From Business Day

Massmart is taking on Shoprite elsewhere in Africa in food retailing, launching a pilot project in Nigeria and planning at least 10 such stores in the next two years in Lagos.

Africa’s second-biggest distributor of consumer goods hopes to draw on the expertise of its largest shareholder, Walmart, to help it set up distribution and logistics operations as it extends its food offering north of South Africa.

Based on the outcome in Lagos, Massmart will flex its muscles and move from a pilot phase of opening small-format stores to an aggressive roll-out.

Massmart’s grand plan is to offset lower sales of items such as computers and fridges by expanding in food and clothing.

The food market further north is largely informal, and Massmart’s strategy is more about taking business away from spaza shops than from formal retailers.

Written by Adele Shevel/Read more at Business Day