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‘THE MODERN SHOPPING EXPERIENCE’: KINGSWAY DEPARTMENT STORE AND CONSUMER POLITICS IN GHANA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2012

Bianca Murillo
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Abstract

Despite the perception that department stores are a recent phenomenon in West Africa, modern indoor retail spaces have existed in its major cities since the mid-twentieth century. This article uses the history of Kingsway Department Store in Accra as a lens to understand emerging political, economic and social tensions in post-colonial Ghana. Drawing on United Africa Company (UAC) records, staff reports and inspection findings, as well as local newspapers, advertising and oral interviews, I demonstrate how legacies of colonial capitalism, struggles for political independence and negotiations over what constituted the ‘modern’ fuelled both local and foreign support of the project. For the UAC, investment was an opportunity to legitimize its activities in a newly independent Ghana and a means to shed its image as a colonial merchant firm. While local authorities were divided on whether large-scale retail developments should be part of an expanding post-colonial city, Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah thought the store might provide a key component in constructing his vision of a new modern nation. However, the presence of white-collar working women, young managers supervising older employees, and the mixing of white expatriate and African shoppers exacerbated social conflicts – challenging local and colonial notions of authority based on race, gender and age.

Malgré la perception selon laquelle les grands magasins sont un phénomène récent en Afrique de l'Ouest, on trouve des espaces commerciaux intérieurs modernes dans les grandes villes de cette région depuis le milieu du vingtième siècle. À travers le prisme du grand magasin Kingsway d'Accra, cet article cherche à comprendre les tensions politiques, économiques et sociales émergentes dans le Ghana postcolonial. Il s'appuie sur les archives de l'United Africa Company (UAC), les dossiers du personnel et les rapports d'inspections, ainsi que sur les journaux locaux, les publicités et les entretiens oraux pour démontrer comment l'héritage du capitalisme colonial, les luttes pour l'indépendance politique et les négociations sur ce qui constituait le « moderne » ont alimenté le soutien local et le soutien étranger du projet. Pour l'UAC, l'investissement était une opportunité de légitimer ses activités dans un jeune Ghana indépendant et un moyen de se débarrasser de son image de société marchande coloniale. Alors que les pouvoirs locaux étaient divisés sur la question de savoir si les grands ensembles commerciaux devaient s'inscrire dans les projets d'expansion d'une ville postcoloniale, le Premier Ministre Kwame Nkrumah pensait que le magasin pouvait avoir apporté un élément clé dans la construction de sa vision d'une nouvelle nation moderne. Or, la présence au travail de femmes en col blanc, l'encadrement du personnel par des plus jeunes et la mixité de la clientèle (blanche expatriée et africaine) ont exacerbé les conflits sociaux en remettant en cause les notions locales et coloniales de l'autorité fondées sur la race, le sexe et l’âge.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 82 , Issue 3 , August 2012 , pp. 368 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2012

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