LC Waikiki opens first store in Uganda, plans further expansion in Africa

Turkish fashion retailer LC Waikiki has opened its first store in Uganda. The new flagship store is located in Acacia Mall, a well-known shopping centre in the capital Kampala. The opening was celebrated on 21st December with a fashion show in front of the new store, with Ugandan model Judith Heard walking the runway.

Kerem Alp, Turkey’s ambassador to Uganda, said at the opening ceremony that despite the challenges in doing business in times of Covid-19, Ugandan and Turkish authorities were still committed to seeing that Ugandans have access to Turkey’s high-quality products.

“We have been giving many Ugandans visas to go to Turkey for garment shopping and unfortunately due to Covid-19, many may not be able to go to Turkey now or in the near future. I am glad that you can access the best of Turkey from right here,” Alp said. He emphasised Turkey’s strategic location in the midst of Europe and Asia, which allows it to enjoy top quality European products and to sell them at reasonable Asian prices.

In 2016, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Uganda to promote trade and tourism opportunities between the two countries. This was the first visit by a Turkish head of state to the African country. The plan worked, as several Turkish companies have since increased their presence in the African country, including LC Waikiki.

LC Waikiki wants to open stores in five other African countries

By the end of 2023, LC Waikiki plans to expand further in Africa, namely to Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, and globally to Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Peru, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

LC Waikiki is one of the fastest growing fashion chains in Europe. The Turkish retailer opened its first store outside of Turkey in 2009 in Romania and has since steadily expanded worldwide: LC Waikiki currently operates more than 1,000 stores in 47 countries and employs nearly 47,700 people. With more than 500 million items sold, the Istanbul-based company reported revenues of over 21 billion Turkish liras in 2019, the equivalent of more than 2.3 billion euros, 2.82 billion US dollars or 2.06 billion British pounds.

Image: LC Waikiki