It has been made public the plan for Shoprite to shut down their operation in Nigeria after 15 years of massive and mega stores and relevant in the shopping trade in Nigeria.

The decision to shut down operations across all their stores in Nigeria is also linked to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic disruption which has also affected business globally.

In an “Operational and Voluntary Trading Update (52 Weeks Ended 28 June 2020)” released on Monday, the company said it has been approached by “various potential investors”.

The update partly read, “Despite difficult circumstances, in a year incorporating the COVID-19 lockdown and accompanying regulations governing trade, transport, and operations, the Group increased total sale of merchandise for the 52 weeks to 28 June 2020 (including the impact of hyperinflation in the prior year) by 6.4% to approximately R156.9 billion. Like-for-like growth for the year was 4.4%.

“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.

Shoprite as a company provides jobs for more than 2,000 Nigerians, has over 25 stores across eight states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The South African business established 40 years ago with over 500 stores across the continent is arguably Africa’s largest grocery retailer.

We hope this will help businesses in Nigeria fill the space in taking the advantage of the opportunity.