For years, Shoprite defined what modern grocery retail looked like. Anchoring malls across state capitals, it brought with it both a format and a fantasy; that formalisation could scale, and that rising urban incomes would underwrite an expanding middle class. That fantasy has since moderated. Currency pressures, FX restrictions, and the slow erosion of consumer purchasing power dimmed the lights in many of those malls. Shoprite’s strategic retreat — selling most of its Nigerian operations — left a symbolic and physical void across the country’s modern retail landscape.
It also left an impression that modern retail in Nigeria was declining. The narrative is intuitive: tighter wallets, weaker naira, and rising informality. But it misses a crucial, quieter counter-trend. The retail sector did not die. It simply changed hands.
Into that void stepped MarketSquare, with presence. Over the last five years, Marketsquare has emerged as arguably the most geographically ambitious indigenous retail chain in Nigeria. Its footprint now spans 12 states, a spread rivalled only by Shoprite itself.
But the model is markedly different. Rather than relying on mall ecosystems or concessionary real estate, Marketsquare prefers to build its stores directly into the urban fabric. High-visibility locations, ample parking, consistent sizing, and a focus on core grocery and household categories. In essence, stores that feel local but operate with national consistency. The format itself signals a recalibrated theory of modern retail, which entails less about aspiration and more about reliability. And if there’s one thing that is crucial in retail, it is reliability. The average Marketsquare outlet exceeds 1,500 sqm, large enough to support depth of inventory, including fresh produce, frozen goods, imported staples, and a great shopping experience.
This scale is not accidental. As seen in the chart above, Marketsquare ranks among the top two, second only to Shoprite, in terms of geographic reach. But where Shoprite’s presence is now a legacy of a once-expansive strategy, Marketsquare’s is still growing. The map tells its own story: from Asaba to Owerri, Uyo to Ota, and even up to Kaduna, the chain’s expansion has mirrored the country’s overlooked consumption corridors — state capitals and towns where formal retail is often underbuilt but demand is rising.
In essence, Marketsquare is building scale through localisation. It is leveraging local consumer insight, local sourcing relationships, and wide store formats to expand more efficiently than its legacy predecessors. Unlike multinationals navigating regulatory uncertainty and expatriate cost structures, it moves with the operational instincts of an indigenous operator, closer to its margins, and closer to the market.
The parallel is familiar. When international oil companies began exiting marginal fields and divesting onshore assets, many predicted production collapse. What followed instead was a quiet handover to indigenous firms, whose operational frugality and ground-level fluency enabled them to extract value more efficiently. The story in retail is not dissimilar. What Shoprite left behind was not a space, but a platform for reinvention, and Marketsquare has steadily occupied and redefined it.
In this, it is part of a broader bifurcation in Nigerian retail. On one side are high-frequency, small-format players with dense urban footprints, focused on convenience and cost. On the other hand, are regional mid-sized chains rooted in particular cities or zones, serving diverse product needs in store sizes below the hypermarket threshold. But Marketsquare, with its pan-state reach and supermarket-scale model, occupies a unique middle space, quietly building what the sector has long lacked: a national grocery player with regional fluency.
This matters a lot. And it does, because Nigerian retail is not merely a function of consumer demand; it is a problem of supply: of infrastructure, of warehousing, of power, of price volatility. Expansion is not just about capital; it is about patience, systems, and local relationships. That Marketsquare has grown in this environment — and done so without drama — suggests it is solving not just for stores, but for operations.
Moreover, one critical measure in Nigerian retail is scale. Companies that achieve substantial scale leverage efficiencies, enhance service delivery, and expand their reach across diverse markets or consumer bases. Marketsquare’s expansion strategy exemplifies this approach. By establishing a presence in numerous states across regions, from the oil-rich Niger Delta to the Middle Belt, the company not only broadens its customer base but also positions itself as a formidable player in the retail sector. Unlike its perceived competitors, Marketsquare’s national presence allows for better inventory management, more consistent pricing, and a more resilient business model. It has effectively become a distribution spine for consumer goods in the country’s under-retailed heartlands.
In the next few years, the headlines will likely focus on e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and new funding rounds. But somewhere between these narratives, the story of Nigerian retail will continue to be written in square footage, truckloads, and shelf space. And if the current trajectory holds, many of those shelves will be branded Marketsquare.
-By Aisosa Osaretin
