Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited (RSNL), operating as Shoprite Nigeria, has explained why it shut down its Ado Bayero Store in Kano from January 14, 2024.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Hubertus Rick, in a statement made available to The Star on Tuesday, January 16, sites consumer buying power, high cost of doing business, rental cost and its ethical commitment amongst the reasons for the decision to close the Kano outlet in the meantime.

Shoprite also revealed that the reason for its non-renewal of the rent at the Ado Bayero store is the store’s negative financial performance and the general business climate.

Rick also clarified that the decision was not made lightly, as the company understands the impact it may have on its employees and the community.

He, however, said, “after careful evaluation of the financial situation of the store and the current business climate, Shoprite believes it is the best course of action for the long-term growth of our organization.”

He also emphasised that the decision does not imply that Shoprite will not do business in Kano when the business environment becomes favourable as Kano is a big city with room for a Shoprite concept.

Rick, however, assures of plans by the company to assist employees who may be affected by the difficult decision, saying, “we understand that this news may be difficult to digest, and we want to assure you that we are here to support you during this transition period. Your well-being is our top priority, and we will do everything we can to assist you in finding new opportunities within our company. We encourage you to apply for any vacant positions in our existing stores across the country through the Human Resources department. Additionally, we will be opening new stores in the coming months, and you are welcome to apply for employment there as well.”

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However, as bold expressions of its confidence in the Nigerian market, Shoprite is mulling a bullish two to five-year growth plan to open four outlets annually across the country.

The company disclosed that, “while we will close down stores that are performing sub-optimally as the consumer economy tightens, we plan to open four new outlets annually across the country guided by what reliable retail market research tells us.”

Aside the planned store closure and on a brighter note, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited has also commenced some store reopening across different locations expected to span across the outgoing year 2023 right into 2024. The locations included Circle Mall, Lekki, Garden City Mall Port Harcourt and Galaxy Mall, Kaduna and Shoprite Benin.

Shoprite has also demonstrated the resilience of its brand with the audacious restoration of its store at Circle Mall, Lekki, to business years after it was completely raised during the End SARs protests in October 2020.

The Star