HAPPY OR SAD? Shoprite to pull away from Nigeria

After 15 years in the country, Africa’s biggest retail company, Shoprite has disclosed that they will discontinue their operations in Nigeria and are now considering to sell its major stakes. The group made this known in a formal Operational and Voluntary Trading Update of the company.

This announcement is coming after the South Africa-owned company saw an immense decline in sales in the Nigerian market from June 2019 to June 2020. 

Reactions have trailed the announcement —which many have considered both sad and good news. Good news, in that the exit of the foreign company will open more opportunities for the local counterparts which will directly affect the economic growth of Nigeria: this bears to the sad news; the disclosure has exposed further that the Nigeria economy is continually receding and is suitable for some businesses to thrive.

There Is also the resulting effect of unemployment as the company, whose workforce in Nigeria is almost entirely Nigerians, will have to relieve the employees of their duties. This definitely will render thousands of Nigerians jobless, heaping on the rising statistics of unemployment rate in Nigeria.