Eastmatt Supermarket forgoes profit on sanitisers, sales at factory price

Eastmatt Supermarket has announced that it will be joining the fight against the Coronavirus, by selling sanitisers at factory price.

The retailer will forgo its profit margins in that category for a one-week period.

The brand aims to encourage more Kenyans to heed the call for proper sanitisation, management said.

The family-owned supermarket will run the campaign for seven days effective  April 3, to 10th April.

Speaking during the announcement, Eastmatt managing director Joseph Kamau said: “Covid-19 has made it clear that we cannot depend on the big corporates alone to play an active role. Everyone in the society has to take an active stand."

While the pandemic has had a profound negative impact on businesses as a whole, Kamau said the retailer can still make an impact in whichever way it can.

"We have therefore come to the decision that we will, for one week, sell sanitisers at the price we buy them from the manufacturers," he said.

The retailer will be stocking approximately 40,000 pieces of assorted sanitiser brands across its eight branches to reach as many people as possible.

Sanitisers remain a key component in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.

When the news of the corona outbreak in the country first hit, millions of Kenyans ran to retail stores to stock up on sanitisers and tissue paper, products that got cleared off shelves within hours.

“During this period, we will only permit two sanitisers per customer. We encourage those who buy the sanitisers to remember to be their brother's keepers, by only buying what they currently need," Kamau said.

Kenya had a total of 110 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Thursday, with the health CS Mutahi Kagwe warning the numbers will rise, asking the public to stay at home.