Shoprite is set to reopen its Circle Mall Store located in Jakande, Lekki Lagos, which was closed down after hoodlums looted it during the October 2020 EndSARS protests.
This was disclosed by the Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited, owners of Shoprite in Nigeria, through its Chairman, Tayo Amusan.
Meanwhile, the company said it would close down its Maryland, Lagos outlet.
Amusan said In a statement, “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.”
The retail company also hinted at its expansion plans to open new stores in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin and Jos.
On why it decided to close its Maryland store, Amusan explained, “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 percent of whom are Nigerian citizens) to more profitable investments.
‘Since acquiring the business in June 2021, we have achieved very impressive, 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.”
According to the chairman, with the new store openings, the company would be building on its existing store locations across 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory.