By Henry Odeh
Africa’s largest retail outfit, Shoprite Nigeria has expressed concerns over continued loss of profits and has said that it is planning to exit the Nigerian market after recording continuous loss from its operations in the west African country.
This development was made known after trading update was filed at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Monday morning, where the retail giant said it was planning to discontinue its operations in Nigeria.
“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 update read.
“As such, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited may be classified as a discontinued operation when Shoprite reports its results for the year. Any further updates will be provided to the market at the appropriate time.” shoprite stated.
Sunrisebulletin.com recalls that Shoprite launched itself into the Nigerian market about 15 years ago, opening its first store in Lagos in December 2005.
The chain has however grown from one to more than 25 retail stores across Nigeria, including Oyo state and FCT, Abuja — including some of the biggest retail stores in west Africa.
