Mulleys Supermarket is on the verge of collapse. The retail chain has been spotting empty shelves and low customer numbers as its financial crisis deepens.
The supermarket has now shut down half of its ten branches in an effort to stay afloat.
The supermarket has closed two of its main branches in Machakos town – Mulleys Express which is located near Machakos bus station and Mulleys Pioneer which is situated opposite Machakos General Hospital.
It has also started the shut down of branches in other lower eastern region. The affected branches include the Mulleys Kitui branch, Mulleys Highway in Mlolongo market and Mulleys Tala branch.
Mulleys Supermarket has attributed the closure of the branches to restructuring and reorganization, but the shut down has only betrayed the true position that the retailer is in a deep financial mess. “We highly regret all the inconveniences caused by this occurrence but do kindly request you bear with us. We shall keep you updated on new developments along the was,” the business said in a notice in one of its closed branches.
Operations for the business will continue in Mulleys Embakasi in Nairobi, Mulleys Mtaani in Mlolongo, Mulleys Masaa in Machakos, Mulleys Jibambe in Tala and Mulleys Emali in Makueni County.
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The supermarket is the latest mega retail business to shut down in the recent past. Its troubles appear to have followed the same script that collapsed retailers Tuskys and Nakumatt followed. These include unplanned expansion and debt. Signs that the retailer was troubled started popping up mid 2021 when its shelves started running empty.
Whereas Nakumatt and Tuskys went down with millions of debt owed to suppliers, it was not immediately clear if Mulleys is facing the same supplier debt troubles that Tuskys and Nakumatt faced towards the end of their shelf life.