Malls May Be Struggling In The U.S., But In Nigeria They’re Just Taking Off

With its rising middle class, Africa’s most populous country is embracing the places and culture that are sagging in America — mall culture, that is — NewYorkTimes reports.

Many enclosed malls anchored by big box stores may be struggling in the U.S., according to the report.
Emerging malls — and mall culture — in Nigeria reflect broad trends in Africa, including a growing middle class with money to spend. Malls are changing the economic climate in cities you may never have heard of, like Warri, Nigeria, home to Delta City Mall but not well known outside the region.
Informal markets still supply between 85 and 95 percent of all food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study by the International Livestock Research Institute, Voice of America reported. Their supremacy is unlikely to be dented by the continent’s spreading formal supermarket chains.
One of the main cities in Nigeria’s oil­-producing region, Warri has grown fast, like many other medium-­sized Nigerian cities. New housing developments cluster on its outskirts.

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