Deacons Built Kenya's Fashion Industry... Then Lost Everything

For almost sixty years, Deacons was one of the biggest names in Kenyan retail. It introduced international fashion brands, expanded across East Africa, helped shape the shopping mall culture we know today, and became the company behind names like Woolworths, Mr Price, Adidas, Truworths, Bossini and many more. Then, almost unbelievably, it collapsed. This documentary is about how Deacons built an entire retail ecosystem, only to discover that the very brands it spent decades introducing could eventually operate without it. One by one, the biggest names left. Revenue disappeared. Stores closed. Losses mounted. By 2018, a company that had survived colonial Kenya, independence, import controls and decades of economic change was in administration just two years after listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. This documentary follows that journey from 1958 to collapse, examining the founders, Mwai Kibaki's early connection to the business, the franchise model, the mall boom, the financial decisions, the departure of Woolworths and Mr Price, and the chain reaction that brought one of Kenya's oldest retailers to its knees. Every major claim in this documentary is based on corporate filings, annual reports, court records and contemporary reporting, with unsupported stories deliberately left out. #Deacons #KenyaBusiness #BusinessDocumentary #KenyaHistory #AfricanBusiness #Retail #NSE #Documentary #BusinessHistory #JustKatalina