By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Shoprite closes its DRC’s outlet
Shoprite was saved by its new retail shops abroad Shoprite, but now says it has significant growth locally.
Shoprite has announced its exit from DRC. The move, which follows the issuance of a letter to local media, was dated the 21st November 2022 and states that following Shoprite’s exit from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Madagascar, it will be closing down operations in DRC to focus on its business in South Africa.
It has three stores in the country and a market share in the supermarket sector of 15.8%, making it the #2 player.
DRC is known to be an especially challenging and hostile market for supermarket operators and importers alike, with high costs and significant market access issues. Shoprite is the only international supermarket chain present in DRC. It is also a major player in Angola.
In the company’s quarterly trading update on the 14th November 2022, sales in its South Africa supermarkets grew for the first quarter of FY2023 by 19.9%.
This growth in sales was attributed to increased customers, volume growth and higher average basket spend.
Market share gains over the first quarter measured 1.4% versus the first quarter 2022, extending a period of uninterrupted market share gains in our core South African supermarket business to 43 months.
In 2021, in Nigeria and after 16 years after it opened its first outlet in Nigeria, Shoprite — Africa’s largest food retailer, sold its Nigerian operations to a company owned by a group of local investors.
