NIGERIA – Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest wine and spirits company, plans to leverage Turkey’s and the Middle East’s successes and best practices to navigate Nigeria’s challenges and unlock opportunities.
The Africa and Middle East CEO, Selcuk Tumay, accompanied by Chief Financial Officer Africa, Nevzat Akkiz, and Managing Director Africa, Sola Oke, made the statement during a “Meet and Greet” session in the country.
Selcuk Tumay stated, “Despite Nigeria’s complexities, especially foreign exchange volatility, we are optimistic. Adapting strategies will drive growth, support local partners and deliver exceptional consumer experiences.”
In the pursuit for online sales, the French firm has purchased 1.27 million shares in Jumia’s recently announced secondary sale. A recent regulatory filing revealed that the global liquor giant’s stake in Jumia has now increased to 7.5%, up from 6.4%.
While the exact price at which Pernod Ricard acquired these new shares remains unclear, Jumia’s stock (JMIA) was trading at $4.68 on August 6, the day Pernod Ricard made the purchase, according to an SEC filing by Jumia.
Pernod Ricard has been a long-time investor in Jumia, at one point holding an 8.2% stake in the company. However, between 2020 and 2021, Jumia issued more shares, diluting Ricard’s position to 6.4%.
Jumia, one of African e-commerce giant, has been unprofitable for quite a long time prompting the e-commerce company to make significant changes in 2023, including laying off 900 employees and reducing executive compensation.
Later, in December 2023, the company shut down its cash-draining food delivery service, Jumia Food. In July 2024, Jumia’s share price surged by 252%, bringing its market capitalization to $1.3 billion.
This increase in investor confidence is attributed to improved cash efficiency and a strategic overhaul of the business. In the Q2 2024 financial report losses narrowed to $19 million—half of the loss reported in Q2 2023.
The financial results also highlight a rise in orders to 4.8 million, despite a reduction in advertising expenditure. Jumia attributes this growth to SEO optimization and enhanced customer relationship management, leading to a 6% increase in platform users.
Currently, the platform boasts 2 million active users on a quarterly basis. These statistics could be very promising for Pernod Ricard, which sells its products both directly and through third-party sellers on Jumia across Africa.
Pernod Ricard is aiming for growth of between 4% and 7% in the full year 2025 organic sales after reporting revenue of €11.6 billion (US$12.85bn) for fiscal 2024 boosted by ‘broadly stable’ and ‘strong’ sales in mature and emerging markets, which offset declines in a ‘still-normalising’ US and ‘challenging’ China.
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