Nikora Trade, the largest Georgian retailer

Founded 17 years ago, the Nikora Trade company began its business producing and trading in meat products. By developing and diversifying its activities, the company has kept opening more stores and with a larger assortment. The holding currently has 12 companies with 2,600 employees. In addition to 125 Nikora premium supermarkets, it operates through the recently acquired chain of Nugeshi stores: 24 discounters and 64 kiosks with high traffic.

“The competition in Georgia has been toughening,” said Nikora Trade category manager Giorgi Nairashvili. “For instance, Carrefour, which is a very strong player, has recently entered our market. Our advantage is that Nikora is not only a retailer, but also a manufacturer of meat and some other products, so we can offer the best choice and prices for our customers.”

Last year, Nikora Trade began to develop the fruit and vegetable sales in its stores.

“Fruit and vegetables are currently our priority,” Nairashvili said. “We’re going to build our own cold stores and import fruit directly.”

Domestic horticulture offers a variety of fruit and vegetables during the season, but post-harvest treatment and storage are not very developed so the retailer is looking for partners who can ensure regular supplies, uniform products and good quality.

“Georgian farmers are increasing hothouse production of tomatoes, greenery, etc., but we still have to import numerous vegetables from Turkey and China,” Nairashvili said. “We also sell a lot of bananas, pineapples, coconuts, citrus and apples. Through direct import, we can ensure better quality and prices, and we are glad to participate in Fruit Forum in Barcelona where we hope to find partners for our future projects.”