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Luggage, toys and pet supplies mix with hardlines at Nairobi-based Homecare and Hardware
Hardware retailing in this Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is decades behind retailing found in other parts of the world. In fact, chain retailing as a concept has taken hold in only a few categories groceries, clothing and shoes are examples and even there the merchandising and presentation are not as polished as would be found in either North America or European counterparts.
Still, Homecare and Hardware, an eight-unit company with stores in the greater Nairobi area, is attempting to establish a presence and a name in the hardware category, according to Emrod Ngonya, the manager of the flagship store located in the Ya-Ya Center, a five-story mall with about 50 stores and restaurants. The center is one of two major shopping centers in Nairobi.
The Sarit Center, the other mall, has no hardware store among its approximately 75 stores, and retailing in Nairobi is otherwise limited to small roadside shops and kiosks or storefronts in the more built-up areas.
Homecare and Hardware occupies prime space at the parking lot entrance to the center. (Parking is...