Shoprite Nigeria has secured a new investor backing, an injection of capital aimed at steadying the ship and repositioning the brand in a market where survival is no longer guaranteed.
Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited (RSNL), the operator of Shoprite in Nigeria, said the investment “provides the capital base to accelerate Shoprite’s turnaround strategy and marks a renewed phase of growth for Nigeria’s leading supermarket operator.”
Nigeria’s retail sector has been battered by inflation, currency swings, and rising costs in recent times, and Shoprite hasn’t been immune.
Blackish had reported that in 2021, South Africa’s Shoprite Holdings sold its stake to Tayo Amusan’s group. Four years later, stores in places like Ilorin and Kano shut down, proof that the chain’s old model wasn’t sustainable.
RSNL admitted the pressure, saying “the past period has been challenging for the wider retail sector in Nigeria, with rising costs and liquidity pressures affecting operations.”
The new Shoprite playbook
Now, with fresh capital, the company says it is tackling those challenges head-on. According to its statement:
RSNL is meeting past and present obligations to suppliers, reinforcing long-standing partnerships built on trust, and focusing on partnerships with Nigerian entrepreneurs to fully localise its supply chain.
RSNL is also driving efficiency and operational discipline — expanding local sourcing, with over 80 percent of its assortment already produced in Nigeria, introducing affordable private label products and value pricing, and investing in energy optimisation, productivity improvements, and modern store formats tailored to Nigerian shoppers.
The company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Bunmi Cynthia Adeleye, added, “Honestly, the past months have been quite challenging for most Nigerian businesses, including ours. However, we are very confident that – with fresh investor backing, we are rebuilding Shoprite to be more local, culturally relevant, more affordable, and more resilient. We are coming back bigger and stronger to serve Nigerian customers better than ever before.”
Shoprite has history, scale, and fresh capital. But with online platforms and smaller retailers gaining ground, will new funding be enough to make it the go-to supermarket again, or has Nigeria’s retail trend already moved past the big-box era?
