Please don’t throw your hard earned money away. Nigerian economy is not that buoyant for people to start shopping in supermarkets.

Don’t go into a business you know nothing about.

I will advice you to do these things
• put that money into a high interest account or buy a property in Nigeria
• Get a job in Nigeria, work for a whole year and study the Nigerian economy. I guarantee you after one year; you will find a good biz to invest your money. Then you can then sell the property
• If you think you can just get into Nigeria and rush into a biz, you are bound to fail. MARK MY WORDS. Most of the people here are not qualified to advise you on what or how to invest your money, because most of them are salary earners. Not only are they salary earners you guys share different interests. In order to be successful you need to do what you love and find interesting.

I hope my advice helps. Cheers

@tinard, i sent u a mail, i think ur idea is great and you need to go for it. i said i would not give out my plans but i changed my mind.

my advice is start small, u are an entrepreneur and the likes of shopritte are large/global organisation, competing with them is a waste of useful energy

have a target clientelle- You spoke about probably starting out in Ikorodu, this means that you are targetting the common man. This is a brilliant idea

choose a simple, easy to recall english name eg tesco store is easier to recall than aduramigba and sons stores

As a british resident, i believe u know a few things anout retailing, u mayalso take a quick course in retail mgt.

centralised or decentralised structure? i would choose decentralised small stores located in densely populated areas in lagos.

What will u be selling- Tesco, Walmart and Sainsbury all started with food items, an average lagosian does not buy Plasma TV every year, but they feed everyday.

First few years may not yield any profit- be prepared for it

enemies of progress- Unions, police, thieves, thugs, friends will be out to ruin you- prepare

More later, cheers

A big Sup will make big big money in Nigeria . Nigerians love high taste. I was at Game/Shopright last week and you can not imagine the number of people coming in and out

@chimaze, i totally disagree with you, the only reason why Tinard should withdraw from this project is if he thinks he is not capable of doing it. And if he does not do it, i will one day return to Nigeria to do it. This is more of a passion to me than a profit oriented project.

@tinard, it would be a pleasure to return to compete with you in the nigerian retail sector.

The key to getting it right is good location and make it attractive , give the store a flanboyant name. You are on your way up already. Nigerians love big things and Nigerians have money

@chimaze

I am with you on that. I am very certain this business model would not thrive in a Nigerian atmosphere.

Some questions the investor needs to ask himself or herself is :-

1. Do the hypermarkets overseas finance their investment from one source?
2. Does their model put emphasis on volume sales to justify their profitable margins?
3. Would Nigerians hang around the hypermarket just for window shopping, which is one of the revenue generating mechanism's of this model, putting reliance on impulse buying etc.
4. Can the investor compete with the current market, considering the investor's initial capital outlay and the pressure that arises.

Facts.

1. All hypermarkets overseas sell products at stock bottom prices.
2. People hang out in hypermarkets not only to shop but also to hangout in the eateries that are normally around them.
4. Their business model relies primarily on volume sales.
5. 100's of millions are invested into marketing etc and many have failed even with such capital backings.

I have read case studies of Carrefore, Tesco, Walmart, to name a few, and I have being on the premises too, and I do know what I am talking about.

I like supermarkets because you don't have to haggle. Traders who operate like Supermarkets always sell faster.
GAME in Lagos is very popular already; many youths are saving money so they'll be able to shop there someday!

@kazey, u are not entirely right, Jack Cohen did not have millions when he started Tesco, neither did Ingvar Kamprad when he started IKEA. If i have N10 million today, you'll be suprised how my store would quickly become a household name within a few years.
its a simple business idea, buy in bulk, sell in retail. if i sell MILO/ Bournvita for N5 lesser than its normal price at Yaba market in a trendy shopping mall, people will come to me instead of the market.
Nigerians like class and good taste and i bet they will flock into a supermarket that retails at a slightly lesser price. If you remember Kingsway in Lagos in the 80's, people do go there to window-shop and end up buying, at least i remember my mum used to take us there to choose our christmas gift and she would go buy it when she is ready. From Seun's comment, teens do go to window-shop at GAME hoping that they would be able to afford the stock soon, Land of Plenty (LOP)  and Adidas shop in VI was like that when i was in secondary school in Lagos.
i agree with the idea of an eatery, very brilliant i must add.

As i've always started my replies in this thread, thanks for the responses and the huge support i'm getting. Walelead thanks for the mail i hope you got my reply.

I do know a few things about retail and it's not all about profit as my mail said mainly to help the common man and people who visit home but can't find what they want. There are certain foods and other amenities guys in the UK and US ad other overseas countries will know what i'm talking about. I'm trying not to give too much away coz it is for real.

Once again thanks i keep reading the thread so any advice you give will not go to deaf ears.

tinard,to invest in nigeria u must look deep before u leap cos it has happened to me.i sold my night club down here in buenos aires to move home with my family,it turned out to be my worst experience in life and i ended up losing over $300,000 (dollars).frustration from all angles,everybody around was trying to eat from my pocket.the lands i bought to build a hotel turns out to be a money losing machine after the payment for the property,i learnt i have to pay family money,omololile,boys money,taking to so many elders to pay tribute with whisky and enveloped money, just too many unespected expenses. i lost soo much that i had to run back here with my family. all in all when it comes to business in nigeria the rules are not clear.

if u must invest in niigeria,i will advice u go down there first like nobody, (many people will not come around when the think u come back with nothing)that will give u the opportunity to be focused and find out exactly what to invest in.you might like to find out why kingsway,chanry,utc and many others failed.it will be a big help.

A large supermarket 'can' thrive in Nigeria. Like any business, its chances of success may be 'enhanced' by getting one or more variables right; but to ensure success will require getting most ( if not all) the variables absolutely right ! Rule number 1 : Never start a potentially big business like this one without getting expert help. Remember, there is a reason a few start ups in the U.K. and U.S. do well and become multinationals when others die off. No matter how little the help or advice, it may be all you need to succeed.
Just a tip : In starting your supermarket (or any business), I always say 'define yourself'. Define your business, give it the right identity. This is called branding. you may or may not know it, but Tesco, Wallmart, etc are all brands, each with its own target market. When you have carefully defined your supermarket, then strategically communicate your supermarket to its target market in such a way that everyone within your market will think of your store first, when they want to buy anything you sell.
I am a partner in 'ACE Consulting Nigeria'. We work with start ups to bring their ideas to life, conducting feasibility studies, working on the pricing, marketing, and operational strategies. We also work with businesses (both existing and new ones),and help them trade profitably, increase sales and strategise for success.
Whether or not you chose to use our services, remember rule number one above - have an identity and match your strategy with your identity. Although these are only two of the elements to consider, they are an important pair. remember though that choosing the right identity and the right strategy to achieve your aim comes first ! Entrepreneurs who choose to use expert help are often amazed at the findings of research conducted for them and getting the right information and know-how is everything.
Good luck ! ACE Consulting Nigeria : bizinfo2007@yahoo.com

First, I Thank all that ve said something here, I thank you guys not that i have any personal gain Neither from your answers or what the guy is trying to do But because, It feels good to read about Nigerians on a different issue other than crime, Those of you who lives outside the country knows exactly what i mean, Secondly, It's good to know that some of our men and women with some cash or access to cash is thinking about heading home for investment,
Well, To your question, I think the biz. will thrive as long as the feasibility studies where done well, Just like one of the guys who spoke earlier said, The main area you would have to do a very serious job is on the Water, Energy and Security,
The security issues are in 2 diff. ways, One, the gun guys, Which i think you could limit theirs by making sure than ATM. and other cards could be used there, And to create awareness on the need for costumers to use it more than cash, 2, the presence of real security men, MOPOL or Army would have to be there too, But the main security problem isn't these gun men as far as am concern, I own just small business at home too, and i have many of my friends that has something there as well, The main security problem is internal, The worker, From experience man,
On energy issues, Since you re talking about a big business, There's one area we ve not really thought of in Nigeria to limit the problems of power supply in our businesses, SOLAR ENERGY, I can give you every info. you need to get the pros. in the field, I have a friend in Houston Texas, who retired as electrical engineer from COMPAC there in US. He's into this solar thing and is even planning to come home and start the deal in Nigeria any time this year or next, Or, in case if your in CANADA or any where close, you can go to XANTREX, they are the leading solar energy company in the world now, I can tell you for sure, You won't spend up to 10% of what Generator will cost you in 2 to 5 yrs to build a solar power plant that will last for at list 25 to 30yrs, with maintenance cost of less than 2% of the original cost yearly, And to ask if Nigerians would like a place they can go any time and get what they want and as fresh, am sure it will be another GSM business, In case you need to know more about the solar thing, Am not a pro. but i know people that can do something for you, I know more about it because i have gone to almost every company that produces most of the component in China, That's where i Live any way. richeebecks@yahoo.com

Answer to Chimaze, I like your honest advice, It's honest because you said exactly what you think, For you to have said that Nigerian economy is too small for an average person to shop in the shop, probably shows how much you know the country, You probably know about Nigerian from European and American news papers, If you were asked what cell phone business would be like in Nigeria 15 yrs. ago. You would have said just what your are saying right now, But Nigeria is only secondly to China among the fastest gsm growing market in the world today.

chimaze:

Please don’t throw your hard earned money away. Nigerian economy is not that buoyant for people to start shopping in supermarkets.

Don’t go into a business you know nothing about.

I will advice you to do these things
• put that money into a high interest account or buy a property in Nigeria
• Get a job in Nigeria, work for a whole year and study the Nigerian economy. I guarantee you after one year; you will find a good biz to invest your money. Then you can then sell the property
• If you think you can just get into Nigeria and rush into a biz, you are bound to fail. MARK MY WORDS. Most of the people here are not qualified to advise you on what or how to invest your money, because most of them are salary earners. Not only are they salary earners you guys share different interests. In order to be successful you need to do what you love and find interesting.

I hope my advice helps. Cheers

You are a fool for thinking nigerians don't have money to shop in supermarkets - ha? i am amazed.

See his face - who give am rice + dodo to chop?

Tinard, what is likely to be your space requirement? i.e. How many sq.m. of retail space are you looking for? Do you need ground and first floor arrangement or ground floor only?

Are you happy to be in a mall type of accomodation e.g. The Palms, or would you prefer a strip mall type? e.g. Morrisons, Thamesmead?

I think you mentioned earlier in this thread that you already have plans. I assume these are the architectural drawings of your retail space. Could I have a look at them, to see how they might fit into my plans for a Mall I plan to develop in Lekki, around the Lekki Export Processing Zone area?

There's a new seaport coming there, so importing your merchandise should be easy enough. Also, there's 3million new jobs to start there within the next couple of years.

The mall we're planning is to have multi-level car parking, to future-proof the place against future parking problems.

We're also offering a huge price incentive on the rent, which should help drive all the in-town retail traffic to you, as you'll realistically be able to offer sensationally low prices for your goods and still make a tidy profit.

Please contact me asap via feleleg@yahoo.co.uk, if you're still interested in doing this project.

Have you opened your supermarket ? 2007 is finishing!!

How is your supermarket doing? Or are you yet to open for business?

A big supermarket like Tesco will definitely work in Naija.

There is a supermarket called "shoprite" owned by South Africans in V.I.

We need more supermarkets.

Large land, with parking facilities will be ideal. Outskirts of Lagos - you will find cheap land.

Tinard , have you finally opened your shop. How is it going? I guess you most be very busy, it will be nice to keep us updated on the development some of us would really like to find out if it was hard work or a piece of cake

waleleader:


its a simple business idea, buy in bulk, sell in retail. if i sell MILO/ Bournvita for N5 lesser than its normal price at Yaba market in a trendy shopping mall, people will come to me instead of the market.

This indicates you don't understand the model of hypermarkets. The hypermarket model relies on suppliers, and only provides warehousing and sales automation and marketing. The hypermarkets do not invest in inventory, rather they help suppliers sell their inventories. The price are cheaper compare to local stores because its the supplier providing the inventory and they rely on volume sales, hence economies of scale applies.

Its not a simple model, that anybody that thinks he or she can run a business would be able to do. Do you remember Ames stores in the USA, they were as big as Walmart, and was a twin of Walmart in returns, but where are they today? This is considering, that this guys knew exactly what they were doing and not asking in forums how to go about it or how to do it, or whether it would be successful. They knew the business.

As someone said earlier, stay away from businesses you know nothing about.

Now Romero is learning.

Poster, its been 3years since you posted. How is the business? Have you started or did the dream die? Let us know please.

I think it is a great idea, no matter how broke people are, as long as you selling the necessities, you will surely sell.

Of course it would thrive but you need to understand broadly what the challenges would be before relating to the specifics you intend to achieve, The nigerian fast moving consumer goods sector has a lot of potential but there are so many perilous pitfalls that you dont see at first glance, A word of advice dont put the cart before the horse, An on the ground industry player needs to do a comprehensive feasibility so you can theoretically evaluate going forward before you proceed to the actual setting up practically.its not just enough to come in an observe for a coupla weeks!!!!! you may not be able to properly evaluate the challenges when for instance theres an annoyin power outage that lasts for say 2wks and then no access to diesel /energy,whats the fall back then, your gross could be huge but operating expense would trust me swallow up all of dat espescially in the medium to long term, what i am sayin in essence is that its complicated,very much so in this environment, This is what my firm specialises in.VENTURE CAPS/JV'S anyways whenever your in naija gimme a buzz, we can sit down and have strategic discussions "AMALENT GLOBALINK LTD" is the firm we are at suite C215 ikota shopping complex,vgc,ajah,lagos

good idea.

shopping for assorted goods is a big headache for me in Lagos.usually i have to go out for several times before i get all i want.

and if you brother is good at computer, maybe you can start an online shop at the same time. but logistics might be a problem for online business.

man you need to be specific about what kind of store you want to set up.

do u want to set up a food store. like a regular grocery store that sells only food products.

or do you want to set up a general retail store like walmart , that sells all kinds of goods , from , food to clothes to electronics.

obviously the food store is easier to set up, and i think lots of nigerians would appreciate that , not having to go to some dirty market to haggle.

u can set up a butchery and a bakery and stuff.

i think lots of people would like that.

theres definitely room for growth.

" poster - is shoprite not thrivin?

Yes, it would, If it's located in Abuja!!!!

so long time .
well,if you are big supermarket boss,welcome to contact me .i am from shenzhen,china,i can supply good quality products for your supermarkets.
and if u need good quality garments,i can sell any time.

It can definitely work in Nigeria, but the key is where and how you get your products. The manufacturing base in Nigeria is still very weak at the moment, which means you have to get a good percentage of your wares from imports.

At the moment a lot of consumer goods are prohibited even when there are no local substitutes.
Your business will be at the mercy of a capricious government that can wipe you out at any time with a stroke of a pen.
You will need to get at least 80% of your merchandise from Nigeria before you can even think of such investments.
Remember Nigeria is littered with carcasses of once promising retail ventures.

well,seems nigerian full of small shops,few real big malls and supermarkets.
well,step by step,wish get success.

Poster,

To answer your question i would say yes. Take for instance the game, shoprite, park n shop and some other minors in their league like at Yaba where I reside there is one Tonyson supermarket that is doing really fine.

I have come to know that supermarkets thrive mostly in middle class and upper middle class neighbourhoods or densely populated areas. So if you are thinking of setting one up you already have some hints.