Uchumi: The misuse of taxes
The supermarket chain founded in 1975 has been a household name to many Kenyans for over 25 years. The chain has been one of if not the only retail store that most of our age mates or older will relate to. Uchumi has been around with the like of Woolworth and Sunbeam, and tuskermatt and now nakumatt being it’s biggest competition. The national icon has withstood the tides, and posted profits every year for the last 14 years; it has maintained a significant growth in turnover over the same period; had no long-term liabilities and has had none for the last 10 years. In fact, Uchumi is so liquid that it has been investing its excess funds in treasury bills. What begged answer was why the supermarket chain was not investing these "excess funds" in its core business while Nakumatt was aggressively breaking into new markets. If someone had seen the necessity of investing in the company's core business, Uchumi's leadership position in the East African market would be unrival...