The Nairobi shopping scene has been upended by several new chains that have opened stores in several malls like Two Rivers in the last few months. They include:

• Carrefour: This franchise has been around for almost three years now, and has replaced Nakumatt, taking up space vacated by the former giant, at several top-end malls like the Junction, Mega and Galleria. They offer new experiences and different retail operations for customers and suppliers.
• LC Waikiki: Has a large selection of clothes – for men, women, and children – priced quite affordably compared to other stores like Mr. Price and Deacons who, frequent visitors to Johannesburg say, charge double what the same items cost in South Africa.
• Miniso: Japanese gift shop chain (that’s really Chinese?) looks confusing at the entrance, but inside they have lots of stuff – electronics, travel items, gift items, and you end up spending a lot more time browsing than you expected, and returning many times to purchase other items.
• Decathlon: Sports shop at the Karen Hub, is well-arranged, with exercise and sports equipment and clothing. It’s perfectly priced for many people who are experimenters and want to buy stuff to try out new sports for themselves and for children. They sell in-house brands like “Kalenji” shoes (a play on “Kalenjin” runners?) that cost a fraction of name brands like Nike and Adidas. They put out all their stock for customers to pick and try, unlike other shops who put one item on display and have the rest in the backroom where clerks have to go and retrieve the right size of an item. They also have self-service check-out counters and their payment options are completely cashless.