Uchumi Supermarkets goods put on auction in Uganda
Uchumi supermarket at Garden City in Kampala, Uganda. Uchumi closed operations in Uganda and Tanzania last year. PHOTO | FILE
Goods belonging to Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda were Thursday auctioned by the official receiver, the registrar general at Uganda Registration Services Bureau, in a move to recover money owed to the retailers’ creditors.
The sale of perishable items started on May 20 in Ntinda Industrial Area, in accordance with a court ruling.
The lists of goods auctioned included sanitary towels, diapers, spaghetti, macaroni, coffee and tea, soft drinks and other related items, wines, spirits, shoe polish and health medications comprising of food supplement and soaps.
Others were toiletries, cosmetic products and related perishable household items.
According to the court ruling, the items were sold on the basis of as - is, where - is, non-returnable cash payment without refund or warranty after viewing.
The High Court ruling granted to the liquidator authority to sell by public auction of all perishable goods of Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda Limited in liquidation including all stocks with a limited shelf life.
Uchumi Supermarket owes more than a dozen creditors including Crown Bottlers Uganda Limited, Century Bottling Company Ltd, Nateete Shopping Centre, Samona Products, Dembe Trading, a number of landlords seeking their dues, and hundreds of employees that were rendered jobless.
The Kenya-based supermarket closed operations its in Uganda and Tanzania last year and later filed a bankruptcy petition seeking to wind up business so as to safeguard its remaining assets from creditors.
Uchumi’s operations are projected to have a negative cash position of $7.1 million by end of December 2015, up from $3.78 million in September, the same year.
Documents filed in court show that the company had incurred a net loss of $3.062 million as of June 30, 2014. Between January and June 2015, the supermarket registered losses amounting to $87,713.
