Uchumi Supermarkets has paid Sh. 240 million to suppliers for the months of May and June.
Close to 170 suppliers agreed to resume furnishing its shelves with goods under an arrangement that gives them control over how they get paid.
The group Thursday received their first batch of cheques through jointly operated accounts opened since the agreement was signed to bank cash received from goods sold.
“We are calling on more suppliers to bring back their goods as we sort things out. We hope to triple the payments through the escrow account this month,” Uchumi chief executive Julius Kipngetich said Thursday at the chain’s Ngong Hyper outlet.
The friendly suppliers on May 20 adopted a deed of settlement by which they were to resume supply of goods as long as the sales were deposited in an escrow account controlled by a suppliers’ council.
Under the arrangement, Uchumi is getting 20 per cent of the revenues to pay rent, rates and staff costs and make a profit margin while the suppliers get 80 per cent of the cash.
The escrow accounts were opened at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Jamii Bora Bank and United Bank for Africa-Kenya (UBA).
The accounts would also hold proceeds from the disposed assets to settle the old debt of up to Sh3.6 billion.