Through a partnership with a local conglomerate, South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay, which recently reported a 26% increase in annual earnings, intends to expand into Nigeria during the course of next year. Richard Brasher, Pick n Pay CEO, said at a recent media briefing:
"We are not suddenly going to explode onto the scene in Nigeria next year but we are going to start the process of looking at all those things."
Brasher added that Pick n Pay was taking a long-term view of Africa's most populous country, and that if you are an African business in the retail sector it is difficult to ignore Nigeria.
Pick n Pay currently operates in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and plans to open several new stores in Ghana in 2017 as well. The retailer will take a 51% stake in a Nigerian JV with conglomerate AG Leventis, which operates a food business. The size of the investment has not yet been disclosed.
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