The Nation Newspaper

Category: Shopping

  • Alausa mini-market strictly for govt workers

    Alausa Mini-Market, established  32 years ago can be referred to as a shopping complex set up to accommodate residents, travellers or passers-by but most importantly, workers. The mini-market is sited in office areas to make it accessible for corporate workers especially government workers who constitute the larger part of their customers.

    The mini market which is very organised is made up of shops, stores, a bakery, supermarkets, canteen, and fashion shop with various names such as Bread Winner Bakery, Olympia Business Centre, Time Supermarket, Bisod Enterprises, Kash Klassic and the likes in contrast to the sheds, stands that are found in traditional market of the day.

    Stationeries, shirts, trousers, shoes, perfumes, voile lace, designers bags, wrist watches, Guinea brocade, jewelleries, ladies slippers, bread accessories and the likes are on display to attract the corporate workers and other prospective customers. Services such as lamination, photocopying, typing, printing, binding of documents are also available.

    Most of the goods sold in the market are of high quality because of the calibre of the customers, hence, an increase in price. A worker of the Bread Winner Bakery, Mary Osundaunsi told The Nation shopping why their bread price is higher than the local made bread.

    “We produce loaves of high quality to suit the taste of our customers, which is why we have different types of bread such as Fish loaf sold for N150, Family loaf sold for N250 and the fruit bread which comes in small and big sizes of N150 and N200 in order to open our customers to having a range of choice,” she said.

  • Temporary market for shoppers during religious activity

    The Apostolic Church Nigeria, Ketu, Lagos has ended its 39th Annual Convention. The one-week event attracted thousands from within and outside Nigeria.A temporary market  on the premises of the church provided the side attraction to the convention. OYEWOLE PRISCILLA reports.

    For some participants at the 39th yearly Convention of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, LAWNA Terrirory, which held at its Ketu, Lagos haedquarters, it was not only about prayers and other church activities.  There was a side attraction: a temporary market set up solely for them to buy their needs.

    Set up on the church premises, shoppers had a worthwhile experience in the market. Thopugh small, the market had virtually everything one needs — from food, shoes, bags, mats, buckets towels, touches, plates/cutlery and many more. There was no need to go outside the church to buy anything.

    There were adequate security and sanitation. The convention area quickly transformed into a mini Lagos market during the event.

    Other items in the market included socks, clothing materials – chiffon, Ankara and others- sandals, puff-puff, gala, drinks, biscuits, sweets, popcorn, toast bread, ice cream and others), bread, caps, hats, berets, suits, choir costumes and others.

    Traders at the market were not necessarily members of the church. The market was open to traders, who registered for space through the right channel and complied with the rules laid down by the church. The traders either rented shops or used makeshift structures.

    With the market place bustling with many activities and filled with people, one would expect that traders to make huge profit but the reverse was the case. Profit made this year was below their expectations compared to previous years.

    Most traders blamed the poor state of the economy. It affected the demand for goods leading to low patronage by campers in a bid to monitor their spending.

    To recoup their loaaes, before the end of rge convention, most traders reduced prices of their goods, inviting shoppers with chants such as: “Today is the last day, tomorrow no more.”

    On the last day, the near-empty convention ground did not stop a few traders who hoped to sell more goods.

    Shop owners on the other hand had a different tale as they expressed joy over the increase in their sales compared to the previous year. Owner of PRAMEL shop dealing in consumables, hats, photocopying services and others, Mr. Sope Bankole,  told the Nation Shopping the secret to their trading success.

    “Even though we had other people selling the same thing, I think the better arrangement and organisation we had attracted people. Also, we reduced the prices of some of our goods which was appreciated by our customers, in particular, our photocopy service which was more cheaper than what you obtain within the premises,” he said.

    The convention, which was had as theme “The Purpose and Ministry Surrounding the Birth and Life of Jesus Christ”, was an avenue for spiritual reawakening, learning and revelation for members and pastors. The convention schedule was filled with morning, afternoon and evening sessions of revivals, teaching and healing services to mention a few in order to give member the opportunity to commune with God.

    To partake in the series of convention programmes, members who reside far away decided to camp. Free and paid accommodations were made available for members (which included guest houses, hostels, tent houses and even the church auditorium).

    Traders from the make- shift market migrated to Redemption Camp to proceed with their trading at the convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God with the hope of making more sales.

    The church premises, which became a camping site, also a shopping arena for members and visitors of The Apostolic Church, has  returned to its former state of quietness with only scattered chairs and a heap of dirt ready for collection as evidence of the just-concluded religious and shopping activities.

  • Tastee Fried Chicken opens 14th outlet

    Tastee Fried Chicken opens 14th outlet

    De-Tastee Fried Chicken Limited, owners of Tastee Fried Chicken eatery in Lagos, has birthed a new outlet at No 16 Catholic Mission Street, Lagos Island. It is its 14th outlet and the second one on Lagos Island.

    De Tastee, which began business in 1996 with the the Surulere branch on Adeniran Ogunsanya, has continued to spread within the metropolis, providing delicious and nourishing meals to Lagosians.

    Customers can also place orders and have it delivered via Tastee2U hotlines.

    According to the Managing Director, Mrs. Olayinka Pamela Adedayo, the yearnings and continuous patronage of customers in the heart of Lagos Island and environs made the dream a reality.

    Her words: “In the midst of the harsh economic conditions prevalent in the country, Tastee Group has been able to weather the storm through thick and thin, and we are grateful to the Almighty for this latest achievement. We are also using this medium to thank our loyal customers and promise them that we will continue to be the best, most preferred and trusted brand in the QSR industry.”

  • Final 14 emerge in Knorr Taste quest

    The final 14 “Masters”, who will compete to be the champion of the Knorr Taste Quest season 3 TV cooking show, have emerged.

    Last week, 22 contestants were tested on their knife skills. The task was to gut, fillet and dress a fish replicating this Season’s Key Visual, using ingredients such as cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and onions.

    At the end of the keenly-contested episode, the best 14 were selected.

    In the episode, the contestants were taught by the judges, Dr. Robert and Chef Fregz, how to sharpen knives, fillet fish, slice and dice ingredients, make muffins and flip eggs while frying. They also stressed the need for a good chef to pay attention to taste, smell and feel of their dishes. This was to prepare the contestants for greater tasks which they will be assigned to as the competition progresses.

    Davies, Lindsay and Yemisi were asked to fillet fish while Jeremy was tasked to slice onions, cucumber, tomatoes and carrots, using the appropriate knives for each ingredient as Chef Fregz had demonstrated. Dr. Roberts also put Aina and Yemisi to the test of baking banana muffins without having a measured recipe; a skill which professional cooks must possess. At the end of the tasks, all “students” were scored high by their tutors – the Judges.

    The final task for the day was to fry meat and Dr. Robert recommended cuts of “fillet mignon” be dipped into the frying pan without boiling as this will make it fluffy, juicy and tastier. It was apparent that   Hauwa, Chirinma and Lindsay delivered a scrumptious snack as other contestants who tasted it kept asking for more.

    Having excelled in all tasks for the day, the contestants were formally “admitted” into the master class.

    Knorr Taste Quest provides a unique platform where contestants showcase their culinary skills, as well as acquire new skills.

    The event will be viewed in many television stations.

     

  • Citizens beware

    This is a column that seeks to mold, shape societal values and to protect the interests of consumers, citizens and touch other broader relevant topics under the column: ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.

    This week’s edition is CITIZENS BEWARE

    It has been crystal clear that Nigerian citizens have been on their own (OYO – On Your Own) in the past decades as long as basic utilities are concerned. We have all become a full fledged government of our own; generating water, power, school fees, providing school furniture to take to school, playing fast ones to generate extra income to ‘chillax’.

    I stumbled upon a most disheartening revelation in a client’s office recently; he asked me to taste two different canned fish sauce in different plates, one a high quality, the other a lower quality. Of course they tasted differently; the most painful part was they were both approved for sale in our market for the same price. If you remove the paper of the two distinct brands, the tin and size are the same. The brand of fish written on the label was different from what was sealed inside.

    It was further alleged that there is a particular key department in the regulatory body on quality control of such items that overlooks quality control for a piece of cake.

    Furthermore, prospective new comers into canned fish sauce industry are encouraged by the cartel to go for a lower quality in order to break even and even maximize profit margin, knowing full well that a better quality will throw them out of the market.

    We thought all these stopped a decade ago but it seems we clearly need an independent inspection agency to check the lame watchdogs before citizens are murdered out of greed for kickbacks, talk about watching the watchdogs.

    Who are the primary consumers of the various canned fish sauce mackerel which abound in the market?

    Our Children.

    Nothing stops us from having a better quality at a higher price; consumers will still patronize the slightly more expensive brand if the inferior cheaper ones are not available. The body language of the current leadership must extend to all nooks and corners and save our citizens. The heartless quality control officers must be changed if they cannot join the Nigerian Change Wagon.

    On further investigation, it was realized that it did not stop with canned food; it also extends to red wine. The unit cost of production for an empty bottle of red wine here in Nigeria excluding content costs N450.00 per unit, to import same costs about N400.00. Now you find a bottle of red wine in the market for N450/N500. How did that happen? What is the quality content? Even if content is ‘paraga’ and coloring? What is the marginal cost of quality control? What is the unit cost of content per bottle? Who is responsible for damaging our kidneys? How did such quality of wine sneak into the market to the unsuspecting public? Enough is enough!

    We implore our appropriate bodies to wake up from slumber and beam the searchlights on various quality control departments and regulatory bodies as we may be gradually killing our own citizens with consumption of fake and unapproved food and beverages. A chief executive officer is also the chief responsibility officer of any organization; if your staff has been compromising successfully without being caught or detected, it simply means appropriate structures are not in place and the CEO is liable. Pronto!

    Of course Nigerians are not totally guilty, we have been pushed to the wall with lack of basic amenities by the various past governments, and the environment has been super hostile to business men and women.  At each stage of business cycle, bribes are given and taken, both giver and taker are guilty. This trend has made most people resort to various tricks to generate income at any cost. Of course foreign business men love Nigeria to pieces as they get away with 200% of what they cannot even try in their countries.

    I have in the past worked with a foreign conglomerate; my then foreign boss used to tell me that ‘nothing is impossible in Nigeria’ and that everyone had a price tag. Of course, he was right as I see hitherto disciplined personalities melt at the sight of ‘Ghana must go bags’. We need stop selling your souls for money that will injure the economy and lives of citizens. When we all go abroad for business, we abide by their rules because they will not move they rules for anyone, citizens or foreigners. The onus is on the leadership to lay appropriate rules and apply the laws of checks and balances.

    There is no point making rules if offenders are not brought to book.

    Do you have a nasty experience with any service provider or a regulatory body? Send us a mail today.

  • Shopping malls spring up like mushrooms

    Shopping malls spring up like mushrooms

     Over the last decade, shopping malls have evolved in the country, springing up across the states. TONIA ‘DIYAN reports that the ubiquity of shopping malls has redefined shopping experience, created wealth, convenience and has given customers more freedom to choose.

    There have been many developments in the retail sector since the advent of shopping malls 10 years ago when The Palms Shopping Mall, Lekki, Lagos opened shop. Before then, retail outlets were mainly urban-based – in major cities of the country. Today, the game has changed with many malls opening shop in second tier cities, such as Enugu, Kano, Warri, Owerri, Onitsha, Ilorin and Ibadan.

    The retail business space continues to transform with the development of formal, western-style malls that also serve as popular hangouts and meeting points for busy chief executives, especially at weekends and during holidays. And the emergence of world-class shopping places has changed the way people shop, causing a tremendous boom in the industry  and establishing Nigeria as a haven for retail shopping. Nigerians have, today, become better shoppers, especially in the area of buying at wholesale prices, not minding the quantity of items purchased.

    In addition to the popularity of the malls, the developers say they are finding fulfillment more in Nigeria than any other country in Africa, where they have their businesses. According to them, more malls will spring up and they will be the trend for a long time.

    After the two premier malls in Lagos, the retail trading scene has seen many more. While some have been delivered, many are at various stages of completion. Some of them stand out for reasons of size, strategic location, convenience and available infrastructure, among others.

    Apapa mall, Lagos

    The mall berthed in the Apapa area of Lagos has changed the face of retail in Nigeria’s premier port city.

    Before residents and workers in Apapa which is home to an estimated 522,384 people, according to data from the state government website, didn’t have a world-class retail outlet to serve their shopping and relaxing needs.

    This has, however, changed because shoppers experiences in Apapa and its environs have been enhanced.

    The Palms Mall, Lekki

    Towards the end of 2005, The Palms was opened, making history as the first of its kind in Nigeria. It is anchored by a South African supermarket chain, Shoprite, and diverse range of Nigerian retailers as well as international brands, such as Adidas and KFC, South African restaurant Spur, banks, pharmacies and mobile phone companies, such as MTN and Etisalat. Yudala, an offline retail store, has also opened shop there.

    Construction was commissioned by the Oba of Lagos and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The mall has 69 stores and a six screen cinema. There is parking space for about a 1000 cars.

    Grand Towers, Abuja

    After Lagos, Abuja was next; being one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. At that time, there were not really any shopping centres in Abuja. It was a big drive for Shoprite to open there. Grand Towers owns the land on which the shopping centre stands.

    Port Harcourt Mall

    Port Harcourt Mall (also known as Artee Mall) is in accordance with Spar’s strategy for Nigeria. Spar stores in Nigeria as with its other stores in Sub-Saharan Africa position themselves as a higher quality alternative to the dominance of Shoprite.

    Port Harcourt Mall features 16,000 sqm of lettable space and hosts cinemas (Film houses) and eateries.

    Kwara Mall, Ilorin

    Kwara Mall in Illorin, Kwara State capital, began trading in the last quarter of 2012. It is a 12,000 square-metre shopping mall. It is remodeled after American strip malls and is a joint venture between Persians Group and the Kwara State government, which gave the land as equity contribution to the project.

    Shoprite is also the mall’s anchor tenant, among other brands like Max, KFC, Wrangler, Da Viva, and a host of others. Great customer experiences are offered by the banks, restaurants, beauty salons, meeting places and more.

    Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall, Surulere

    The mall is sitting on a 22,000 sq. metres of land with 154 shop spaces measuring 70-80 sq. metres each, making it one of the largest shopping malls in Lagos. The re-modeled mall delivers world-standard shopping experience to residents of Surulere and its environs. This is evident in its tenant-base, which includes top brands such as Shoprite, Snowy Drycleaners, Stanbic IBTC Bank, KFC, Nando’s, La Pizza, Sharp Electronics, Sony, Swatch, Nike, and others.

    The mall is an offshoot of a pre-existing shopping centre that was “conceived, built and inaugurated in 1975 as the icing on the cake for Surulere residents”.

  • Jumia’s focus on m-apps redefines e-commerce in Nigeria

    Jumia’s focus on m-apps redefines e-commerce in Nigeria

    Do you know that Nigeria is a pioneer and a true brain wrecker for the mobile industry and global retailers with a mobile internet penetration growth rate more than double those of western countries?

    Do you know also that Nigeria will lead the way in digital sophistication with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast to rise from $178 billion in 2012 to $294 billion in 2020, and a population that’s expected to rocket? This is definitely where the mobile revolution is taking place.

    In a recent survey by Nigeria’s online retailer, Jumia.com, this phenomenal evolution of the mobile industry in Nigeria is being driven by the exponential growth of smartphone sales. According to Jumia, it made more sales on smartphones last month, compared to the whole of 2013.

    “It is estimated that there are 30 per cent smartphone users among the 140  million mobile subscribers and this share will only get bigger with national smartphone sales in Nigeria expected to rocket to 12 million before the end of 2015,” noted Jumia’s white paper made available to Vanguard.

    The report says smartphone acquisition in Nigeria has been driven by three factors —Entry of new smartphone retailers into the market, which resulted to a substantial price crash, thereby making it more accessible to a larger segment of the population.

    The average price of smartphones, the report says, using the online retailer’s indices, showed that there was a drastic reduction in the price of smartphone from about N55, 000 in 2013 to about N25,000 by the first half of 2015.

    The other factor is the competition which has multiplied significantly at the entry-level market, with the introduction of smartphone retailers, such as Infinix and InnJoo selling as cheap as N10,000.

    “Infinix and InnJoo both understood the need to target the entry-level market and to sell their phones through online platforms. InnJoo entered the Nigerian market exclusively through Jumia while Infinix has repeatedly launched its smartphones in exclusivity with Jumia. This fierce competition is driven by Jumia who has been pressuring the smartphone retailers to bring their prices down since its creation in 2012. Such competition can only lead the way to even better offers for the smartphone-savvy user,” said the report.

    The other driver of the mobile evolution is the youth population who the smartphone retailers in partnership with online retailers like Jumia strategically targeted with affordable devices.

    The youth segment is an imperative for success in the market as they represent 62.38 per cent of the population and are the most tech-savvy. According to an AT Kearney and Quartz Study released in 2014, Nigeria is second after Brazil in the ultra-connected population ranking, as 66 per cent of Nigerians are online at least once every hour and 20 per cent use internet at least 10 times a day.

    This is a trend that is redefining how most businesses approach their marketing strategies and have been settling in rapidly into the Nigerian landscape.

    As the Jumia report pointed out, 70 per cent of its users accessed the Jumia online shop via their phones.

    This means that more than being user-friendly via computer; a website’s first imperative is to be completely mobile user friendly. This also shows that e-commerce in Nigeria has been mobile commerce all along, providing an optimised version of their website for mobile as well as applications.

    Another significant trend in the mobile evolution is mobile applications. Everyday, all over the world and in many tech hubs across Nigeria, mobile applications are developed to serve various purposes, creating more relevance for smarphones. The software applications are developed specifically for use on small devices, such as smartphones or tablets, and have recently become the favourite access to content on a smartphone.

    The infographics of app download on the Jumia white paper showed that the online retailer had 255 per cent more app downloads on iOS and Android in the first half of the year than through last year. The data showed that the number of downloads on Android per month grew by 90 per cent between January and June, this year. Android remains the favourite operating system in Nigeria with a whopping 93 per cent app downloads done through the Google play store.

    Mobile application has remained a popular method of accessing the internet on smartphones because it provides an easier and facilitated access to content. Facilitated access to the website is also provided by the ability to generate push notifications on smartphones, including the fact that applications consume less data as Jumia studies show that mobile users using the Jumia app compared to the mobile version of the website spend three to fivetimes less data for similar actions.

    An illustrating infographics show that Jumia Nigeria App is the eighth most downloaded free app ranking on the Google play store, right after Instagram, and it is the first mobile retailer in the ranking.

    A further analysis of the Jumia application usage show that Nigerians seem to be much more comfortable and predisposed to navigating on the app than on the mobile version. They spend on average more time on the app. Average duration of a session on the app between January and June 2015 was nine minutes compared to six minutes on the mobile version of the website or the computer.

  • Shoppers embrace ‘August Rush offer’

    Shoppers embrace ‘August Rush offer’

    For shoppers, retail and online stores, including the shopping malls, August signifies various things. While it is usually a good time for good bargains – thanks to seasonal price slashes it is also a time for trading outlets to offload their old stock and re stock for the last quarter of the year, ahead of the Yelutide, when sales boom. This period is known as the ‘August Rush offer’.  TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

    August is the eighth month of the year when sales offers are rounded off to herald the beginning of another quarter by September, the last quarter of the year. This period is reffered to as ‘August Rush Offer.’

    At times like this, retail outlets, online stores, and shopping malls are seen offering higher discounts on their wares to drive sales. This, more often than not, is to help create more storage space in their stores, as they all seek to restock for the last quarter, and preparatory to stocking for the yelutide season of Christmas and New Year celebrations. August, in the country’s shopping landscape, is a period of bumper sales and majority of sales outlets across the city are  giving all forms of bonanzas and freebies to woo prospective buyers.

    For several years now, this tradition has come to be an important feature in shoppers’ calendar, as they look forward to getting good bargain on commodities. This year is no exception as shoppers in Lagos have started taking advantage of the ‘August Rush offer’ at malls, supermarkets, retail and even online stores. They are seen more in these places at weekends and after working hours during week days.

    For instance, at a houseware store, Mrs Romoke Adebayo, a marriage counsellor, told The Nation Shopping that she bought a 12-piece Martha Stewart silver cooking set at 20 per cent less the original selling price. “I’ve been planning to get something like this for a long time. But I just couldn’t afford it because, it was very expensive. But with the ongoing offer, I finally have it! Coming here early was definitely worth it; someone else would have picked it before my arrival. The sales person said it is the only one left,” she explained.

    A visit to a cross-section of malls and sales outlets within Lagos shows that very many of them are making brisk sales. Last Saturday, while stores were yet to open by 8.45am, shoppers in large numbers were already hanging around shopping malls.

    While sales appeared brisk in shopping malls, retail stores, supermarkets and online stores, household and electronics outlets which are either stand-alone stores or tenants in complexes and plazas are not left out. They all have something to give away.

    However, it’s been observed that there are more sales this year since the advent of shopping malls in the country 10 years ago, when The Palms, in Lekki-Lagos opened shop. Same with online stores, which have been thriving for three years.

    Some retailers told The Nation Shopping that sales of Electronics, Clothing, Mobile phones, Jewellery and House hold items  in the last two months, have increased following the offers which have been on since May to herald the second quarter.

    According to them, this year is witnessing the strongest sales not only in Clothes, Mobile phones and Electronics, but also food and general grocery supplies.

    The crowd at the Apapa Mall in Lagos was a testimony when The Nation Shopping visited the place.

    “It was, indeed, really crowded; the queue was discouraging and making payment after shopping was hell. People are already shopping for Back -To – School, to prepare school pupils and students for a new school  session and prices have been slashed everywhere,’’ a teacher, Mr Folorunsho Bashorun, said.

    Mrs Cordelia and her husband, Mr Caleb Otoide, both Military Personnel, took their daughters for shopping at Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall in Surulere last weekend. “There are some combat/military-style boots that I’ve been wanting to buy,”Mrs Cordelia said.”

    We knew the crowd would be more for the ‘August Rush Offer’ that has been earlier announced by some stores in their fliers, posters and in front of their shops, thus we decided to visit the mall this early when there would be fewer people. But we were wrong, you know! We could hardly find a parking space,” she added.

    Ms Helen Thompson, a South African-trained nurse, was among the early shoppers at Ikeja City Mall last Saturday; she took advantage of the discounts attached to items at the mall.  She went home with a 20-piece glassware set for N25, 000 and a Spiderman Back Pack she bought for her son at 70 percent discount.

    “Some of these items, such as the ones I bought, are not cheap, when it is not sales period like this,” she said.

    Her sister, Ms Natasha, bought two large bags of goodies from Shoprite, Staplers; a few children’s bake sets and other house wares. “I’ve been able to save about N15, 200 after my shopping, it is definitely worth being here at this time,” she said.

    Also, last Saturday, vehicular and pedestrian traffic at Ipori Market, and other high street stores on Bode Thomas, in Surulere, Lagos, were high by mid-day.

    The market is the second destination for one of its residents, Mr Wale Bankole, who had stopped by Leisure Mall to buy a Swatch wrist watch, a Daniel Ray handbag and a Nine West pair of shoes for his wife, Mrs Gloria Bankole. He testified of how he was able to save some money. “It seems to be a general offer. I have saved N38, 000 altogether; ordinarily, I would have spent N38, 000 more buying these many items from different places, “he said.

    For Top Services Limited, the Management of Apapa Mall in Lagos, Mr Celestine Jeremiah said sales have increased and customers have been very patient getting their vehicles into the mall. “We have experienced very massive sales because of the number of people who visit the mall daily. We meet very understanding customers who agree to work with the space we have.

    “Over the past week, stores have stocked more styles that are flying off the shelves quickly,” said Mrs Modupe Shopeju of Delightsome Gifts Concepts. Alhaja Ganiyat Rilwan, who was shoe shopping at the store with her six-year-old daughter, Mila, said she decided to take advantage of the ‘August Rush offer’ to meet her immediate needs.

    While Mila got the blue sneakers and a wedge sandal she wanted, her mother bought a pair of sandals and a black office shoe for herself. The offer will continue till the end of August.

    Echoing similar sentiments as Shopeju, a sales person at the Daviva store, an upscale clothing store, who asked not to be named, told The Nation Shopping that most retailers have come up with one sales strategy or the other to help make huge sales.

    “Our promotional offers are ongoing. We do this yearly so that we can have bountiful sales; we push out as many items as possible by slashing their prices into three, sometimes four just to lure customers.”

    Pressed further, the source said, “With this, we are able to do away with out old stock, old designs and then bring in new ones for the next quarter.”

    “Apart from the huge sales recorded by some businesses, gift-giving and fun treat, mainly centre on children, is an important part of the offer particularly at shopping malls and  online.

  • Items are sold more expensive in malls

    Ever wonder why sales at the malls by the tenants tend to be more expensive when compared to the open market? These tenants say some things are responsible. There is a common believe that malls are arena meant only for the wealthy class. To Some people, a mall is an expensive place to go shopping as prices of items could be two times that of its open market counterpart. Some mall tenants spoke on the reason for this. Mr. Muyiwa Adebayo owns a footwear store in a mall, he said: “One of the reasons why what we sell here in the mall is higher than other places is because of the rent we pay to the mall owners and management. The rent here is very high, and services we render is second to none.” He said

    Adding that the quality of products at the mall is guaranteed, he said “we can give you assurance that the things you get here is of good quality”.

    Mrs. Titi Elegbede of Wrangler store also gave a similar reason as to why items at the mall are quite expensive compared to other places. “The only reason why we sell higher is because of the rent we pay.  It’s very expensive to get a shop here and the only way we can recover our money and make profit is to increase the prices of our wares.” Elegbede said not all items at the mall are expensive. “Some of our items are cheaper but the expensive out number them”.

    At Health plus, Samson Ikuopami said the rent and importation rate is what is responsible for expensive items at the mall. He said one advantage of patronizing the mall is being able to trace stores where faulty items are bought for refund. “Faulty items can easily be returned to the store where they are purchased from”.

    At Accessories 2 die 4, an accessories store, reason items are more expensive in malls is because our customers have to pay for services rendered apart from paying for items bought.

  • Consumer exploitation

    This is a column that seeks to mold, shape societal values and to protect the interest of consumers, citizens and touch other broader relevant topics under the column: ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.

    This week’s edition is CONSUMER EXPLOITATION

    Various service providers, regulatory bodies in Nigeria do not live up to required expectation  and we all know that they have been getting away with.. Why? No checks and balances, but this time, we consumers and the citizens are saying Enough-is-Enough! We say No to further exploitation and unethical practices..

    I will emphasise the word ‘unethically’ for this topic.

    Nigeria’s GSM service providers bake the cake for unethical behavior; they have devised various games and antics to undercut consumers. Subscribers are forced to have minimum of two different networks. They are all guilty in various ways:

    Some of the brands are mean in the treatment of their customers, the yellow-label for instance, by taking advantage of their subscribers. They run promos promising you double value of your airtime if you subscribe to a particular code, or pronto. We are all happy to get extra airtime but a lot of times, the rate offered per unit in the promo differs from regular rates, this they do without full disclosure to subscribers; and in a twinkling of an eyelid, all your money (airtime) is gone. At other times, after subscribing to double value airtime to some of these promos, you will lose both your regular credit and the bonanza credit. If you are lucky, you get a response that you do not qualify for  the bonanza and your normal airtime will not be refunded.

    Everybody knows the red family GSM service provider deducts your airtime balances on regular basis whether your phone is data enabled or not. You may not notice on time if you are a heavy phone user. But when you do not make a single call and did not subscribe to any magic, you still find your balances deducted. It usually starts with 3k, 5k, then N20 and it keeps going higher. By the time you check. You have lost N200, or more. A friend in anger had to switch off her red network perpetually for a week; we were worried that her phone might have been stolen, only for us to find out that she went on strike from this network so her airtime will not be deducted without usage. Other times, she chooses not to buy airtime but rather prefers to send whatsapp messages only even for serious discussions.

    The ‘original green’ family GSM service provider brought a wide grin to our service thirsty throats when it became the first to introduce per second billing and also crashed the airtime rates ab initio. We were further impressed when they empowered many of our entertainers and made them smile to the bank. Nigerians never knew they will have to pay back for these goodies.

    Many times, there will be no network to make, or receive calls for hours or days. The much advertised expansion has become meaningless as the quality of the calls of this provider has dropped sharply in the last two years. Woe betides you if this is the only network you have. A newcomer to our shores was to be picked by a driver using this service provider around Lagos tollgate to Ibadan for a family function, alas he waited forever as the driver could not get him on the phone (no network faithfully). The driver did not know him and kept on stopping for the wrong people in the vicinity.

    The visiting guest had to go home, his trip to Nigeria unfulfilled. If you try data on this network, you will come running back.

    The new green family came with fanfare after we’d all become bored with the three major exploiters; as usual we lapped all their promises up like a dog. It was a roller coaster at first for the few who still had some faith. Lo and behold, we started getting dropped calls; our airtime started reducing without being used. Here we are, back to status quo with the new green family. Data services and telephone calls on this network are below average.

    All the providers are guilty of forcing us to subscribe to unsolicited ringtones, news, matchmaking, employment and property mart etc and we get our airtime balances deducted weekly or monthly without actually giving us a choice.

    We have been so used to being taken for granted so much so, that we get pleasantly shocked when a service provider magnanimously refunds stolen airtime once in a while like five per cent of the time.

    There is a change in the baton at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) lately; Nigerians want the telecoms service providers to be more responsible. We sincerely hope the new Chief Executive Chairman will make a difference; Change has gone beyond party slogan, Nigeria is evolving, change is here.