With a growth rate of 3.15 percent and total population of almost four million, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has been identified as a key city to accelerate modern retail growth in Nigeria.
According to Funmi Aiyepeku, Head of Innovation, Growth and Business Transformation at FoodCo Nigeria, a Nigerian retailer and a two-time honouree on the Financial Times annual Fastest Growing Companies in Africa ranking, modern retail was still under-scale in Nigeria so players must scale their operations to meet the teeming demand for the sector’s services among the teeming population city.
Aiyepeku, who spoke during the launch of FoodCo’s 21th outlet at Gbagi, Ibadan, expressed optimism that despite the economic crunch, there exists opportunities for operators to leverage digitization in order to bridge the gap of modern retail in the city.
She said:: “Ibadan remains not only a strategic city in South-West region of the country but has also recently been named the second fastest growing city in Africa, behind Accra and ahead of Lagos. Thus, the potential for modern retail is enormous if only stakeholders can explore opportunities to unlock its potentials within the city.
“As one of Nigeria’s oldest modern retail companies with more than four decades of operations, we are firmly committed to making the sector offerings accessible and affordable to Nigerians particularly across the South-West region. The opening of our Gbagi outlet reflects our dedication to bringing the unique FoodCo experience closer to both existing and new customers in Ibadan.
“We recognise that the modern shopper is dynamic in their taste and preferences. Consequently, our new store boasts a modern design and wide variety of high-quality products at competitive prices, all guaranteed to offer an enhanced shopping experience for our customers.
The roll-out of the new outlet coincides with FoodCo’s annual Christmas promo, which runs from December 13 to 20.
Speaking about the promo, Aiyepeku stated that customers will enjoy special discounts on a selection of products across groceries, household items, toiletries and cosmetics, among others.
She added: “Beyond our mandate to make modern retail accessible and affordable, we have also established a legacy of rewarding our customers who have stuck with us through thick and thin. This Christmas promo is just an expression of our gratitude to our dear customers.”
The new store brings to three the number of outlets the company launched in 2023 and a total of 21 outlets spread across Oyo, Lagos and Ogun States.
