Business
Buhari Enters Storm As Shoprite Exits
By Ayodele Oluwafemi
The news that Shoprite, Africa’s biggest grocery retailer might be exiting Nigeria after 15 years has generated sharply mixed reactions from Nigerians.
The Cape Town-based retailer, in a trading statement for the 52 weeks ending June, 2020 released on Monday, said the company has started a formal process to sale its majority stake of its supermarkets in Nigeria.
A section of the Trading statement reads,
“Nigeria – Discontinued Operations. Following approaches for various potential investor, and in line with our re-evaluation of the Group 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 supermarket Nigeria limited, a subsidiary of Shoprite International limited.”
This is the second time in three months that a South African-owned company would announce its exit from the country. South African clothing brand, Mr. Price Group, had announced in June that it is making plans to close its Nigerian business to concentrate on its South African business.
The plan of Shoprite to exit Nigeria has sparked angry reactions, as many Nigerians have taken to the microblogging platform, Twitter, to react to the development.
Some Nigerians argued that the proposed exit, if it finally materialises would scare away international investors in the country, by extension increase the rate of unemployment in the country. There were insinuations made that under President Muhammadu Buhari’s first stint as military head of state, Western owned retailers including Kingsway started the process of leaving the country.
Some also mentioned Leventis, however, Leventis survived until the nineties.
Some Nigerians blamed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for the proposed exit, saying the administration’s policies were not favourable to international companies.
See what people are saying:
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