China Square owner, Cheng Lei, has made headlines in Kenya with the news that his business is thriving just a month after opening. This has prompted the government to go after him, with Trade and Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria leading the charge.
Cheng Lei is accused of killing local businesses belonging to a certain tribe within the Nyamakima, Kamukunji, Gikomba, Muthurwa, and Eastleigh areas.
Revelations now show that Cheng’s China Square business has been making good money, which is evident from the long queues of customers. He has told a local media house that his business had sold goods worth Sh. 20 million in the first two weeks of operation and was now making that amount in just two days.
The store, located in the Unicity Mall on the Thika Super Highway in Kiambu County, has become the talk of the town with thousands of Kenyans thronging there for goods and services.
“The business is barely a month old. On a bad day, we sell goods worth Sh. 10 million,” Cheng told local newspaper, Daily Nation.
Cheng Lei said he was inspired to start the business after seeing basic goods sold at high prices in local supermarkets. He wanted to provide Kenyans with basic goods at fair prices, a mission that has seen his business attract many customers.
Despite facing protests from local traders who accuse him of cutting them out of the market by slashing prices, Cheng Lei maintains that his business model is legal and that he followed all government directives for opening a business in Kenya.
“My business is legal and is centred on healthy completion. We have followed all government directives for opening a business in Kenya and”we are here to break monopolies,” he said.
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Cheng Lei says his business is centered on healthy competition and that he is here to break monopolies. He claims that his prices are fair and that his business appeals to many Kenyans who are struggling under the high cost of living. He says his customers are happy and that they have been his biggest referral.
Cheng Lei says that he has cultivated a sustainable supply chain for many years in China and locally. He has already started working with local companies that have approached him for partnership. He cites the huge traffic the shop has generated for the once-dull Unicity Mall that is now brimming with business.
The mall has been operating at just 10 per cent occupancy after being snubbed by local supermarkets that quietly withdrew after noticing it did not attract foot high traffic, a key mainstay for supermarkets operating outside Nairobi.
“I was very shocked by trade minister Moses Kuria’s utterances because this may heavily slow down foreign investments in Kenya and I think the minister should support ethical businesses like the one we have here that create opportunities for Kenyans and pays huge taxes to the government,” said Cheng.