Shoprite to exit Kenya by the end of 2020

Africa’s retail giant, Shoprite, has announced that it will be leaving Kenya two years after it was set up. It has decided to either sell or close its remaining two stores in Kenya by the end of December 2020.

This announcement comes some months after it announced that it was leaving Nigeria.

The South African based supermarket group has been beset with issues such as currency devaluations, supply problems and weak consumer spending and as such has been reviewing its long-term options in Africa. This has affected its earnings in these countries, primarily Angola, Nigeria and Zambia

“Kenya has continued to underperform relative to our return requirements,” the company said on Tuesday as it posted a 16.6% rise in annual group earnings, adding its decision to leave had been cemented by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Executive Pieter Engelbrecht told analysts that as part of the ongoing Africa review, the firm has renegotiated 48 rental agreements by either reducing rent payments or converting them to local currency.

Shoprite had planned to open seven more stores, including six in Nairobi before this change in plans