By JULIUS BARIGABA

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French franchise Carrefour is set to take over the stores of Shoprite Checkers when the South African giant completes its exit from the Uganda market.

The Carrefour franchise in Uganda is operated by the United Arab Emirates based Majid Al Futtaim Group, which announced in a press statement on Wednesday that it had agreed the lease transfer of Shoprite Checkers Uganda Limited’s store locations.

This move will see the retailer expand its stores to eight from the current two located in Kampala and Entebbe.

“Majid Al Futtaim – the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia – today announced it has concluded an agreement with Shoprite Checkers Uganda Limited (i.e. Shoprite Uganda).

“The terms of the agreement see the transfer of Shoprite’s six Uganda store leases to Majid Al Futtaim by end of year,” the statement said.

The transition of the stores from the Shoprite brand to Carrefour stores will be complete by end of year, the parties announced.

The six stores are located at Acacia Mall, Village Mall, Lugogo Mall, Clock Tower and Arena Mall, all in Kampala, and Victoria Mall in Entebbe.

As part of the agreement, the Lugogo Mall and Clock Tower properties that are owned by Shoprite will also transfer to Majid Al Futtaim.

Carrefour launched its first store in Uganda in December 2019 at Oasis Mall in Kampala, and in March this year opened its second store in Naalya, a high-end city suburb.

The retailer currently provides 20,000 products across its stores, of which 98 percent are locally sourced, and the franchise’s customers are able to order products online through partnerships with Glovo and Jumia Food.

Last month, Shoprite announced that its 21-year operations in Uganda had come to an end.

“In line with the Group’s non-[South Africa] review process, our operations in Madagascar and Uganda have been classified as discontinued,” Shoprite said in a notice to its shareholders.