Chandarana Foodplus Supermarket is the third largest supermarket in Kenya with over 40 stores sitting behind Naivas Supermarket and Quickmart stores respectively. Its head office is located on the third floor of the Lenana Place building in Nairobi City.
Aside from being one of the big fours in the retail sector, Chandarana Supermarket is also among the oldest supermarkets in Kenya. Its first store opened one year after Kenya gained Independence in 1964. Since then the stores have maintained a clean reputation and they have always kept the customer as their priority. Despite running for almost six decades, the Asian-owned supermarket has never been in the limelight for the wrong reasons.
So with all said and done who is the man behind the establishment of this giant store? In our feature, we tell the story of the Chandarana Food Plus owner.
Who Owns Chandarana Foodplus Supermarket?
The supermarket was founded in 1964 by the late Shantilal Mulji Thakkar, who established his first grocery store at Highridge Shopping Center in Parklands. At the time things were a bit different when it came to retail, instead of customers picking what they needed, Shantilal used to do that for them and handed their items over the counter.
When he opened the store his target market was the Asians who had settled in Parklands. After a few years he had established his name in the area and those who were lucky to find him when he was still strong to do business, remembers him standing outside his shop wearing a white shirt with a cigarette swinging from the side of his mouth.
The retail shop boasts a variety of the best Indian foods and spices and this is one of the key factors that has kept the store unique and profitable for all these years.
Handing the Business to His Sons.
After running the business for years, Shantilal handed over the business to his three sons, Anil, Sanjay, and Dipin who he had coached on how to run a business since they were young. The new leadership of the three sons saw the retail store diversify from selling Indian food and Spices only to selling other foreign and local products.
On top of that, the new team of sons also decided to expand from Indian residential areas and move to more cosmopolitan areas like the leafy suburb of Karen, Lavington as well as Muthaiga. The late Shantilal started with only 12 employees and 500 products but currently, the store has created over 500 employments in Kenya and the products they are selling are over 20,000.
The three brothers being at the helm of the store have transformed from having a 2.5% of the market share to gaining almost 40% of the market share also dealing with foreign food products gives them a plus in the market. Aside from its “Go Crazy, Get Excited & Inspired.” slogan the retail store has also changed its logo from traditional blue on white to green on white.
As part of growth, they have also partnered with other companies to have a bakery, a deli, and fresh fruit and vegetables on their premises. In the vegetable section is handled by Corner Shop, the bakery is handled by Baquette and Noori Patisserie, and the deli is handled by suppliers like Brown’s Cheese in Limuru.
Chandarana Foodplus Supermarket Branches
Yaya Center Argwings Kodhek Rd, Kilimani
Adlife Plaza Ring Rd, Kilimani
The Well Mall Langata Rd, Karen
Karen Karen Shopping Center –
Lavington Green Mall James Gichuru Rd, Lavington
ABC Place Waiyaki Way, Westlands
Ngara Peace Towers, Ngara Rd
Diamond Plaza Fourth Parklands Avenue
Highridge Masari Rd, Parklands
Mobil Plaza Muthaiga Rd
Rosslyn Riviera Mall Limuru Rd
Ridgeways Mall Kiambu Rd
Signature Mall Mombasa Rd
Cedar Mall Laikipia Rd, Nanyuki
Rupas Mall Malaba Rd, Eldoret
The West End Achieng’ Oneko Rd, Kisumu
Holden Mall Kisumu Kakamega Rd, Kakamega
Nyali Plaza Nyali Rd
Baharini Plaza Diani Beach Rd, Ukunda
Airport Centre Magongo Rd, Changamwe
Golden Life Mall Nakuru Kisumu rd, Nakuru
Buffalo Mall Naivasha Nakuru Naivasha Rd, Naivasha
The Stop at Rhapta Rhapta Rd, Nairobi
Riverside Square Riverside Drive, Nairobi
New Muthaiga Mall Thigiri Ridge, Nairobi
Azalea Square General Mathenge Rd, Nairobi
Crystal Rivers Mall Mombasa Rd, Athi River
The Dukawallah Wealth
The Indians are among the richest communities in Kenya the Dukawallah is among those Indians. Their net value at the moment is estimated to be over Ksh 5 billion.