Shoprite announces plan to pull out of Nigeria

Shoprite, Africa’s biggest grocery retailer, has announced plans to leave Nigeria after 15 years.

The Cape Town-based retailer has started a formal process to consider the potential sale of all or a majority stake in its supermarkets in Nigeria, it said in a trading statement for the 52 weeks to end June, which was released on Monday, August 3.

Bloomberg reports that Shoprite is considering selling its Nigerian operations. This process was initiated after the retail chain said in November that it was reviewing its supermarket operations outside South Africa and would consider exiting certain countries if that would help reverse regional sales declines. 

Shoprite has been battling currency-induced inflation surges in several other African countries.

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

As a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, customer visits declined 7.4% but the average basket spend increased by 18.4%.

This comes just weeks after it was revealed that another popular retail store, Mr. Price Group, is making plans to close its Nigerian business to focus on its home market business in South Africa. 

Below are reactions from Nigerians to the news that Shoprite is pulling out of Nigeria.