This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
Located along the superhighway, Thika Road Mall was the first major mall to be built in the area. However, with the emergence of other malls like Garden City, the playing field has been leveled.
As a frequent visitor to the mall, I've noticed that most people who visit TRM are not actually buyers, but rather window shoppers. They don't go there to break the bank, but rather to site-see. This is a common sight, with a good portion of the daily population treating the mall like a museum or monument.
The problem seems to be that TRM is filled with goods and services that cater to people in posh estates, yet it's surrounded by middle-class estates like Roysambu, Githurai, and Kahawa West. A person living in Gigiri would not come all the way to TRM to buy a 72-inch TV, nor would someone from Githurai.
One of the lessons I learned in economics class was the importance of 'location consideration' when setting up a business. It's essential to take a close look at the community around where you'd like to be based and ensure that your customer base matches your customer profile. Unfortunately, it seems that this was ignored by either the shops that operate at the mall or the management of the mall itself.
Unless we check their records, it's hard to tell if the businesses at TRM make any money. However, given the high number of window shoppers, there is minimal probability that the revenue accrued is admirable.
