Smes Survival and Thrives in an Inflationary Economy: A study of Supermarket Retailers in Kano and Jigawa States, Nigeria

The study investigates SMEs’ Survival and Thrives in an Inflationary Economy: A Study of Supermarket Retailers in Kano and Jigawa States, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to owners and managers of supermarket retailers that hired at least 10 employees. The questionnaire under primary data cover aspects such as operational costs, revenue changes, employee’s turnover, pricing strategies. Whereas, Research Journals, Industry Report Data (IRD), Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer Price Index (PPI) were obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as secondary sources. The study employ a stratified purposive sampling which consists of 100 retail and supermarkets owners, managers and supervisors, 50 each from Kano and Jigawa State respectively. Simple random sampling technique from each stratum was also employed. The population for the study comprises supermarket retailers operating in Kano and Jigawa States of Nigeria. The population was divided into strata based on geographical location and size of the supermarket (e.g. number of employees, number of branches). Data used in the research was analysed using Chi-squared method under descriptive statistics which comprise basic percentages, mean, and the standard deviation of measurement items were the statistical tools employed for the data analysis. The sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formula, which is appropriate for finite populations. The research findings reveals that inflation affects survival and growth of retails and supermarkets operating within Kano and Jigawa State. Hence, retails and supermarkets were forced to implement various operational strategies to cope with the effects of inflation.