The presence of the Shoprite supermarket brand in Nigeria appears to be on the verge of a total shutdown. For several months, persistent accounts of shuttered storefronts and bare aisles have plagued the chain. Recent industry intelligence suggests a deepening crisis involving unpaid distributors and competitors ready to move into the retailer’s prime real estate. Experts now suggest the brand could vanish from the Nigerian market as early as the first quarter of 2026.
A Recap of the Ownership Shift
The current instability follows a major transition in 2021 when the South African parent company, Shoprite Holdings, exited the Nigerian market. The local arm, known as Retail Supermarkets Nigeria, was acquired by Ketron Investment (a division of the Persianas Group) for approximately $73 million. While the brand name was retained through a licensing agreement, the operation became entirely local.
Tracking the Decline: Store Closures and Legal Woes
Over the past two years, the chain’s footprint has shrunk significantly through a series of formal and forced exits:
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Regional Exits: Locations in Kano (Ado Bayero Mall) and Abuja (Novare Central Mall) were shuttered in early 2024, followed by the Ibadan branch in 2025.
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Tax Interventions: In late 2025, the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) sealed two of the brand’s highest-traffic locations—the Lekki and Ikeja City Mall outlets—due to unresolved issues.
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Operational Paralysis: While some sources suggest 18 locations are officially “open,” reports indicate that many of these are essentially non-functional, with suppliers allegedly retrieving unpaid merchandise from shelves.
The Financial Outlook
Recovering from this level of debt and supply chain disruption is historically rare for a major retailer, especially when struggling during the critical December shopping window. This downward spiral mirrors the famous collapses of Kenya’s retail giants, such as Nakumatt and Tuskys, in the early 2000s.
Current estimates suggest that the number of fully operational stores has plummeted. While the chain began 2024 with 25 outlets, internal data and local observations indicate that only a handful—specifically in cities like Asaba, Enugu, Ilorin, Owerri, and Benin City—might still be conducting business. The flagship hubs in Lagos and Abuja are now largely inactive, signaling a possible end to Shoprite’s dominance in the Nigerian retail sector.
