The biggest supermarket in Bo, Sierra Leone, will shut down. “Best in Market” has announced that it is closing its operations after 23 years of activity, following a feud with the government over the selling of alcoholic beverages.
Best in Market, the biggest supermarket in Bo, Sierra Leone, will shut down, company representatives have announced. The decision was taken following weeks of confrontation with the country’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Peter Bayuku Konteh. As stated by Best in Market’s administration, the minister issued an order, in July, according to which the supermarket would have to start selling alcoholic beverages or “face the consequences”. A spokesperson for the Minister has confirmed the order, adding that the supermarket would have a month to enforce it and start selling alcoholic beverages.
After deliberations, Best in Market has decided to avoid any further confrontation with the minister and close down the supermarket. The company’s director said he does not “intend to sell alcoholic beverages. And no one will force us to do so because there is no law that says that a supermarket must sell alcoholic beverages in order to be able to operate in Sierra Leone”.
Best in Market is the biggest supermarket in the city of Bo, the third largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest in the country’s southern province. Best in Market is also one of the leading retailers in Sierra Leone, according to Trendtype’s Leading Retailers Dashboard. The retailer, which was established in 1995 under the name Sabbagh Supermarket and later changed to Best in Market, is the main importer of goods into the modern grocery trade in the city, from the EU, US, UAE and China. It sells a wide variety of products, ranging from frozen food, to confectionery, household cleaning products and electrical appliances.
The order by the government is not the only problem the supermarket has faced recently as court proceedings take place on the alleged stealing of Le500,000 million ($57,480) of sales revenue by some of the company’s cashiers.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has been pushing for new policies in the retail sector. Just this month, the minister issued another warning to retailers, saying shop owners need “to create space or shelves in their supermarkets, shops and stores to sell mainly ‘made in Sierra Leone’ products”. Again, the warning was accompanied by a ninety-day deadline.
