After reports recently circulated that Shoprite had shut down its final store in Nigeria, the retail chain has now come out to say that isn’t the case.
According to the company, Shoprite is still very much operating in Nigeria and is even preparing to open two new stores in Lagos later this month.
In a conversation with Nairametrics, Bunmi Adeleye, Chief Strategy Officer at Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, explained that the company is currently going through a restructuring process aimed at improving operations, not shutting down.
In fact, she revealed that two new outlets are scheduled to open in March 2026 at Circle Mall and The Palms Shopping Mall.
Adeleye said the restructuring programme actually started back in August 2025 and was designed with specific milestones.
The company set targets for the first 90 days, six months, and 12 months as part of its turnaround strategy.
According to her, Shoprite has already completed the first 90-day phase and the six-month milestone and is now moving into the next stage of the plan.
Part of that next phase includes opening the two new Lagos stores.
“We would be opening later this month of March. The locations of these two new stores are Circle Mall at Jakande and The Palms in Oniru”, she said.
She also revealed that the company recently hired a new chief commercial officer and currently operates about 23 stores across 14 states in Nigeria.
Why people thought Shoprite had shut down
The rumours about a possible shutdown didn’t just appear out of nowhere.
Over the past few years, several Shoprite outlets across the country have closed, which led many people to assume the company was quietly leaving Nigeria. It appears that what happened was the South African owners and investors have exited.
Adeleye suggested that the speculation may also have been fuelled by unhappy employees or competitors, although she didn’t mention any specific cases.
Another major issue has been the cost of running stores in large shopping malls.
In some locations, rent was priced in US dollars, which became extremely expensive as the naira weakened.
She revealed that at one point, rent at a particular outlet took up more than half of the store’s revenue, making it impossible to continue operating there.
Looking at smaller stores
As part of its restructuring plan, Shoprite is also rethinking how its stores are set up.
Instead of focusing mainly on large mall locations, the company is considering smaller neighbourhood outlets that are cheaper to run.
This would help cut down costs tied to rent, electricity, and diesel, while also matching the way many Nigerians now prefer to shop closer to home.
For now, the company insists it isn’t leaving Nigeria, and the planned store openings in Lagos are meant to show that the brand is still trying to reposition itself in the country’s challenging retail environment.
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