Nigerian startups have witnessed a number of acquisitions by foreign and local startups or investors in the past few years.
Some of them include Konga’s acquisition by Zinox Group in 2016, Paystack‘s acquisition by Stripe, as well as Piggyvest‘s acquisition of Abeg just recently.
These acquisitions have spelt bigger things for the brand in question and the Nigerian Startup ecosystem as well. These types of acquisitions are not only happening in the e-commerce and technology sectors but are happening in the retail ecosystem as well.
Pick n Pay, a retail business is in the fast-moving consumer goods industry on the African continent, originated in South Africa. It operates through multiple store formats under two brands, Pick n Pay and Boxer and they have the largest online grocery business in Africa.
Pick n Pay has recently acquired WhiteTree Gourmet, a Nigerian emerging startup retail brand to bolster its offerings and expand geographically.
According to the MD of WhiteTree Gourmet, Mr Ewaen Sorae, WhiteTree Gourmet was created as a solution to the retail needs of clients that understand excellence, wanted luxury and needed a space that offered that, quoting the Nigerian Retail Sector Report (2014) by Business Day, he mentioned that the traditional, informal retail infrastructure is often viewed as unprofessional and operating from places that are not in tune with the best of advanced societies.
Ewaen said that the firm was to bridge that gap and create a space that competed with the best of advanced societies. WhiteTree Gourmet sought to bring the full experience of shopping abroad to Nigeria, allowing customers of all races and demographies domiciled in Lagos the ability to experience the ease of shopping and a luxurious atmosphere such as they would see in very well-developed climes.
The Whitetree experience made retail shopping modern and inspiring with competitive pricing, quality products from all over the world and an ambience and environment like no other. WhiteTree Gourmet in its first 6 months had grown to serve more than five thousand customers and multiple vendors.
Pick N Pay, looking to expand, sought White Tree Gourmet. With their antecedent in the South African retail industry and their capacity to build upon the legacy of WhiteTree Gourmet and in the interest of the community and the numerous clientele that had enjoyed the WhiteTree experience, Pick N Pay acquired White Tree Gourmet.
Speaking on the acquisition, Manager, Pick N Pay, Nigeria was impressed with the kind of capacity WhiteTree Retail possessed to run the business successfully despite being fairly new in the FMCG space.
