By Jill Okeke
All roads led to Lekki, uptown district of Lagos, at the weekend as FoodCo Nigeria Limited made its formal entry into the city. Founded 37 years ago in Ibadan, Oyo State, FoodCo, is a diversified consumer goods company with interests in retail, quick service restaurants, entertainment and manufacturing. It is also owners of the largest supermarket chain in south-west Nigeria, outside Lagos.
One way it announced its triumphant entry into the famed Centre of Excellence was through its tagline, Lagos life, Ibadan price! Speaking during the launch of the company’s first Lagos outlet in Lekki, Ade Sun-Basorun, Chief Executive Officer designate, stated that the brand’s presence in Lagos will complement the industry of modern consumer retail already active in the city and fully service the needs of consumers.
The Lekki store is FoodCo’s ninth store in the south-west region.
He said: “We are a 37-year-old institution and a part of a small group of consumer retail companies that created formal retail in the country. We are also part of a small group that created quick service restaurants in the country; dating back to two and a half decades. From very early in our journey, our mission statement has always been to be the foremost retailer of consumer products in South-West Nigeria and we have had quite a lot to do to satisfy the needs of our home state of Oyo State and across other areas in the South-West region. When you have been around as long as we have, you will constantly get questions and requests from customers all over the South-West, and especially Lagos, asking when are you coming over to us. So, we finally yielded to the numerous requests and we are excited today to be opening our first location in Lekki, in the great city of Lagos.
“Lagos is one of the rare examples in Nigeria that is blessed with many well run and capable retail organizations. We are grateful for an opportunity to join in the mix and be one of the many quality providers that can assist in providing access to retail for all 15 million Lagosians. Some of the benefits of having been around for over 30 years is that we have had a lot of chances to learn how to do things right. Our processes have been developed and refined well over three decades so we are confident of an exciting time in this market based on the assurance of premium quality and pocket-friendly prices synonymous with the FoodCo heritage,” he added.
While commenting on the choice of its tagline, the FoodCo boss said, “Lagos life is talking about giving Lagos a high quality, premium experience while Ibadan price is to say that we are from Oyo,state. The fact that you don’t know us is not because we are not around, it’s because we have a history we are proud of.”
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