FG, NASS tasked on fair policies, programmes to help retail businesses grow 

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the National Assembly have been tasked to make fair policies and programmes that would help retailing of products thrive better in the nation.

The Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Sundry Market, operators of Marketsquare, Ebele Enunwa, , made this call during an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the organisation, in Port Harcourt. 

Enunwa, who said that the organisation has grown and now owns 41 retail outlets in 19 Cities in 15 states of the nation, noted that the government do not take retailing businesses seriously.

He said that retailing is the most vital aspect of the business value chain, noting that without retailing that produced goods cannot get to the final consumers.

Enunwa said the firm operates with over 5000 direct staff members and over 10,000 persons are indirectly engaged on the with the services of the organisation, adding government needs to make good programmes that will help retailing grow. 

He said: “My industry is one that people don’t take seriously, generally, from a policy and a government standpoint. You hear a lot of people talking about manufacturing, manufacturing, manufacturing.

“They want to help manufacturing and all that. But what they don’t understand is that manufacturing is the body. Retail is the leg.
Like a bodybuilder. You build your body and you don’t build your legs. You only as weak as your legs.

“And so there is the needs to be intentional about helping retail grow. Because when manufacturers manufacture, they need to get their products to the consumer.

Without retail, their products can’t get to the consumer. So you can’t be trying to encourage manufacturing without encouraging retail.”

He noted that within the 10 years, the organisation has remained dedicated to providing the best services, products, the best environment that the consumers feel like they are getting the right value for their money. 

He noted that the major challenge that has affected the retailing sector in recent time was Inflation, but expressed joy that the situation is dousing down gradually. 

Meanwhile, Chairman, Board of Sundry Market Limited, Charles Odita, took the government on the need to provide infrastructure and security for retailing businesses to thrive in the country.

Odita said: “We have been in operations for the last 10 years. And indeed, we started from a modest one branch at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Today, we have grown, spread across the country over 16 states over 41 branches.

“For retail, we need a couple of things.They are not too complicated, very basic things. The first is, of course, the infrastructure. We’ll be able to move things from one point to the other.

“Security is also very, very paramount in our minds. Infrastructure, you can say, includes electricity, but electricity supply is one of the major things. 

Once we have these as our enabling factors, then we have the area driving in our economy.”