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What Nigerians Are Saying About Shoprite Discontinuing Operations

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15 years after it opened its first store in Lagos in December 2005, Shoprite Holdings Limited, said in a trading statement for the 52 weeks to end June released on Monday, that it has started a formal process to consider the potential sale of all or a majority stake in its supermarkets in Nigeria.

This process was initiated after the Shoprite said in November that it was reviewing its supermarket operations outside South Africa and would consider exiting certain countries if that would help reverse regional sales declines. The retailer has been battling currency-induced inflation surges in several other African countries, Bloomberg reports.

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%.

International supermarkets (excluding Nigeria) contributed 11.6% to group sales and reported a 1.4% decline in sales from 2018. South African operations contributed 78% of overall sales and saw an 8.7% rise for the year. As a result of lockdown, customer visits declined 7.4% but the average basket spends increased by 18.4%.

Read the statement below:

This news has not been well-received by some Nigerians, while some argue that it is good for small business growth at large.

Below are some reactions:

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