The iconic Ebrahim Supermarket has shut down. The legendary retailer shut down down its Moi Avenue branch bringing to an end its run as one of the most renowned retailers in Kenya over the past 75 years.
The closure comes days after the retailer sold all of its stock on discounted prices in a massive clearance sale that ended on Saturday.
Following the closure, the building that housed the retailer on Moi Avenue will now be converted into stalls and shops with the owner already seeking businesses to buy space through posters.
Ebrahim’s closure, which saw 30 employees lose their job, follows the collapse of troubled retailers Nakumatt and Uchumi.
Over the recent past, businesses in Kenya have been finding difficulties to survive despite government reports that the economy is growing.
According to the Business Daily, a worker said employees were not privy to the goings-on and expressed surprise at the closure that now leaves them jobless.
“Hatujui ni nini anataka mara ni stalls na maduka,” (We do not know what exactly is happening because we are setting up shops and stalls now), the worker told the Business Daily.
Ebrahim was established in 1944 as a supermarket with electronics and computer distribution unit next to Sarova Stanley Hotel on Kenyatta Avenue.
The owner also established an outlet on Kimathi Street that sells electronics. The supermarket has in the past closed other outlets in Kisumu, Nakuru and Mombasa leaving only the stores in Nairobi.