Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim group, the major shopping malls operator with its own entertainment division, has further expanded into Africa.
News has come through this week that the company, which had already expanded its licence to operate Careefour hypermarkets in East Africa, has taken the expansion further. MAF has completed a deal that sees the transfer of six stores in the Southern African Shoprite chain transferred into its operation.
The stores are in Uganda where MAF already operates two stores under the Carrefour brand. The new acquisition is understood to be a lease transfer, reports news media outlet Zawya.
It quotes MAF retail CEO Hani Weiss as saying: “This agreement represents our continued investment in East Africa. We will strengthen our offering in the region and support local talent through employment and career development opportunities.”
Shoprite has several retail brands and has more than 2,000 food and liquor retail stores across Africa. There is no information at this stage about any of the MAF entertainment brands being opened in the region. The company is well known for its Magic Planet FECs and other attractions.
