COVER
STORY
parts from Korea and Malaysia, among other
countries. Others opted to concentrate on
selling lubricants only.
The heart of Kenya’s Lubricants
Kirinyaga Road is the heart of the Kenya’s
Lubricants market with substantial volume
of lubricants sold in the country being done
in this area. If you want to know which brands
are fighting for a slice of the Kenya’s market,
Kirinyaga Road is the place to be. Here, you
will find over 30 brands of lubricants, some
gathering dust on shop shelves, an indication
that they have failed to take off, while others
rapidly changing hands from the shop owner
to the impatient customer, an indication of
their strength in the market.
The country’s biggest lubricants’ distributors are to be found here. They include Sidona
Spares, Atlantis Auto Spares, Jesmiras and
Mau Summit. These distributors sell lubricants on wholesale to small spare shops and
fuel stations drawn mainly from Nairobi,
Machakos, Central, Nakuru regions and even
as far as Western and North Eastern parts of
Kenya. They stock all fast moving brands
available in the country with no loyalty to a
single brand.
The mechanics that operate in this area also
provide a retail outlet for these dealers.
Over time, there has been a shift by some of
the Kirinyaga Road distributors to introduce
their own brands such as Chrisma lubricants by
Mau Summit and Ocenn lubricants by Jesmiras.
Others such as Atlantis Auto Spares have
been appointed as exclusive distributors of
imported brands such as Motorol lubricants.
Mr. Patel of Atlantis Auto one of the biggest
distributors of Lubricants in the country, has
been operating from this area for the past 25
years. According to him, good customer services and competitive pricing has contributed
to the success of his shop.
“Business in Kirinyaga Road basically
started as mostly a spare parts hub hence we
saw the need to start selling lubricants,” says
Mr. Patel. He says that he started as a general
spare parts dealer and later ventured into
exclusive lubricants distribution due to the
increased demand for these products.
According to Mr Patel, the reason why
customers prefer to buy lubricants in Kirinyaga Road is because of the good prices since
many lubricants distributors in this area buy
their products in large quantities from legit
companies and sell them reasonably. The
availability of both lubricants and spares
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parts of major vehicle models all on the same
street is also a contributing factor to customers preferring to buy from Kirinyaga Road and
has led to the growth of this area.
Mr. Wambugu of Sidona Spares Marts,
another big lubricants distributor believes
that advice that he offers to customers on
correct lubricants application always keeps
them coming back.
Another factor contributing to the success
of lubes business in the area is its proximity to major matatu termini consisting for
matatus plying out of Nairobi routes. This
makes it easier for customers to purchase
several cartons of lubricants and conveniently transport them to areas outside Nairobi
via these matatus. “I supply customers as far
as Meru and Western Kenya thanks to existence of public transport means’’ he adds. Mr.
Wambugu has identified a niche in the grease
market, and by consistently providing quality products, has managed to establish a loyal
network of customers drawn from all parts of
the country.
Lubezine Magazine | January-March 2012