Moving a Supermarket or Provision Store: Shelves, Freezers and Stock

The lease on the old shop ends on Friday. The new shop has bare walls, two deep freezers are full of frozen chicken, and a regular customer has just walked in asking for indomie by the carton. This is what a provision store move looks like, and it goes better when you treat it as three separate jobs: stock, equipment and the shop itself.

Start with the stock, two weeks before

A provision store holds a lot of cash on its shelves. The less you carry, the less you can lose or damage.

• Stop restocking slow items and let them run down.
• Put fast sellers on a small discount only if you are sure it still makes sense for you. Do not clear stock at a loss just to avoid carrying it.
• Sort out anything close to expiry and decide now whether it is sold, returned to the supplier or thrown away. It should not ride in the truck.
• Keep a short list of what a customer cannot do without (rice, sugar, cooking oil, bread, drinks) so you can reopen the new shop with those first.

Count by category the evening before, on paper or a phone. You need this to check that everything arrived.

Frozen and chilled goods come last on, first off

Frozen food is the part that can go wrong fast. Sell it down as far as you reasonably can, then plan the rest carefully.

1. Move frozen goods in the cooler hours of the day, and keep the drive short.
2. Pack them in thick cooler boxes or insulated bags, with ice blocks if you use them.
3. Load them last and offload them first, straight into a freezer that is already running at the new shop.
4. Do not open the boxes at the roadside to check them.

Ask your freezer supplier or electrician how long the freezer should stand and settle after moving. Many appliances need to rest upright before they are switched on again, so follow the manufacturer's guidance for yours.

Deep freezers and display fridges

Empty the freezer fully, switch it off and unplug it the day before so it can defrost. Place old towels in the bottom, because water will come out. Wipe it dry, tape the lid or door shut, and tie the power cable up where it cannot drag.

Carry it upright. A freezer lying flat in the back of a truck is a common way to damage the cooling system. Our post on moving a fridge or freezer without damaging it covers the handling in more detail.

Glass-door display fridges need extra care. Remove the shelves, wrap the glass in blankets or cardboard, and put them where nothing can lean on them.

Shelving, counters and the rest of the shop

Metal shelving is easiest when you take it apart and keep the bolts together.

• Photograph the shelves before dismantling so you can rebuild them quickly.
• Put bolts and brackets for each unit in a labelled bag, taped to that unit.
• Number each shelf upright and base, so you do not meet a heap of metal at the new shop.
• Wrap the glass counter top and any scale or till separately.

Keep the till, cash box, keys and records with you in your own car, not on the truck.

Ready to move?

Request a truck or van on Sphere

Choose your vehicle, propose your price, and verified drivers in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan accept or send a counter-offer.

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Packing the stock

Use the cartons that goods came in where you can. Do not pack heavy tins and bottled drinks in thin cartons, since the bottom will give way. Put the heavy things on the floor of the truck and the light, crushable ones on top: noodles, snacks, toilet rolls.

Mark each carton with the category and a number. When it arrives, someone at the new shop can send it to the right shelf without asking you.

Choose the vehicle by weight

A provision store is heavy, because drinks, tins and sacks of rice weigh a lot. Do not guess from how many cartons you can see.

A pickup van may handle a small shop in two trips, and the app lists a capacity of up to 2,400kg for it. A full supermarket usually needs a truck, listed at up to 27,000kg. Tell the driver the heavy items when you describe the load, since drinks and rice sacks change what vehicle makes sense. Read our guide on choosing the right truck size before you decide.

Timing the move around trading

Most owners want the shop closed for the shortest time. A few ideas that often work:

• Move the shelves and the dry stock on a quiet day, and the freezer last.
• Move overnight if the road, the landlord and the gate allow it. Our guide on moving a shop overnight in Lagos goes through that plan.
• Open the new shop with the essential items on display, and fill the rest of the shelves over the next days.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Pick a pickup van for a small provision store, or a truck for a larger shop.
2. Add the pickup and drop-off, and note steps, gates and any carry from the road.
3. Describe the load: shelves, freezers, cartons, drinks and how heavy they are.
4. Propose your price. Nearby verified drivers accept it or send a counter-offer, and you choose.
5. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.

See business moves in Lagos or truck hire in Lagos for the options. Sphere is also available in Abuja and Ibadan.