After 15 years of operation, Africa’s largest supermarket says it’s looking to sell all or a majority stake thereby pulling out of Nigeria.
The company in a statement released on Monday said it has been approached by many potential investors who are willing to take control of its Nigerian stores.
“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.
“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 company also released its trading statement for 52 weeks to end June.
In the trading statement, it announced that its South African division grew by 8.7% while sales at its supermarkets outside South Africa (excluding Nigeria) fell by 1.4%.
Shoprite who has expanded its stores across Nigeria has employed not less than 2,000 people, many of whom are Nigerians since its launch in December 2015.
Shoprite also claimed to have built more relationships with over 300 Nigeria suppliers, small businesses and farmers.
It reported that its 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.
The group increased total sale of merchandise for the 52-week to June 28, 2020 (including the impact of hyperinflation in the prior year), by 6.4 per cent to approximately R156.9 billion despite difficult circumstances occasioned by the Covid-19 lockdown and accompanying regulations governing trade, transport and operations.
