Shoprite Nigeria has announced the closure of its Maryland outlet months after its acquisition by Ketron Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Persianas Investment Limited which is owned by Tayo Amusan. Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited (RSNL), owners of Shoprite in Nigeria, has on the other hand announced plans to reopen the Circle Mall store. Circle Mall, located in Jakande, Lagos, was closed down after the vandalism that result from the EndSARS protests in October 2020.
According to the Chairman, RSNL, Tayo Amusan, the reopening of the Jakande, Lekki store serves as an opportunity to show customers that the dogged Nigerian spirit runs deep, even as the team works to optimise its operations for continued productivity.
“We’re excited to be reopening after a long hiatus. We have had tremendous support and we are looking forward to once again opening our doors to our customers in the Jakande, Lekki area and its environs.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to support the growth of the Nigerian economy even as we explore opportunities to expand our network of outlets thereby providing employment opportunities for Nigerians. We are also exploring opportunities to partner with more local farmers and small business owners to optimise agribusiness across Nigeria to considerably increase agricultural yield in the country”, Amusan added.
Mr Tayo Amusan, continued by stating the necessity to discontinue business operations in Maryland “We have made the difficult, but necessary, decision to discontinue business operations from Maryland for now.
“We thank the surrounding community for years of patronage and loyalty. Our commitment to Lagos state is unwavering and we look forward to providing area shoppers with enhanced shopping experiences in the future.
“RSNL is looking to achieve faster growth, have greater impact, and allocate resources, including its workforce (comprising 2,000 workers, 99 per cent of whom are Nigerian citizens) to more profitable investments.
“Since acquiring the business in June 2021, we have achieved very impressively, above inflation, growth in sales and are looking to build on that success while continuing our investment in different parts of Nigeria, with the support of our stakeholders.”
The chairman concluded by stating the RSNL plans to “open new stores in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin, and Jos as part of its expansion plans increasing the company’s presence to almost 30 stores in the country.”
