Deacons shops for male buyers as it lists at the NSE

If any retailer captured the interest of Tobias Dickinson, a 42-year old businessman in Nairobi over Christmas, then it was Deacons, the clothing and lifestyle goods dealer.

Mr Dickinson had to give his wife a special gift for Christmas — a bathroom makeover which would include buying new curtains, toilet seat covers and floor covers, all of which had to come in beige.

“We tried six different shops and most of them were like, try Deacons or try Woolworths,” he said. Woolworths, the Deacons-operated store did it for them. Although his wife shops at Deacons stores, he rarely does.

And so later this year, as it plans to list its shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) through introduction, Deacons Kenya is making a big push to attract male professionals, like Mr Dickinson, into its stores, tapping into the region’s growing middle class to grow sales in the face of increasing competition from supermarkets and international brands.
“One of our targets this year is to meet the man’s needs in more ways than we are doing,” said Deacons chief executive Muchiri Wahome adding that the retailer is searching for a men’s brand.

The majority of the shoppers in Deacons outlets are women, 70-80 per cent of all shoppers, according to Mr Wahome.

This is because most of the brands and items it stocks are associated with women’s shopping.

Other plans on the retailer’s cards are opening more stores in Uganda, finalising plans to enter the school uniforms distribution market from 2013 and selling more gym equipment in the upcoming hotels and apartment blocks in the region.

In the six months to June 2011, Deacons’ sales grew by 38 per cent to $11.7 million compared with the same period last year. Profits after tax grew 51 per cent to $507,700 compared with the previous year.

Three more outlets are planned for Uganda this year to add onto its existing Mr Price store. Mr Wahome said their expansion in Uganda has been supported by more shopping malls coming up in the country.

Deacons holds the franchise of a number of global fashion brands in the region including Woolworths in Kenya, Mr Price in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Truworths in Kenya and Tanzania, Adidas in Kenya and Identity in Kenya and Tanzania.

The company also has its own brands 4U2 and Angelo.

In total, it has 34 outlets in the region with the bulk in Kenya. In December 2011 Deacons made an entry into Rwanda, opening two shops.

The retailer’s target clientele range from people in permanent employment in the city, who use both public and private transport and stay in middle income housing estates to expatriates, chief executives and top ranking government officials.

The former is classified to occupy the Living Standards Measures (LSM) 7 and the latter LSM 17. LSM is a measure of affluence with a higher number denoting a more affluent class. LSM 17 class denotes the most affluent in society.

According to a Synovate survey, 22 per cent of Kenya’s adult population occupies LSM7 to LSM 17, Deacons key market segment.
Entry into the school uniform market will help Deacons penetrate a totally different but growing market segment.