After #EndSARS looting, Shoprite reopens its Circle Mall store, shuts down Maryland

Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited (RSNL), owners of Shoprite in Nigeria, has announced plans to reopen the Circle Mall store.

The store, located in Jakande, Lagos, was closed down after the vandalism that result from the EndSARS protests in October 2020.

Tayo Amusan, chairman of RSNL, announced the development on Monday.

The Maryland store will now be closed — coming months after Ketron Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Persianas Investment Limited which is owned by Amusan, completed the acquisition of Shoprite’s operations in the country.

“We have made the difficult, but necessary, decision to discontinue business operations from Maryland for now,” he said.

“We thank the surrounding community for years of patronage and loyalty. Our commitment to Lagos state is unwavering and we look forward to providing area shoppers with enhanced shopping experiences in the future.

“RSNL is looking to achieve faster growth, have greater impact, and allocate resources, including its workforce (comprising 2,000 workers, 99 percent of whom are Nigerian citizens) to more profitable investments.

“Since acquiring the business in June 2021, we have achieved very impressive, above inflation, growth in sales and are looking to build on that success while continuing our investment in different parts of Nigeria, with the support of our stakeholders.”

Speaking on the reopening of the store at Circle Mall, Amusan said it is an indication of the company’s commitment to growing the Nigerian economy, adding that RNSL will continue to expand its operations across the 11 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

“We’re excited to be reopening after a long hiatus. We have had tremendous support and we are looking forward to once again opening our doors to our customers in the Jakande, Lekki area and its environs,” he said.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to support the growth of the Nigerian economy even as we explore opportunities to expand our network of outlets, thereby providing employment opportunities for Nigerians.

“We are also exploring opportunities to partner with more local farmers and small business owners to optimise agribusiness across Nigeria to considerably increase agricultural yield in the country.”

According to the statement, there are plans to “open new stores in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin and Jos as part of its expansion plans”.