By Islamiyyah Adekanbi

Airtel Nigeria has opened 350 retail shops across the country as part of plans to establish 500 premium experience centres aimed at bringing its services closer to customers.

The new retail shops were officially launched at City Mall, Onikan, Lagos, and are located in several cities including Lekki, Marina, Magodo, Abeokuta, Benin, Abakaliki, Kano and Abuja.

The company said the outlets are designed to provide faster and easier access to services such as SIM registration, data subscriptions, broadband services, postpaid plans, enterprise solutions and customer support.

Speaking at the launch, Airtel Nigeria’s Director of Sales and Distribution, Joypratip Sengupta, said the expansion reflects the company’s commitment to improving customer experience by making its services more accessible.

“Everything we do is centred on putting the customer first. These experience centres are open to help customers carry out their transactions faster and with greater ease,” he said.

Sengupta added that the initiative would reduce congestion at larger service centres while making it easier for customers to access Airtel’s products and services in their communities.

Also speaking, Head of Shops and Retail Postpaid Business, Lynda Amechi, said the new retail model was introduced in response to customer feedback on waiting times at larger experience centres.

According to her, the new shops will enable customers to complete simple transactions more quickly while improving access to Airtel’s services.

The company said the expansion forms part of its broader customer experience strategy, which includes investment in digital self-service platforms, AI-powered customer support and network expansion across the country.