Two years ago, Kenyan retailer Nakumatt bought both of Shoprite's remaining stores in Uganda. At the time, Shoprite - Africa's biggest retailer - cited poor location as the reason for its exit from the East African country after 15 years. The move came shortly after Shoprite had sold its three stores in neighbouring Tanzania to Nakumatt for 4-billion Kenyan shillings. But now Shoprite is contending with other retailers in the scramble for a piece of the East African retail pie sparked by Nakumatt filing for bankruptcy this week. Christo Wiese, Shoprite's major shareholder, said this week: "We exited [East Africa] because we could not get the critical mass at that time that was required, but we believe that those economies have developed and are developing now in a manner that will give us the opportunity to establish critical mass." Up in the air He said discussions on taking over some of the vacant Nakumatt properties in East Africa had begun, but "I don't know where we exactly sta...
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