Kin Marché opens new supermarket in Kinshasa as competition in DRC retail intensifies
Kin Marché expands its footprint in Kinshasa while global chains enter the DRC retail market.
DRC – Kin Marché has launched a new supermarket in Kinshasa’s Kasa Vubu district, adding to its store network in the capital and marking another step in the retailer’s continued growth.
The company began operations in 2004 with a single outlet in the Regina Gombe building and has since transitioned from a modest start to a nationwide chain.
Over the years, Kin Marché has positioned itself as a major player in food retail and wholesale, trading under the brand Au Prix du Grand Marché and selling fresh foods, daily groceries, beverages, personal care items, and general household goods.
Its expansion gathered speed throughout the 2010s as rising consumer demand in Kinshasa and surrounding areas opened the door for modern retail formats.
The momentum carried into the 2020s as the chain moved beyond the capital and opened stores in regions such as Katanga, Kivu, and coastal towns where urban growth created opportunities for new outlets.
Recent additions include branches in Kasavubu, Kabambare, Terre Jaune, and Kimpese, demonstrating continued capital investment and a strategy to increase access to formal retail.
By 2024, the company accounted for roughly a fifth of the country’s commercial structures and was operating in at least four provinces.
In 2025, Kin Marché marked its twenty-first year in business by emphasizing growth, accessibility, and efforts to strengthen its presence in both established and emerging markets.
Rising competition in the supermarket segment
The opening of the new store comes at a time when DRC’s retail sector is attracting fresh investment from international brands.
A few months earlier, Carrefour entered the Congolese market through a partnership with local operator Hyper Psaro, giving the global retailer its first foothold in Kinshasa.
The arrangement includes a gradual conversion of Hyper Psaro’s existing outlets into Carrefour-branded stores, mirroring the approach the French chain uses in Gabon with its Prix Import stores.
Carrefour’s Kinshasa outlet stocks more than 6,300 products across food and non-food categories, bringing added variety to a market that has seen limited international involvement.
The move increased Carrefour’s African store count to nearly 550 and filled the gap left when Shoprite exited the DRC in November 2022.
Hyper Psaro, which operates six stores across Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, remains one of the country’s top four supermarket groups by revenue.
Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.
