Quickmart owners sell half their stake for Ksh.15 billion in NSE listing

• Founded by the late John Kinuthia and his wife Zipporah, Quickmart has grown from a family business into one of the country’s largest retailers.
• The journey is delivering a sizable return as its shareholders sell half of their ownership to the public for Ksh.15 billion. The Kinuthia family alone is set to pocket close to Ksh.5 billion.

A file photo of a Quickmart outlet. Photo/courtesy

It is a big day for the family behind Quickmart, as the supermarket chain they started in Nakuru years ago rings the bell at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Founded by the late John Kinuthia and his wife Zipporah, Quickmart has grown from a family business into one of the country’s largest retailers.

Now, that journey is delivering a sizable return as its shareholders sell half of their ownership to the public for Ksh.15 billion. The Kinuthia family alone is set to pocket close to Ksh.5 billion.

For a business that began as a small supermarket in Nakuru, the ringing of the NSE bell marks both a payday for those who built it and the beginning of a new era, this time with the public as shareholders.

Long before the Quickmart name appeared on storefronts across the country, there was Kids Supermarket in Nakuru. It was the business built by John Kinuthia and his wife, Zipporah, a family venture that would eventually be renamed Quickmart.

“I am very happy happy happy, I feel like crying because I didn't know we were going to make it na tufike kwa hii kiwango,” Zipporah said.

But it was their son who would carry the dream beyond Nakuru.

“And when you come from village to Nairobi, nobody believes in you. I could not even get credit from our suppliers; remember that time we were still buying from suppliers,” Duncan Kinuthia noted.

He pushed the retailer into Nairobi, opening its first branch in Ruai and beginning an expansion that would ultimately attract the attention of private equity investors.

In 2019, private equity fund Adenia partnered with the founding family, acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Quickmart. Adenia had also, at the time, acquired 55 per cent of Tumaini Supermarket. The two retailers, Quickmart and Tumaini, were subsequently merged, with the combined business operating under the Quickmart brand.

“And since Adenia initiated the merger with Tumaini, the pace of growth has been quite fast,” a partner from Adenia Partners Martha Osier, stated.

Today, Adenia owns 50.79 per cent of Quickmart, the Kinuthia family 31.83 per cent, Tumaini’s founders 12.02 per cent, and Quickmart’s CEO 5.36 per cent.

All four are now selling half of their holdings. If the offer is fully taken up, Adenia will pocket about Ksh.7.62 billion, while the Kinuthia family will receive roughly Ksh.4.77 billion.

As Quickmart prepares to debut on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the test now is whether investors will buy into the retailer as readily as customers buy from its shelves.