South Africa's Shoprite Holdings, Africa's biggest retailer by sales, will open nearly twice as many stores on the rest of the continent this year as in 2014, its chief executive, Whitey Basson, said on Tuesday.

Nigeria will get 14 new stores in the next 20 months and Shoprite is building a distribution centre in the country, aiming to move goods faster as imports into Nigeria can be delayed in ports for up to three months or so, Basson said.

Angola is the only other market large enough to justify a distribution centre in the next five years, he said.

The supermarket operator is banking on rapid growth in markets such as Nigeria and Angola where it aims to change the shopping habits of Africa's rising middle class.

The retailer, which also operates the Checkers grocery chain and OK Furniture, reported a 10.8 per cent rise in full-year earnings yesterday, buoyed by sales growth of 13.5 per cent in stores outside its home market.

It plans to add another 35 stores this year to the 189 it has in the rest of Africa, hoping to improve on the 16 percent contribution that Africa ex-South Africa makes to its profits. Last year it opened 20 stores outside South Africa.

“It usually takes three to five years for countries to change from pavement shopping to using supermarkets,” Reuters quoted Basson, to have said in a presentation of the company's results.

Hampered in South Africa by power outages, rising electricity costs and highly indebted consumers, Shoprite increased sales in its home market by stealing market share in its food business from rivals.

The retailer, which began as a chain of eight stores in South Africa in 1979 and has had Basson at the helm throughout, now spans 15 countries across the continent, 13 of which posted stronger economic growth than South Africa last year.

Shoprite said diluted headline earnings per share (EPS) totaled 772.9 cents in the year ended June, in line with the 773 cents estimate by Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimates. Headline EPS is the most widely watched profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.

Shoprite shares were up 1.2 per cent by 1245 GMT. The shares nearly doubled in price over the last five years as the company expanded but are down almost 5 percent since the start of this year on sluggish consumer demand in South Africa. The retailer said total sales rose 11.2 per cent to R113.7 billion ($8.80 billion) for the year.

shikshark:
yes make all the money you can make quickly.....walmart is coming on board, probably to kick you out of business

Freemanan:
Massive...


I just Hope South Africa treat us with respect over there. Nigeria is their biggest customer yet WE are being abused over there.... Ain't right.

RHP:
So all these "rich" Nigerians cant think of how to invest here. Rather they take the moneies to other countries...smh

Freemanan:

Walmart can't do that. It will join the queue... Even in America, lotta Stores still make waves and Walmart is everywhere there. These products have a very large demand so the market is spacious enough..

benedictnsi:



What do you expect my brother??
When we can't support our infant industries??

Nigeria is not only the largest customer to SOUTH AFRICA, but to many countries of the world including China, Dubai, US of A etc.

Most of these our Rich monks and folks, I don't know why they can't do same influential investments in South Africa....

kossyablaze:
Yes o,We nid am in Anambra badly

Freemanan:
Massive...


I just Hope South Africa treat us with respect over there. Nigeria is their biggest customer yet WE are being abused over there.... Ain't right.

shevon:
Will PHC get one?

kossyablaze:
Yes o,We nid am in Anambra badly

phantom:

infact i think PHC will probably have not less than 2/3

Infact the SE/SS region may see about a third to half of the 14 if recent economic data are anything to go by.

phantom:

infact i think PHC will probably have not less than 2/3

Infact the SE/SS region may see about a third to half of the 14 if recent economic data are anything to go by.

MyMouth:
How can we allow foreigners take over our retail market? Too bad!!! This politicians that have been sealing our money since God created the earth, can't they start a retail business and generate employment?

kossyablaze:
Yes o,We nid am in Anambra badly

asha80:
why do you say this/ especially your last paragraph?

SLIDEwaxie:
una no get local market?

NwaAnambra:
. shut up man. stop embarrassing yourself

phantom:


consumer potential in nigeria

Happiness87:
you dont need to keep pumping money to south africa, when govt builds a shopping mall, encourage indigenes to invest, it not different from shops and super markets, just packaging and the bulding which is usually owned by state govt

kossyablaze:
I beliv with u tho