The South African supermarket chain has become entrenched in Africa’s biggest market, and is the anchor tenant for most of the modern shopping mall developments in Nigeria. The shortages also make it challenging to repatriate revenues to South Africa. The high cost of building modern shopping malls, the preferred operating environment for South African retailers, means high rentals, which further pushes up expenses. Until recently, Mr Price, along with Shoprite and Pep Stores, had been the survivors of the one-time rush of South African retailers into Nigeria. Another is the more tempered appetite of the new executive, put in place after Basson retired in 2016, for the businesses outside South Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 06, 2020 17:11 UTC