History
The company was founded in 1975, as a public limited liability company, by three Kenyan parastatal companies, namely (a) Industrial Commercial & Development Corporation (ICDC) (b) Kenya Wine Agencies Limited (KWAL) and (c) Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC). The main objective at the time was to create outlets for the equitable distribution of commodities and to create retail outlets for Kenyan manufactures. In 1976, Uchumi's shareholders signed a management contract with Standa SPA, an Italian supermarket chain to train Kenyan talent to run the new enterprise. The shares of the company stock were listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1992.
During the early 2000s the company encountered financial difficulties and was placed in receivership in June 2006. It was simultaneously de-listed from the NSE. Following a period of inactivity that lasted six weeks, the company resumed commercial activity at some of its stores under interim management and a caretaker administrator.
As of January 2011, the retail chain has returned to profitability and has applied to the Kenya Capital Markets Authority (KCMA), to re-list its shares on the NSE. Approval to re-list on the NSE was granted in May 2011 and trading in the shares of Uchumi Supermarkets resumed on Tuesday 31 May 2011.
Read more about this topic: Uchumi Supermarkets
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