Angolan hypermarket chain Candando plans to close half of the stores it operates in the African country, with the consequent loss of 1,000 jobs.
The decision was confirmed by local businesswoman Isabel do Santos in an interview to local financial daily Valor Económico.
She explained that the decision is due to the seizure of assets by the Luanda Provincial Court on 30 December 2019, which includes eight Candando stores.
Supplier Impact
According to do Santos, the Court decision is having a negative impact on the company’s operations “as it no longer can have a normal relationship with suppliers”.
She added that the company's bank accounts in Portugal are frozen so that it cannot pay suppliers, while all payments abroad are blocked.
The first store of the Candando hypermarket chain was opened in the capital Luanda in May 2016, followed by a second in April 2017 and a third in December the same year.
The company’s business plan had foreseen the opening of 10 stores in five years, equating to an overall investment of US$ 400 million.
Initially, Candando was a joint project of Isabel dos Santos alongside Portuguese retail group Sonae, with the Portuguese group exiting the venture in 2015, selling its 47% stake in Contidis, the holding company that owned the hypermarkets.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
