How to Start a Grocery Store in Nigeria

Grocery stores are the small provision shops (mainly run by Igbo Traders) where you buy beverages and other provision items in your neighborhood. They are extremely useful, so much that life could be miserable in a neighborhood where there is none. Do you know how to start Grocery store business in Nigeria?

Cross section of a well stocked Grocery Store in Nigeria

How to start a grocery store in Nigeria is very simple and I am going to explain the process in this article but before then, let's look at the benefit of grocery stores in most parts of Nigerian communities.

Imagine the typical life in the neighborhood: You enter into the bathroom to take your bath only to discover there is no soap, you wrap your towel round your waist, cross over the street and get a soap from the nearby grocery store - so convenient!

You are cooking a pot of soup, wanted to add Maggi (popular brand name for seasoning)but it happened you don't have any. You dash into your room, pick N20 and sent a little girl to go buy Maggi in the nearby shop. Within two minutes, the girl is back with cubes of Maggi ready for your pot of vegetable soup. 

These are some of the reasons grocery stores are the most important establishment in any neighborhood.

They make shopping so convenient in the neighborhood and make plenty of money at the same time. This business is so profitable that a good small grocery store makes average of N5,000 as pure profit everyday. Some items are sold with just N5 gain while some are sold with N500 gain, when you pile up everything at the end of the business day, you would be surprised at the amount of profit you make.

Provision items are the fastest selling in any Nigerian market. Like food stuff business, It a business that has no seasonal boundary, it sells all year round, money or no money, strike or no strike. That is why the business is considered very viable because whatever amount you make daily as profit may likely be constant all year round or even increase.

What You Need to Start a Grocery Store in Nigeria

A Shop - Rent a shop in good location. Any place people are living is a good location, especially is people are living there in a neighborhood setting. The size of shop you rent depends of the amount of money in your hands and how big you wants to start. Be choosy and shop and try to get decent one in a strategic location.

Shops are not too costly in the neighborhoods, N60,000 to N100,000 will get you a decent single shop. If you are going for double shop as some people prefers, you budget N120,000 to N200,000. Having paid for the shop, you furnish it to taste. Furnishing includes

Floor Tires -  In most cases, the floor of the shop may not be tired, you need to fix tires for some reasons (1) To beautify the shop and add more glamor (2) To prevent ants and insects from digging holes from the ground and invading your shop. Insects can destroy most of your items such as sugar, biscuits, beverages, etc..

Store Self - There are different types of store shelf, some are made of woods other are make of aluminum, while some are made of iron. The wooden is the preferred and the most commonly used. And you have different types of wooden shelf as well, some are cleanly finish with polished materials while other are hurriedly done. Your choice matters in this regard.

Tables - Probably one or two tables may be okay depending on the size of your shop. The most important is the cashier's table, you may do additional one or two tables for product display.

Painting - You need to paint your shop with high quality paint. When a shop is well painted and floor tires fixed, it helps prevent ants, insects, and rat from invaliding your grocery store.

Installation of lights - You don't need to be reminded how important light is in a business premises. It helps you quickly see where the goods are at night and quickly reach out for them. When a shop is well illuminated, it attracts more customers.

Air conditioner - Apart from your personal comfort and convenience, air conditioner helps preserve your goods and keep some unwanted intruders away. Customers are more at peace shopping in a grocery shop that is made conducive with AC. Therefore, try and install at least one.

Refrigerators - Refrigerator is a must in a grocery shop to keep your soft drinks and juices cool. These days, no one buys drinks and juices that are not cold. If you hope to sell drinks, juices, and pure water, you must get a refrigerator.

Stock your Shop with Goods - With all these in place, the next  and final step is to proceed to the market and buy your goods. The wholesale prices are fixed in any place where the grocery items are sold in wholesale though some dealers sells some items slightly higher or lower, the prices are relatively the same.

You can get the provision wholesalers in most major markets in Nigeria. After you have established your shop, you will be getting supply from manufacturers of some goods who usually go from streets to streets supplying shops.

That's all it takes to start this business.

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