The Nation Newspaper

Category: Shopping

  • Hubmart rewards customers with N3.9m

    It was naira rain at Hubmart Stores when the chain store gave N3.9million during its first Awoof Promo Draw, as part of its customer loyalty programme.

    Celebrity guest and music diva, Onyeka Onwenu informed winners on their mobile phones.

    Among the winners were Ola, Sowa, Frank, Samol, Dike Emmanuel, Ujam Kenechukwu, Emeka, Lolita, Ogbu, Friday Akpabio, Taiwo, Yvonne, Beatrice, Temitope and Akash.

    Customers qualified for the draw in regular and platinum categories, by buying goods worth N3, 500 or N5, 000.

    Ola, who shops at Hubmart Lekki branch, won N250,000, while Frank and Samol won N100,000 each. Dike Emmanuel, Ujam Kenechukwu, Temitope, Akash and Patrick won N50,000 each.

    One of the lucky winners, Ene, who won N100,000, when called on her mobile phone, expressed joy,  saying she had never won anything.

    There were also other prizes, which were won across the three branches, bringing total amount to N3.9 million.

    Hubmart Stores’s Managing Director Murat Bektaslar said the  draw was aimed at rewarding  the firm’s customers.

    Bektaslar, who said the promo  was also about the new season, said they were also using it to celebrate their third anniversary.He said the draw had been transparent as it was supervised by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

    The Hubmart chief added: “The end of the year is usually more relaxed and there is more celebration because there are lots to celebrate. There is Christmas and the New Year. For us, the last part of the year is the most critical and important part. The customers are feeling better because throughout the year they feel stress because of that we have been working hard.

    “The Hubmart Awoof Promotion is an ongoing activity and as long as people shop, they’ll have chance to win more. We have two types of tickets, regular and the platinum ticket. The difference between the regular and platinum ticket is that the reward is different. Every month, we will have at least 66 raffle draw winners and will be giving out several other consolation prizes.

    “There is also a special discount promo where customers get a rebate of five per cent on their shopping depending on their frequency of shopping so look out for the discount coupons.  In our tradition of delighting our customers, we are ensuring that during this promotion, everyone will be a winner,” he added.

     

  • Regulatory bodies endorse Drinks Festival 2018

    The drinks and beverage industry in Nigeria is seen to be largely dominated by the manufacturers of certain global brands. The reasons for this can be attributed to knowledge gap, the highly expensive operating environment and high import dependency experienced by indigenous stakeholders in the drinks industry.

    It is assumed that regulatory bodies should be held responsible for some difficulties faced by these indigenous stakeholders and have been labelled witch-hunters due to the rigorous procedures they continue to employ in ensuring that high standards are maintained, and the contents of these beverages are not detrimental to the health of consumers.

    These assumptions and knowledge gap are some issues that would be addressed at the International Drinks Festival. The Festival will provide a platform for every stakeholder in the industry to understand perfectly the role of regulatory bodies on these issues and learn efficient and effective way of tackling challenges.

    With barely two weeks to the annual International Drinks Festival, plans have been put in place to secure the full participation of regulatory and management agencies that will educate and enlighten attendees on core areas of standardisations and regulations in the Nigeria drinks industry through its Business Summit. These agencies include; Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Lagos Inland Revenue Services (LIRS) and the Nigerian Customs.

    For the first day, the festival’s business summits would work on Government and Brand Education as participants would be tutored on various topics including Government Regulations in promoting the Drinks Industry and Brand Education and Its Impact on Society anchored by the regulatory agencies.

    As the Business-to-Business summit progresses onto the second day, participants would be taken through insightful sessions on taxation and manufacturing with topics such as; Understanding Taxation in The Drinks Business and Sourcing Raw Materials in the Nigerian Landscape.

    Speaking at the first edition of the festival in 2017, a tax expert said:

    “Knowledge is power and we need to be able to distinguish between taxes, levies and fines. Tax rates are never as high as we think”.

    Other sessions at the festival include Branding and Marketing which will feature topics such as Drinks Industry as a major contributor to the Nigerian Lifestyle and Branding African Drinks for the World as focal points.

    In addition, explosive sessions on  Market Penetration, Technology and Equipment, Economy and Investment, Hospitality and Health would take place with topics on Does Draft Beer Have a Place in Nigeria?, How Do Wine Brands Increase Their Market Share In Nigeria, Understanding taxation in The Drinks Business, Sourcing Raw Materials in the Nigerian Landscape, Tech and The Drinks Industry; Where do they meet?, Exploring the Business Opportunities in the Drinks Industry, Sharing the Club Space; Villa oration, Competition And Mutual Benefit and Alcohol and the Health Sector

    The festival will afford the drinks brands the opportunity to exhibit a variety of industry- related products and services while visitors get the opportunity to meet with their favourite drinks brands, food pairings, expert masterclasses. The festival will also provide a platform for networking and interactive sessions for attendees and major stakeholders in the drinks business.

    The four-day event slated for November 29  to December 2 at the prestigious Federal Palace Hotel in the heart of Victoria Island will offer participants an experience with an array of products and exciting information through interactive platforms to tackles issues bordering on the drinks industry; its challenges, opportunities and the future ahead.

     

     

  • Shoppers agog ahead of Black Friday sales

    Few weeks away from the last Friday in November, the Nigerian shopping community is already in frenzy like their counterparts abroad many of who are anxious to make good bargains and cut deals, reports Tonia ‘Diyan

    Few years ago when the now    famous Black Friday was first marked in Nigeria, a lot of people thought it was going to be short-lived. But five years down the line, that culture has cut on with Nigerians as many shoppers look forward to the season of special sales    promos.

    Black Friday is the most  celebrated shopping day in history. Everything and everyone is up for a   bargain, it is simply a day when you see the craziest discounts on various products from mobile, electronics, home appliances and fashion to beauty products. For many it has become a day when people save to do all their shopping for the year. For some it  kicks off the    Christmas season with a perfect opportunity to get those amazing Christmas    gifts for friends and loved ones. For many others it’s a day to get brand new  products at incredible prices. It doesn’t matter what products you are looking   for, Black Friday is a day for everyone and anyone who ever has seen a need to shop.

    Black Friday Shoppers prepare for a dash across stores to make sure they are the first ones to grab the best    items with the best prices, or even till more recently online shoppers that  have their computers and mobile devices counting down to ‘The Sale of the  Year’. It is reported that once you have the experiences, no one wants to miss out on the rewards of Black Friday.

    According to varying media sources, Black Friday sales in 2013 when online shopping started in Nigeria,  recorded 307 million shoppers worldwide topping $ 57.4 million in sales. With the rapid growth of eCommerce, online sales grossed $1.4 million; an indication of the rapid awareness and improvement in the lifestyle of customers.

    Bringing it back home, the Nigerian digital space was abuzz in November 2013 with news of the first BlackFriday sale ever to be held in the country. The sale which was organised by Jumia.com afforded Nigerians the opportunity to experience deals and discounts that even their counterparts in the US and Asia would marvel at.

    Staff of the company speaking about the sale marvelled at how powerful the lure of Black Friday was for Nigerians,  the online store experienced web traffic that was unprecedented in its history, making their technology team proactively fall back on back up servers that they    had not thought they would use so early. This year is guaranteed to be even bigger with bigger discounts on items. Last year it was recorded that on Black Friday, the website saw over a million unique visitors.

    This shopping trend has brought growth to the potential and visibility of the eCommerce industry. This has also  empowered customers and suppliers with great savings and avenue for brand  awareness/ revenue respectively. It was recorded that retail contributed 17percent to the nations GDP in 2013, with Black Friday arguably the largest contributor in the sector.

    As doors open, and web pages go live, all sleep thoughts cast aside, bargain hunters begin to hunt, finding bargains and deals on mobile, electronics, home and kitchen appliances, beauty and personal care, and lots of other items that they could only have dreamed about before, but this time with the most unbelievable prices.

    To Nigerians, who for many years have only read about ‘the biggest shopping event’, Black Friday may seem like madness, an event that usually saw the shopping appetite of people come to  the fore, ushering in Christmas shopping and a day that people look forward to  with so much expectation.

    Statistics for online retailers for Black Friday in the US and Asia have come in their billions with most retailers seeing figures that have most times far exceeded what they had previously recorded in whole months.

    Nigerians who participated in the sale went on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter bragging about the bargains they had snagged. Talk like “I didn’t believe Jumia would really  sell that Television Set at 70 percent less”, and many other testimonies were very common during that period. Other lesser known online retail stores in Nigeria also jumped on the trend with promised deals that customers later accused them of being tricky with a few of these websites crashing to the dismay of anticipating shoppers.

    Speaking with Shoprite spokes person, Mr Ini Archibong, he said The retailer will be offering Big Discount on a wide range of products from the different departments by almost 50percent. “Shoppers are encouraged to follow social media platforms and see leaflets for the items that will have the biggest deal. It promises to be a wonderful shopping season with Christmas around the corner.”

    Also SPAR being a Hypermarket store promises to provide the widest choice of Black Friday Offers cutting across Food, Grocery, Bakery, Butchery, Wine, Spirits, Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Laptops, Mobile Phone, Perfume, Watches, Clothing, Furniture and many more products categories which are essential for a typical Nigerian Household. By virtue of SPAR product range which is over 12,000 products across all the categories, SPAR is said to offer the widest choice of products on Black Friday Promotion.

    Speaking with the brand’s Communication Manager, Mr Olutayo Irantiola, he said: “With every passing year, we have witnessed a huge traction for Non Durable Products like FMCG, Wine, Spirits, Bakery, Butchery on Black Friday Promotion. SPAR has witnessed ever growing footfall every year across all its stores. This year, we are gearing up to cater to even larger footfall during the eight days of Black Friday Promotion starting 22nd.”

    From the shopper standpoint, Black Friday shopping in a brick and mortar store is more fulling as compared to online. First, they can have a look and feel of the product before making the purchase and secondly they can carry the products with them. They don’t have to wait endlessly for delivery after purchase. They get to enjoy the product immediately.

    This year, many of the online shopping platforms are also offering mouthwatering offers to prospective shoppers with a promise to make their shopping experience unforgettable. But are these expectations mere wishful thinking or can indeed be a reality? Time will tell.

    As we get closer to the last Friday in November this year, Nigerians, having experienced Black Friday live in Nigeria will be getting ready to break the bank shopping for gifts for family, friends and colleagues, but can we really blame them?

     

  • MTN impacts lives through foundation

    MTN is contributing back to the economy came up with an initiative, the MTN Foundation. The Foundation was launched in 2005 with the main aim of improving the quality of life of the Nigerian people. About 13 years have passed since the Foundation kicked off and within that time, it has impacted lives positively through several social investment programmes in the Economic, Health, and Education sector.

    The Foundation since its inception has been giving out scholarships every year to college students with each scholarship worth about N200, 000 (Two hundred thousand Naira) that covers tuition, book allowance and stipend for each academic year. In 2018 alone, a total of 1,164 students comprising 1,068 Science and Technology students and 96 blind students were awarded scholarships.

    Commenting on the effort of the Foundation in securing a bright future for everyone in the country, the Director of the Foundation, Dennis Okoro, while speaking at the Awards ceremony and Scholarship Alumni induction of the foundation held in Owerri said; “Through the MTN foundation, Numerous resources and energy had been invested into communities with the goal of building better relationships, working together to build a brighter future for all.” It is worth knowing that despite the global socio-economic situation, the Foundation has given out a total of 8,454 scholarships valued at approximately N1.6 billion to students in the country.

    In an effort to also help people with disabilities realise their potential and find their purpose in life, the Foundation decided to assist some visually impaired individuals from different parts of the country as parts of its Scholarship scheme. It also organized a workshop for the visually impaired individuals that majored on how they can make the most of new and disruptive technologies.

    Moving aside from the Education sector, the Foundation also focuses on developing communities and making life easier for people. To date, over 400 communities including 347 LGA’s have benefited from the Foundation as it has provided over 40 transformers, installed 40 boreholes, furnished various schools and provided medical equipment to more than 80 primary health centers in the country.

    A unique avenue for which the Foundation impacts life is by taking up the costs of individuals with the serious life-threatening condition. It sorted out the operation of an 8 – year old Oluwatosin Williams who had problems with her heart valve, a six-year-old Ngozi Chijioke who had a hole in her heart and had about 4 weeks to live, a little boy named Great Nkor who got his face burnt beyond recognition in a domestic accident and many other people.

  • Lifemate showcase new products at trade fair

    LIFEMAKE Nigeria Limited  explained that it is showcasing its new products at the ongoing 32nd Lagos International trade fair.

    This, it is said, is to make life better for Nigerians, why it has thrown the door  open for interested individuals and corporate bodies who are interested to be distributors, to obtain franchise right to deal on their products and sign up with them.

    It said a lot has been put together to ensure that customers and visitors to its stand get excellent services beyond their expectations.

    Public relation officer, Lifemate , Mrs Ejiemhen Orebayo said the firm has put in great efforts to ensure that customers are comfortable with its over 400 square meter space at the trade fair venue.

    Some new products showcased ranges from home furnitures, office furnitures, outdoor furnitures, kitchen Cabinets, sanitary wares and massage chairs.

    She said aside guaranteed discounts on their products for customers, the firm  also is  gaving away free gifts and instant gift items for every item purchased.

    Orebayo said, “We are offering mouth-watering discounts. Customers are given special discounts cards at the fair  which they can use to claim special discounts at any showroom of the firm located in Lekki, Ikeja, Warri, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Abuja, after the fair and throughout this month.”

    She added that the furniture company has deployed special and skilled personnel that will attend to customers while also sharing products knowledge at the same time.

  • Quickteller unveils digital enabled retail shopping for Nigerians

    Thanks to Quickteller Global Mall, Nigerian  can now shop directly from over 100 international stores, including Amazon, Zara, eBay and Macy’s, and pay in Naira.

    The service provided by Quickteller, a digital payments and commerce  platform, is owned by Pan-African integrated digital payments and commerce company, Interswitch Group.

    The new service has been developed in furtherance of the company’s commitment toward solving existing challenges around digital payments and commerce in a sustainable manner.

    Quickteller Global Mall will afford Quickteller users easy access to shop from leading international sites across the UK & US.Adetayo Teluwo, Group Head, Product & Marketing Management, Digital Payments at Interswitch, explained that Quickteller Global mall will enable our customers shop directly from over 100 international merchants, make simple and convenient payments in Naira and enjoy door step item delivery and clearing powered by DHL.

    “Listening to the pain points and expectations of our customers is of high priority to our business. We place a premium on extensive research, user interviews and testing and will continue to put our customers first with exciting propositions and use cases.”

    Quickteller Global Mall allows access to a wide variety of household items, electronic devices, furniture, mobile devices, laptops, books and much more within a period of 10 to 15days and all this is incorporated in the new website.

    This new webiste continues to offer existing and new customers complete ease, a fresh contemporary look, the power of search, same UI/UX for mobile and web, improved transaction success, Quickteller Kenya and complete simplicity.

    Quickteller offers convenient access to payment needs across toll (e-tag), flight tickets, cable TV, broadband Internet, electricity, fund transfers, airtime recharge and funding betting wallets.

     

  • Hollandia Chocomalt launches 180ml Pack

    Hollandia ChocoMalt Drink, Nigeria’s first ready-to-drink chocolate, malt and milk drink, is now available in a new 180ml pack. The new pack is intended to provide an entry point for adults and upsize for kids, while building on the commercial success the brand is enjoying following its launch in 2017.

    Retailing at N100, the new 180ml pack comes handy with a straw, and is affordable and convenient, with the promise of instant “sharp sharp” nutrition to consumers.

    For consumers, Hollandia ChocoMalt Drink which is filled with the goodness of milk, energy giving malt and delicious chocolate, will take away the hassles and inconvenience involved in preparing Choco-based beverage drink the traditional way because it can be consumed immediately after opening.

    The new Hollandia ChocoMalt Drink 180ml pack size is expected to consolidate the growth and rising market appeal of the brand, as well as make the product available to a wider spectrum of young consumers who desire a satisfying and functional beverage that can be consumed at any time.

    According to the Managing Director, Chi Limited, Mr. Deepanjan Roy, the growing popularity of Hollandia ChocoMalt Drink reflects how its ready-to-drink convenience and quality instant nutrition is driving consumer demand for packaging sizes tailored ever more precisely to their specific lifestyle needs in an increasingly dynamic market.

    “We are aware of consumer expectations from us, and the new Hollandia Choco Malt Drink 180ml pack is a great example of how we are innovating with pack sizes to satisfy consumers’ demand,” he said.

    The Hollandia ChocoMalt Drink 180ml pack size now joins the 315ml and 100ml pack sizes on the market shelves. It is available at all departmental stores and neighborhood shops located across Nigeria.

  • Tecno mobile wins big at NTITA

    TECNO MOBILE, has once been recognised at the second edition of the Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecoms Award. The NTITA acknowledges the contribution of leading tech brands and innovators in Africa. Held on the 12thOctober 2018  at the prestigious Oriental Hotel in Lagos, the Black tie event saw TECNO MOBILE crowned KING in two categories at the event.

    Recognized as one of the biggest tech awards ceremony in Africa, the NTITA had in attendance leaders from the top players in the technology and telecom companies in Africa many of whom were recognized at the event, however TECNO Mobile carted away two of the most prominent tech awards: The Most Popular Smartphone Brand of the year and Smartphone of The Year.

    TECNO mobile won (in) these two categories for its innovation, immense contribution to the Tech – space in Africa, its popularity amongst smartphone users, its excellence and leadership status in the industry, and the undying dedication to mobile technological advancement in Africa.

    TECNO’s camera-centric CAMON Series, which pack a powerful punch, were crowned the smartphone of the year based on the incredible sales and popularity of the device, combined with its incredible technology, design and user experience.

    According to Jesse Oguntimehin, PR and Strategic Partnership Manager, TECNO, ‘the nomination and awards left everyone in admiration as the brand had dominated the same categories at the awards in 2017. The awards are also a reflection of our commitment to quality and price sensitivity’.

     

  • Chivita Ice Tea sports new look

    Chi Ice Tea, one of the fastest growing brands from Chi Limited, is now Chivita Ice Tea. As part of the rebranding, seen as a strategic move to integrate with the Masterbrand Chivita, Chivita Ice Tea now comes in a new product pack that is more aspirational, modern and trendy, with the promise of the same refreshing goodness.

    With an exciting logo that reflects its new positioning under the Chivita Masterbrand, the product’s innovative back of pack prominently features its health benefits, product quality and consumer benefits. The pack’s design also has a top to bottom label that is bolder, visually disruptive and combines perfectly with the colour pallet.

    Chivita Ice Tea’s new pack design also reveals images of fruits, premium natural tea leaves and tea flow, which depict the rare exciting blend of natural tea extracts with real fruits to provide consumers a delightful and natural great-tasting beverage for rejuvenation.

    It is expected that the new product pack would energise the brand in the marketplace and endear Chivita Ice Tea to a growing number of consumers, who have embraced a tea drinking culture because of its antioxidant properties and vitamins, which rejuvenate and invigorate the mind, as well as the body.

    Commenting on the product rebranding, Marketing Director, Chi Limited, Mr. Probal Bhattacharya, said the overall objectives of developing a fresh visual identity for Chivita Ice Tea is essential not only to key the product into the Chivita Masterbrand, but also to reinforce its attribute of rejuvenation through more appealing visuals that evoke its refreshingly natural goodness.

    “Chivita Ice Tea’s new pack design aims to communicate the brand’s core value of rejuvenation and natural refreshment with essential imageries that are attractive and differentiating.  We are confident that the new visual identity will appeal to loyal consumers and strike a chord with a new consumer base desirous of its tasty natural refreshment,” he added.

    Made from premium natural tea leaves with delicious fruity flavours, Chivita Ice Tea is available in two variants of Lemon and Peach. It comes in 1Litre, 315ml and 150ml pack sizes.

     

  • Hubmart rewards customers

    Hubmart Stores is set to delight its loyal customers once again with its first raffle draw in a series of three slated for 12 noon tomorrow and Sunday, November 3rd, at the Hubmart Stores Ikeja outlet, 26 Isaac John Street, Ikeja G.R.A.

    The draw, which is part of the ongoing Hubmart Awoof Promotion, will see Hubmart Stores give out prizes worth up to N3.5million free shopping in addition to other instant and consolation prizes to its loyal customers.

    Chief Executive Officer of Hubmart Stores Limited, Murat Bektaslar in a statement, said the raffle draw is part of its bid to provide superior customer shopping experience.

    According to him, the promotion is also one of the ways in which Hubmart was looking to give back to customers, who had supported its growth over the years.

    He said :“We have come a long way from one outlet in Victoria Island to three outlets which will soon become four,  with Omole coming on stream this quarter. We take pride in our capabilities in fresh and our acceptance by our teeming customers is testament to the good work we have done. The Hubmart Awoof Promotion is a small way of telling our customers, thank you.”

    Vice President, Marketing, Cheng Fuller, said for customers to be part of the Hubmart Awoof Promotion raffle draw, they would need to make minimum purchases of N3, 500 or N5, 000 to qualify in different categories. He said Hubmart Stores Limited was looking to give prizes in excess of a whopping sum of N10million during the promotion. Mr. Fuller further said there would be draws every month where customers would win prizes worth up to N3.5million.

    “In the Hubmart Awoof Promotion, every month, we will have at least 66 raffle draw winners and will be giving out several other consolation prizes. There is also a special discount promo where customers get a rebate of 5 per cent on their shopping depending on their frequency of shopping so look out for the discount coupons.  In our tradition of delighting our customers, we are ensuring that during this promotion, everyone will be a winner. Come Saturday, 3rd November 2018, we will have our first set of winners,” he said.

    He urged customers to shop from Hubmart as the more purchases a customer made, the more the customer’s chances of winning will increase. “Hubmart is also poised to unleash what has been termed, ‘the mother of all black Fridays’ this November and asked customers to get ready to storm their stores for mind boggling offers from November 16 to 23.

    Hubmart Stores sometime this year inaugurated its newest shop on Admiralty Way Lekki to its already existing stores at Isaac John, Ikeja, and Adeola Odeku, Victoria, bringing the number in the country to three.