Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited, owners of Shoprite in Nigeria, has concluded plans to reopen the Circle Mall Store located in Jakande, Lekki Lagos.
The Jakande store was closed down following the vandalisation of public properties after the EndSARS protests in late 2020.
The company also closed its Maryland branch Lagos.
Chairman RSNL, Tayo Amusan, said the reopening of the Lekki store would show customers that the dogged Nigerian spirit runs deep, just as the team is poised to improve 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,” Amusan said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
The retail company also said it plans to open new stores in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin and Jos as part of its expansion plans to increase the company’s presence in the country.
On why the company closed the Shoprite Maryland, the statement said: “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,” it added.
With the new store openings, Shoprite said it would be build on its existing store locations across 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
