When a major private sector player decides to exit a country despite long-running investment and a perceived strong brand, it raises many questions.
South Africa-owned Shoprite’s choice to get out of Nigeria’s retail space is no different.
One immediate effect is that Shoprite’s call is being discussed as a referendum on the state of Nigeria’s economy which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying lockdown measures. But there are also significant questions over the country’s vaunted middle-class segment and the dwindling purchasing power of the wider consumer market.