Pick & Pay, a South African grocery store, will quit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture as part of efforts to restructure outside of its home market, CEO Sean Summers announced on Monday.
According to Reuter’s, the retailer opened two locations in Nigeria less than five years ago through a partnership with A.G. Leventis.
The store’s restructuring adds to the growing number of international corporations that are either departing Nigeria or divesting their investments there.
Multiple multinationals have left Nigeria by either scaling down operations, transferring ownership or selling their stakes, one of the most recent being the sale of beverage company Diageo’s 58.02 per cent shareholding in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram Group on June 11, 2024.
Also, President Bola Tinubu this month, approved the transfer of ExxonMobil’s shares to Seplat Energy.
This is as the exodus of multinationals from the Nigerian economy has cost the country a N94tn loss of output in five years, according to an economist and former Director of Research and Advocacy at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nigeria, Dr Vincent Nwani.
According to the analyst, for the first year, over 10 companies shut down operations in 2020, most notably: Standard Biscuits Nigeria Ltd, NASCO Fiber Product Ltd, Union Trading Company Nigeria PLC and Deli Foods Nigeria Ltd
In 2021, he stated that more than 20 companies exited, including Tower Aluminium Nigeria PLC, Framan Industries Ltd, Stone Industries Ltd, Mufex Nigeria Company Ltd and Surest Foam Ltd.
He stated that in 2022 over 15 known brands left Nigeria, including Universal Rubber Company Ltd, Mother’s Pride Ventures Ltd, Errand Products Nigeria Ltd and Gorgeous Metal Makers Ltd.
More than 10 major companies left in 2023, notably Unilever Nigeria PLC, Procter & Gamble Nigeria, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Ltd, ShopRite Nigeria, Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Ltd, Equinox Nigeria and Bolt Food & Jumia Food Nigeria.
In the first six months of this year, five listed major companies had left Nigeria, including Microsoft Nigeria, Total Energies Nigeria (affected by its divestment), PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC, Kimberly-Clerk Nigeria and Diageo PLC.
