The parent company had earlier yesterday signified its intention to pull out of
In a follow-up statement yesterday, the group explained that its divestment plan from its Nigerian subsidiary will not lead to the closure of its business in the country.
However, the group, in a memo to its Nigerian employees dated
It stated that the divestment move was to open the business to Nigerian investors.
"The expansion of the food retail business in
"In so doing, we will be creating a truly Nigerian business run and owned by Nigerians for the Nigerian market," it explained.
However, as the news of the divestment plan broke yesterday, the share price of
The company had unveiled plans to divest its majority stake from its Nigerian subsidiary,
"Following approaches from various potential investors and in line with our re-evaluation of the group's operating model in
"As such,
It added that its international supermarkets (excluding
It stated that despite difficult circumstances occasioned by the COVID-19 lockdown and accompanying regulations governing trade, transport and operations, the group increased total sale of merchandise for the 52-week to
"The Shoprite group remained committed to meeting the demands of our customers, whilst focusing on value and remaining solution-oriented. This was evidenced, inter alia, by our digital voucher innovation, ongoing private label development and the conversation of our Checkers Food Services (CFS) business to include a consumer-facing offering.
"In addition, the rapid scaling of our innovative Checkers Sisty60 digital shopping application, which after a test phase introduction in
According to the company, as a group, its initiatives pertaining to inventory and capital management began early in its financial year and carried on unabated despite the nationwide lockdown, adding that from a liquidity management standpoint, the group has "managed to meaningfully improve the financial position since reporting in
Shoprite launched its business in
It operates about 20 outlets in no fewer than 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in
It's Reflection of Business Environment, Say NECA, LCCI
The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has, however, described the plan by
Reacting to the announcement, the Director-General of NECA, Mr.
The move, he said, was to encourage local investment and partnership in
However, he added that for the company to make this move "is an indication of the state of the operating business environment in the country."
According to Olawale, if the operating environment were right, the company would not think of divestment.
The Director-General of the LCCI, Dr.
"We need to interrogate this development in more details in order to gain deeper insights into the factors that led to the decision to exit the Nigerian market."
An official of the
"Shoprite has been in the country since 2005 and you recall there was a time that its malls were experiencing long queues. It is no longer so today," he stated.
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