{"id":12534,"date":"2026-03-18T22:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/retail-and-lifestyle-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:20:46","slug":"retail-and-lifestyle-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/retail-and-lifestyle-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail and lifestyle in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To decipher the profound changes taking place in the continent&#8217;s retail industry, we met <b data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"90\">Val\u00e9ry Martin<\/b>, a strategy and insights expert with 30 years&#8217; experience in North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, who works with leading brands to transform the complexity of African markets into growth opportunities. For him, Africa is not just a field of observation, it&#8217;s the beating heart of tomorrow&#8217;s creativity and business. <\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"5\">Lifestyle, more than a trend, a survival strategy<\/h3>\n<p><span data-path-to-node=\"4,1\"><span class=\"citation-108\">Gone are the days when people went to the mall just to fill their carts with staples.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"4,3\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"4,5\"><span class=\"citation-107\">In Abidjan and the major cities of West Africa, the retail sector is undergoing a silent revolution: that of experience and lifestyle. <\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"4,7\">We take a closer look at a market where fashion, culture and entertainment have become the new engines of growth. <\/span> <\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_3a7471ed52c318a3-63\" data-path-to-node=\"6\"><span data-path-to-node=\"6,1\"><span class=\"citation-106\">According to Val\u00e9ry Martin, the duel between giants such as Prosuma and CFAO is no longer based solely on the price of basic necessities.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"6,3\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"6,5\"><span class=\"citation-105\">Lifestyle&#8221; has become the real sinews of war.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"6,7\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"6,9\"><span class=\"citation-104\">In this configuration, the classic supermarket serves as a <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"6,9\" data-index-in-node=\"59\"><span class=\"citation-104\">loss leader<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-104\"> to generate traffic, but it&#8217;s the lifestyle, fashion, culture and home brands that generate the real margins and ensure the profitability of shopping centers. <\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12527\" src=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping mall in Africa  \" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1.jpg 819w, https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-480x600.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 819px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"7\">Capturing attention<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_3a7471ed52c318a3-64\" data-path-to-node=\"8\"><span data-path-to-node=\"8,0\">How do brands like Fnac, Nespresso and Mango manage to dominate the market? <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"8,2\"><span class=\"citation-103\">The answer lies in a key concept, according to Val\u00e9ry Martin, the <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"8,2\" data-index-in-node=\"40\"><span class=\"citation-103\">Sticky Factor<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-103\"> (Sticky Factor)<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"8,4\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"8,6\"><span class=\"citation-102\">The aim is no longer simply to sell a product, but to &#8220;capture&#8221; the consumer&#8217;s time.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"8,8\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,0\">In this strategy, leisure plays a predominant role. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,2\"><span class=\"citation-101\">Cinema, for example, is the ultimate weapon for keeping customers entertained for several hours.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,4\">. <\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,6\"><span class=\"citation-100\">This flow of visitors, who initially came &#8220;for the film&#8221;, ends up consuming &#8220;for pleasure&#8221; in the surrounding fashion boutiques.<\/span><\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,8\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"10\">Three models for three Visions<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">The retail landscape now revolves around three distinct approaches:<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"12\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Prosuma:<\/b> A multi-sector &#8220;heavy artillery&#8221; covering leisure, home and fashion.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">CFAO:<\/b> A marked specialization in the winning trio of fashion, food and catering.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Auchan:<\/b> A model focused on convenience and proximity, offering an alternative without superfluous luxury.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"13\">Where does &#8220;Made in Africa&#8221; fit in?<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"14\">This is the burning question for local fashion players. While international franchises such as Kiabi, Celio and Mango often occupy strategic locations, the challenge of positioning is crucial for African designers. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15\">Should they seek prestige by setting up next to giants like Nespresso, or prefer the proximity of the Auchan model? For Val\u00e9ry Martin, the future of the physical mall lies in its transformation into a <b data-path-to-node=\"15\" data-index-in-node=\"211\">total cultural center<\/b>. To succeed in this, it is imperative for a creator to rely on data before setting up shop, to guarantee viability in the face of landlords&#8217; demands.  <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"16,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The final word:<\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"19\">&#8220;Tomorrow&#8217;s retail in Abidjan will no longer be a question of distribution, but of mastering the overall <\/i><i data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"19\">consumer<\/i> <i data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"19\"> experience <\/i><i data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"19\">.&#8221;<\/i> &#8211; Val\u00e9ry Martin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15\">Read also<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-path-to-node=\"15\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/afretail-the-must-attend-event-for-retail-experts-in-africa\/\">Afretail, the must-attend event for retail experts in Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li data-path-to-node=\"15\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/retail-revive-services-your-strategic-partner-for-conquering-the-african-market\/\">Retail Revive Services, your strategic partner for conquering the African market<\/a><\/li>\n<li data-path-to-node=\"15\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/georgette-griffiths-co-founder-of-fashion-week-by-elie-kuame\/\">Georgette Griffiths, co-founder of Fashion Week by Elie Kuame<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Val\u00e9ry Martin, insights expert, gives us an uncompromising analysis of the emergence of a lifestyle economy where fashion and culture are becoming the real drivers of profitability for retail players in Africa.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12536,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12534\/revisions\/12536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}