Giant food retailer, Shoprite is planning to bid farewell to the Nigerian market due to continuous losses since it started operations in the west African country.
Shoprite dropped the hint in a trading update filed at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Monday morning.
It read, “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.
“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.”
The largest food retailer in Africa came to Nigeria about 15 years ago when it opened its first store in Lagos. Presently, it has 25 retail stores across Nigeria.
Due to lack of infrastructure and epileptic power supply, the Nigerian atmosphere is hostile to business.
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