joined the retailer last year following the departure of Dan Githua in 2020. This was the second post for Mr Okumu who joined Tuskys in October 2020 as the CFO. He had also held the chief finance position at Uchumi Supermarkets.
Tuskys has been talking about raising billions of shillings from debt and equity investors but the plans appear to have stalled. The retailer was previously one of the largest supermarkets in the country but its operations shrunk after falling out with landlords and suppliers who were unpaid billions of shillings.
Its five-storey building in Nairobi’s city centre has been sold in an auction by Equity Bank which sought to recover a loan of Sh650 million.
The commercial building has been housing the retailer’s largest store and sits at the junction of Tom Mboya Road and Accra Road in Nairobi.
Naivas, Carrefour, and Quick Mart are currently the fastest-growing retail chains that are backed by deep-pocketed equity and debt investors.
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