Shoprite to end operations in Nigeria after 15 years of service

Retail 10 August 2020

The Shoprite Group announced that it will be exiting the Nigerian market after 15 years of service.

Revealed in the 12 months trading report released by the retail company, it noted that all 25 stores in Nigeria, will be discontinued by a later communicated date.

"Following approaches from various potential investors, and in line with our re-evaluation of the Group’s operating model in Nigeria, the Board has decided to initiate a formal process to consider the potential sale of all, or a majority stake, in Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Shoprite International Limited," the company said in a statement.

Shoprite said the results for the year do not reflect any of its operations in Nigeria as it will be classified as a discontinued operation.

Group sales rose by 6.4% to about R156.9 billion in the 52 weeks to 28 June, the group said.

However, due to the pandemic causing a national wide lockdown, customer visits declined by 7.4%, while the average basket spend increased by 18.4%.

However, international supermarkets (excluding Nigeria) contributed 11.6% to group sales, and reported a 1.4% decline in sales from 2018. South African operations contributed 78% of overall sales and saw 8.7% rise for the year.

Written by: Staff Writer.

Guzzle Media