Buy Nigeria to grow the Naira,that's a phrase I have heard a zillion times in the last 6 years. As much as I love that idea and how important it is for us to actually buy Nigeria to grow Nigeria, How much has the Nigerian Brand Owner or manufacturer of products encouraged Nigerians to patronize their products?
The three basic things a man needs in life are; food, clothing and shelter. Fortunately for us in Nigeria, the agricultural sector is improving by the day, even the hike in the price of tomatoes in the last couple of months and the drastic improvement(cut in price) has shown that the agricultural sector is a testimony of greater things to come in this country. This translates to the fact that, the number one basic need of man is under control and home grown food will eventually be in surplus for export to grow the Naira.
The second basic need of man,depending on what perspective you may choose to look at it is clothing. This brings us to the Nigerian Fashion Industry. I love this industry so much, this industry has grown from the Kesse Jabari days when clothes were made bespoke for fashion icons to the new age where the Nigerian designers like Ejiro Tafiri Amos and others now compete healthily for a ready to wear line.
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As much as I love the new age, the No.1 question we need to ask collectively as citizens of this great African Nation is who are the target market for this ready to wear lines that we have in the new Nigeria? From my understanding of a ready to wear clothing line, it simply means factory made clothing in finished conditions, that needs no alteration. These are items you can get off the rack and at an affordable price too.
In Europe and America where we have the major fashion industry, there are two things that sets the fashion industry apart, and this is the high end stores that sells haute couture and bespoke pieces, and the Normal stores that actually sell the ready to wear line which can be afforded by the low, medium or high income earner in the society. This type of stores have something in it for every one, When you are in London, you can have a feel of both world once you land in West End, you have a choice between the high end stores such as Selfridges, Burberry, Gucci and a host of others, and there you would also find the normal-average stores like Next, Newlook,H&M e.t.c.
Over here, the term ready to wear made by our local designers doesn't cater to all levels of income earners. The ready to wear line seems like Haute Couture to me, and most times, you can't just go into a local fashion outlet and shop as much as you want, because the prices are not so pocket friendly. You must give it to the new influx of designers we have here. They sew exquisite pieces just that they are not for every one. Which brings me to how and when do we grow the Naira through this sector of the economy, if our locally made pieces cannot be in every wardrobe in the country,
There are so many great labels from around the country, with well tailored pieces to their names, but its seems like the Nigeria designer only wants to restrict its wears to a particular few in the society, so is it safe to say the local labels are strictly high end? If we must grow the Nigerian Brands, thereby growing the Naira, one would assume that brand owners will play a big role in ensuring that they are able to create a brand that would accommodate and encourage an average income earner.
When you visit websites like Ralph Lauren, H&M, or even the Guccis and the Salvator Ferragamos, You not only see the designs they have, but you also see the prices they are selling them. Please visit Ejiro Tafiri Amos, Lanre Dasilva Ajayi or any other made in Nigerian fashion designer website that you know, and let us know if your findings will be any different from ours. What you see on their sites is strictly look-book, collections,and other fancy names, they never come with a prize tag, you need to call in or go to the store for that particular information.
As important as it is to grow our local brands, the majority of the citizens can not afford to contribute towards growing these brands, so how much investment can the little minority who can actually afford these local luxury impact on the economy?
