Massmart looks at Nigeria expansion
South African retailer Massmart has hinted at opening up to 20 stores in Nigeria.
Massmart, which is 51 percent owned by the world’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart Stores, currently has two stores in Nigeria and a third under construction.
Chief Executive Grant Pattison said the company had identified “five or six cities in Nigeria” adding that they “see the potential of between 10 and 20 Game stores.”
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"By all simple metrics, Nigeria has the potential to be larger than South Africa, but it has some way to go in terms of infrastructure and political stability,” he added.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and home to almost 160 million people. It is an increasingly attractive prospect for retailers eager to cash in on growth, although poverty has also risen too and infrastructure remains a real problem.
Africa’s biggest retailer Shoprite said earlier this week that Nigerian market had the potential to become as big of a market as its South African base, where it operates 700 stores.
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