Shoprite employees protest wages, reveal new owner set to takeover in April

Shoprite employees have protested unpaid gratuity, as they accuse the South African-owned supermarket of selling off the Nigerian subsidiary without seeing through their memorandum of understanding (MOU).

According to one of the protesters in a video shared online, Shoprite and the national body for the employees were supposed to meet last month, February, over wages of the employees, but the meeting didn’t hold.

The protesters blocked the entrance of Shoprite in Ikeja City Mall (ICM) to make their displeasure known concerning how the management of Shoprite was handling the situation.

The protesters alleged that the Nigerian subsidiary has been sold to new owners, who are expected to takeover Shoprite Nigeria next month, April 2021. The revelation of new ownership corresponds with Shoprite’s announcement in 2020, that it will exit the Nigerian market.

Shoprite said it wants to divest its holdings in Retail Supermarkets Nigeria – owners of Shoprite Nigeria – to focus on its homefront, which is South Africa.

This means about 26 outlets owned by Shoprite South Africa in Nigeria will go under the new ownership.

Shoprite Nigeria is worth about N24 billion according to its financial statements, this reveals the amount range new owners will pay to takeover Shoprite. The company had planned 2020 for its exit, although the South African retailer hasn’t confirmed it has fully exited thevNigerian market.