This month SHF is focusing on the retail industry in Nigeria and the lack thereof. There are a lot of components that make up a retail market and one of them is the work and trade brought on by High Street stores. It is a well known fact that Lagos does not have a High Street and to shed some light on this issue SHF managed to catch up with none other than Arieta Mujay, the press manager of River Island retailers Ltd. River Island is a power house fashion brand in the UK that has 250 stores in the UK and Ireland; its stores can also be seen in countries all over the world like Singapore, Dubai, Russia and Poland. The store also manages to stay well ahead of their competitors by sponsoring credible fashion events like Graduate Fashion Week, which is a great platform for fashion students to showcase their final year collections. Fashion icons like Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon and Matthew Williamson all got their big breaks by presenting their work at this show. River Island is also a high street store that is frequented by celebrities like Kelis, Kelly Rowland, Solange and Lilly Allen. All of whom Arieta introduced to the store whilst taking them shopping.
Arieta has over twelve years of experience working in the retail industry for well-established High Street brands like Gap, Diesel, New Look and River Island, so SHF was delighted to hear what her views were on the topic.
Do you think that there is a retail culture in Nigeria?
Well retail in effect is about buying and selling, so I think from that point of view that we do have an element of retail culture. But if you are talking more about if Nigeria has a High Street culture like there is in the U.K where you can easily buy a selection of well-made clothes at a cheap price, then I don’t believe there is one.
What do you think the problems are that have led to Nigeria not having a High Street?
I’m not really sure but I think it’s high time that we had a High Street; after all places like South Africa have begun to develop a High Street. At the moment in Nigeria, shopping for clothes is very limited- you have the choices of either buying your clothes abroad, buying them from boutiques at an exorbitant price (and often these pieces are from people who buy the clothes abroad and then bump up the prices when they come back to their hometown) buying the pieces from the market or getting your tailor to make you clothes. This is part of the reason why in Nigeria, there seems to be an immense lack of distinction between a tailor and a designer.
What do you think the government can do about the lack of a High Street retail industry in Nigeria?
The government needs to invest a lot more in the public sector by providing more places of commune where people can shop. Back in the day my mum used to have a shop in Tejusho market and the shop owners there were one of the first people to start importing and exporting to bring clothing products to sell in Nigeria, but then the government knocked down Tejusho market. It’s really hard for traders to find places to sell -in Lagos especially- and I think that the government needs to invest more in places like malls and so on because they are not just stores they are social places of gathering. In the West hanging out in malls is part of their teenage culture and if we had more social outlets like that, then that would be great. I think it would help the young ones stay out of mischief too!
Well I don’t go back home much, but I did notice that when I went back to Lagos last Christmas that a new mall ‘Palms’ had popped up, so I guess we are growing in that area slowly, slowly. When you go back to Lagos, do you ever go shopping in their malls?
I went back to Lagos last Christmas and I too hadn’t been home in quite some time and was very excited when I heard that a new mall- ‘Palms’- had opened. But when I got there, I was told that it had been robbed the day before so I was really scared! That aside, I was happy to see that the mall had a ‘Mango’ store, however because of the lack of a High Street in Lagos, the prices in the shop were put at very high prices. For example, tops which you could get for about £20 in ‘Mango’ stores over here were being sold at treble the price. Having said all that, having High Street stores like ‘Mango’ set up shop in Lagos is a step in the right direction.
What do you think the fashion industry can do about the lack of High Street retail culture back home?
The fashion industry can help guide the government in terms of trying to encourage them to invest a lot more in the fashion industry as a whole in Nigeria. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to fashion in Africa where it is not seen as essential or vital to the community. But this couldn’t be further away from the truth and the fashion industry needs to alert the government to the fact that fashion can have a lot of impact on the economy of a country. For example in the West, the High Street played a huge role in helping to guide them out of the recession and that is the power of fashion. So I think the government and people of Nigeria need to recognize that and help our fashion industry as little as it is to grow and then it will be easier to make way for a productive High Street.
Carrying on from that, coming from such a strong retail background which shows in the amount of notable high street stores you have worked for- what tips can you give to people back home who do want to start a High Street culture?
I have spoken to a lot of African designers about bringing the High Street to Nigeria and I think that one of the most important considerations here is location. Location is paramount because these stores would need to be somewhere where a lot of people have easy access to. There is no point putting a shop in Victoria Garden City because people living on the other side of the Mainland would spend the whole day trying to get to that store. Also the kind of pieces these High Street stores should stock is very important. In the West we have seasonal fashion but in Nigeria they don’t. Harmattan is not a season! (She laughs) So we need to think about what products and textures would work in Africa and with African people. They should also cater for bigger sizes, during Graduate Fashion Week last week I saw a collection by a Nigerian designer called Enuvie, who designs a plus size collection. I think that stores that cater for larger sizes would work really well back home.
Lagos may not have an abundant high-end industry but we do have a few luxury designers like Jewel by Lisa and Deola Sagoe who have set up their own in-house stores. What do you think of stores like these?
Well as great as it is for these stores to have their own niche and customers, the fact that there are a few luxury high-end stores and not much else by way of options for shopping- highlights the lack of a retail industry in Lagos. This is because majority of the population in Lagos can’t actually afford to buy those high-end pieces.
What do you think stops emerging Nigerian designers from opening stores in Nigeria?
I think most of these young designers are doing things according to the times. A lot of Nigerian designers sell their pieces through sites like myasho.com, so that they can reach a wider audience. Also having your own store for example in Lagos is very expensive. Let’s not forget that these emerging designers would have to factor in expenses like- a good location, reliable security guards, generators- and it all adds up. At the end of the day, these young kids are just starting out and more often than not, they don’t have the funds to cater for all of that. So a lot of them are content with making their clothes in their bedrooms but they are selling them on the web which the whole world has access to.
And finally, which High Street stores would you like to see set up shop in Nigeria?
River Island, Gap and H & M because they are ‘great value for money’ stores. Also they are not trend-led shops per-se. I know Top Shop is a popular contender but I don’t think that Nigeria is ready for Top Shop because we don’t dress like grunge heroin-ridden people. African women are peacocks- they want their sequins, bling and glamour and that is River Island full stop. On the flip side, to cater for the basics, I think Gap and H & M would be great. A lot of guys in Nigeria like to wear their khaki shorts with their polo shirts, so I think they would be drawn to shops like Gap and H & M.
SHF credits blog.weclothing.com
