The Nation Newspaper

Category: Shopping

  • Lagos fabric traders record good sales

    FABRIC traders in Lagos are smiling to the bank. This is because of the yuletide.

    Apart from buying livestock and food stuffs, Christians, who spend alot this season without considering the weight, also buy items such as ankara and lace. These sales are what the traders are benefiting from.

    Fabric merchants in Balogun, Iyana-Iba, Alaba market and Oshodi markets in Lagos, testify that there is an upsurge in the demand for fabrics this month. Majority of them said they are satisfied with the income they have generated this season. They, however, wish for the season to continue.

    At Suru Alaba market in Ajegunle, Mrs Kemi Obadina, who sells mainly various ankara fabrics, said she had made so much profit in the past few weeks, adding that the hope of making more is high because of the turn out at the Fabrics Section of the market.

    Mr Daniel Patrick, who also sells ankara fabric at Oshodi market, said: “It is a few days to Christmas; many Christian customers have been patronising me, and I hope it will continue this way. My fabrics are affordable and are eye-catchy designs.’’

    At Iyana Iba market in Ojo, Alhaja Munira Abbib, testified that sales have gone up beyond her expectation. She added that in imported laces section, the story is good.

    Mrs. Folusho Giwa also sells ankara fabrics at the Balogun market on Lagos Island. She said she had lost count of the number of customers she had received in the last two weeks.

    “I think it is because I sell quality fabrics and it is the season for bountiful sales of fabrics for us. She said in excitement,” she said.

  • Panasonic introduces home appliances

    Panasonic has introduced some new products into the market. They were showcased at its Dealers’ Convention at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The Managing Director of Panasonic Marketing, Middle East and Africa, Masao Motoki, said: “The new range of room air-conditioners with AVS system is to protect component such as compressor from severe voltage fluctuation in Nigeria.”

    Motoki, who said Panasonic’s Africa marketing strategy, is to understand the choice of the consumer. He further said the air conditioner would also help in tackling the country’s key challenge of air purification and energy-related concerns.

    The firm also unveiled a new app to provide Panasonic Viera TV users with 5,000 Nollywood movies.

    This is in partnership with Iroko TV. “The irokotv has been dubbed as the ‘Neflix of Africa’ as it is one of first VOD platforms for the continent,” he said.

    Panasonic also released its pro-style shouldermount full-HD camcorder HCMDH2 into the market. Equipped with the ‘simultaneous recording’ function, the camcorder allows recording on dual memory devices simultaneously.

    The new nanoe-G technology embedded within the air conditioner will enable users to deactivate 99 per cent of bacteria and virus attached to filter while the intelligent EcoNavi sensor will save up to 35 per cent energy without sacrificing the comfort level.

    It also brought into the market two new hair trimmers ER-GC30 and GC 33 designed for a professional, smooth and safe haircut.

    These hair trimmers help make a sharp front line cut with less damage to the skin and it is easily usable even without cord for 40 min when fully charged. Its cord and cordless operation makes it extremely user friendly where the user can use it even when the power is off.

    The firm has also introduced the world’s First Nollywood Smart TV App – iROKO TV In Nigeria for its Smart VIERA TV’s.

    Head of Business Development for iROKOtv, Mr Adi Nduka-Agwu, said: “We are very happy to have collaborated with one of the world’s leading electronics manufacturers and this exclusive partnership between Panasonic and iROKOtv symbolises a new era for Nollywood movie distribution.

  • From offline to online shopping, the beat goes on

    Although the sector is young, more stores are springing up like mushrooms online.There is a shift from offline to online shopping ,  TONIA ‘DIYAN reports

    Online shopping is offering an opportunity in the retail industry, and people are fast embracing it.

    Today, virtually everything is bought online from clothing to food items to mobile phones, electronics, home appliance and even real estate.

    Since the advent of online stores in Nigeria less than two years ago, people seem to patronise them more often than before, thereby developing trust for the market. The stores include Kaymu, Lamudi, Carmudi, Hellofood, Jovago and Easy Taxi.

    Though some of them are would-be African Amazon, they intend to propel the continent’s rising middle class consumers out of the street markets and straight into their websites.

    Their key, they say, is the smart phone, which is already helping people brush aside the lack of reliable transport or fixed phone and Internet connections. In Lagos for instance, most people have phones, but there are few malls for the large number of inhabitants. People are hungry for consumption and they feel this is the right time to leapfrog over to ‘offline’.

    Though e-commerce is still in its infancy in most African countires, a market research firm has suggested that Nigeria would almost triple its online purchases in three years to more than $1 billion by 2014.

    These stores have promised to bring street market to e-market. To achieve that and get a head-start in the online market, they spend heavily, following Amazon’s model, to grab market share and establish brand.

    Developers are rushing to build more malls to serve Africa’s rapidly expanding middle class, and are struggling to keep pace with the demand for more consumption. Often, they are hampered by hefty costs and the difficulty of securing land titles, not to mention the kind of security issues highlighted by the deadly attack on a high-end Nairobi mall in September. Yet the online store  has succeeded in erasing the thought of “if it doesn’t work perfectly, it is a scam”. That is why the idea of paying cash on delivery or using credit cards when goods are delivered was introduced to build trust.

    They have also found solutions to logistics and payment problems, to create loyal and satisfied customers.

    For example, lamudi.com.ng is a real estate classified portal that enables realtors, landlords and sellers  reach the widest audience while making it easier for home buyers and renters search for homes, apartments, commercial properties, and land using their criteria and give them access to most listings. It launched operations in 13 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Now, the company has registered several million search requests worldwide.

    Last year, the global Internet users accounted for 2.4 billion people, with growth mainly being driven by emerging markets. With its service, Lamudi supports this ongoing shift from offline to online, saying it is a real game changer.

    In a market in Nigeria where the internet penetration is on the increase, already more than 5000 real-estate agents are registered on Lamudi.

    Searching and finding properties on the internet really has hit a nerve in emerging markets. The website hits an all-Lamudi websites increase by up about 97 per cent monthly.

    User behaviour on Lamudi shows that the peaks for searching are not in the morning, but between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. With Lamudi’s Alerts, people will never miss the latest news on any property again that meets their criteria and preferences.Checking newspapers every morning for properties is old fashioned and not needed anymore. People have the opportunity to save time and money marketing their properties themselves.

    Price transparency reduces the amount of time both parties spend haggling about price for properties. Sellers and realtors have a platform to market their properties, and customers know what they get for their money.

    This online store fulfils the needs of customers by making it possible for a steady growing middle class to find the perfect property online.

    jovago.com is a leading online hotel booking service that provides customers with the best hotel booking experience with fast, detailed, reliable and easy-to-use services.

    Carmido is the premium online car dealership portal in Nigeria that provides buyers with a large section of detailed vehicle models as well as car dealers, a platform to showcase their cars to a large homogeneous audience from the comfort of their homes.

    Easy Taxi connects drivers and passengers in a smooth, easy and safe way. It’s simply to download or open the Easy Taxi app, available for iOS, Android and the new BlackBerry devices from the the Google Play Store, App Store and Blackberry World, confirm  pickup point and order a  cab with the press of a button.  In seconds you’ll receive confirmation of the name, photo and car model/plate of your driver, and will be able to follow the vehicle’s location in real-time as it approaches you.

    Kaymu online is a market place where buyers and sellers can meet and make the best deals for used or new products, such as smart phones, computers, fashion and clothing, home appliances for the cheapest price. Thanks to the fixed or auction pricing system.

    Hellofood is an innovative online food delivery service that provides the best and easiest way to order takeaway food online from a variety of restaurants and fast foods at the same time proving restaurants with a platform to market their meals to a large and diverse consumer base.

  • Unilever re-launches Knorr beef, Chicken cubes

    Unilever Nigeria has re-launched its seasoning cubes Chicken Cubes and Knorr beef. It hosted consumers from different sectors of the society, to an evening of comedy, entertainment, and great food tagged, “Come Taste the Knorr Difference”.

    According to the firm, the Knorr seasoning in Nigeria was reformulated to give better taste, saying it is a winning concept with a compelling insight and proposition for its consumers to buy into.

    Not only was the product repackaged to deliver superiority on taste, but it also it has a brilliant new packaging that attracts consumers. The new and improved Knorr cubes are said to bring out the best in dishes, with tantalizing flavour.

    The new Knorr cubes cost the same as the old; some of its key attributes include the Knorr beef is three times; it is meatier, both variants have an exceptional new packaging with an appetite appeal through the food visual on the pack and they are easier to crumble.  It also scored best on overall opinion, overall taste and overall appearance during its testing phase in Nigeria.

    The Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc Mr David Okeme said the new cubes are better than others in the market and be liked by consumers. Also, the Category Manager, Savoury, Mrs. Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal, urged consumers to buy the new Knorr cubes, especially at the festive season, to prepare meals and celebrate with loved ones.

  • Mr Biggs, Coca-cola hold promo

    Mr Biggs, Nigeria’s indigenous quick service restaurant, and Coca Cola are set to reward customers with the first-ever Coke Cup promo.

    The promotion, which will push 120,000 Coca-Cola cups into the homes of many Nigerians, is geared towards giving loyal consumers an adventure to spice up the season. The cups have five colours; black, yellow, green, blue and red. According to the Marketing Manager, Nnenna Azuka-Onwuka, the cups are exquisite and once you collect one colour, you want to collect all five. “It is a collector’s item and we want them in as many homes as possible,” he added.

    Managing Director, UAC Restaurants Limited Derrick Van Houten said: “Between November 22 and January 12, during which the promo will last, consumers can collect, one, more or all of the five cups. These cups are a collector’s item; you don’t want to have one colour and not the other.”

    To collect the cup, a consumer will buy products worth N1,500, including a Coca-Cola product from any Mr Bigg’s Restaurant, and get a free cup. ‘’We see this as an exciting adventure for the consumers as there is always something different to look forward to. It is an interesting quest which will keep the consumers coming back for the next cup colour and then the next one and so on until all five colours have been collected,” Hosten added.

    Mr Bigg’s and Coca-Cola officials are excited at this opportunity to deliver another innovation first to consumers; it is the brands’ little way of saying thank you to their loyal consumers.

  • Konga cuts prices

    The  year has been quite eventful for Konga.com. It won the online retailer and best emerging brand of the year at the Marketing World Awards.

    Also, it moved to a new 120,000 sq feet fulfillment centre and celebrated its first anniversary.

    For all these achievements, Konga.com has started the Christmas season in grand style with the Konga.com Fall Yakata Christmas Sale. It had the Black Friday to Cyber Monday offers , ushereing in many more deals and offers.

    The store described the  sale as the biggest ever than any other retailer online.

    According to them, Yakata means “all the prices don fall yakata.”

    Just like the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the United States and Europe, Konga.com is offering  price slashes. The Play Station 4 is being sold for N60,000 instead of N138,000, Ruby Woo lipstick that is N4,000 now costs N2,000 while Tecno Phantom A+ phone that was N39,000 has been reduced to N19,000.

    Also,  Christmas clothes that are sold for N30,000 now go for only N10,000.

  • Sade Foods holds wine tasting

    Sade Foods International, marketers of Chateau de Lengoust, a new world-class wine, produced in Pomerol, France, has held its second wine tasting at The Balmoral Event Centre in Oregun, Lagos.

    The wine, which comes in attractive red colour, smooth taste, fragrant aroma is produced for the high class in the society. Last week, it was also tasted at the Ikoyi Club, where the organisers came up with a survey and the result was encouraging. Guests who tasted the wine praised it.

    The wine’s importer, Mr Damilola Akinnagbe, said: “We are optimistic that Chateau de Lengoust wine is bound to grow in respect to value and volume. It is also competitively priced in a way that it is affordable to everyone who wants quality.”

    He added: “Our bottles of wine are mainly patronised by top retail stores, restaurant owners, hotel beverage directors, distributors and importers.”

    Château de Lengoust is a native of Pomerol in Bordeaux region in France. The grapes used in this bottling are actually clones of vines from this region. The region is well known for it’s excellent wineries with centuries under their achievement belts. the wine with its smooth taste and its fragrant aroma is produced to perfection for the ‘high class’ in the society, but this excellent product is competitively priced in such a manner that it is affordable to everybody who wants quality.

    ‘’From top to bottom, our wine is getting excellent complementary from people who are buyers from the top retailer stores, restaurant owners, hotel beverage directors, distributors and importers.

    ‘’We are proud to say that this wine is feature in most exclusive clubs and hotels in the country with repeat SALES. Château de Lengoust sells itself because a taste of it will convince you that this wine is in a class by itself. This is the finest wine for all occasions including weddings, birthdays, chieftaincy, Thanksgiving, Christmas hampers and Simply treating yourself to a quality wine by enjoying what nature has to offer.”

  • Winners emerge in Unilever-Shoprite promo

    Winners have emerged in the Unilever-Shoprite Shoppers celebration promo.

    The promo, which was held between October 15 and November 15, had winners picked from Shoprite stores.

    At the grand draw in Lagos, Miss Ali Zainab from Adegbayi in Ibadan won a new Hyundai car.

    The first runner-up, Mr Zacheus also from Ibadan, was presented with a deep freezer. While the second runner-up, Mr Odi from Lokogoma, Abuja went home with a washing machine.

    Twenty-one others across the seven branches of Shoprite won a Water Pureit each. From Ikeja Shoprite, three people went home with Water Pureit: Edema Obioma, Mrs Taiwo Oluwabamise and Amau Ibrahim.

    Other participants received consolation prizes for purchasing products worth N1,000 during the promo.

    The promo according to the Modern Trade Manager of Unilever Nigeria, Mr Oke-Egbe Tade, was to celebrate shoppers and Shoprite as a brand.

    Shoprite has been our partner for a long time and we are using this opportunity to reward customers that patronise Unilever products at Shoprite.”

    He said, the aim of the promo was to drive the Nigerian modern trade market.

    “We are partnering with every modern trade outlet to lift the edge in terms of innovation and technology. In terms of value, we provide the best value as all our brand products are leaders in their fields and we have a cultural heritage with Nigerians.”

  • Simba Den hosts governors

    Simba Den, the flagship store of Simba Group, hosted governors from the Southwest at the opening of Heritage Mall. MERCY MICHAEL reports.

    It will be recalled that Odua Company limited, a joint heritage of the south western states, opened Heritage Mall, at Cocoa House Ibadan, few days ago. The event which rocked the whole of Ibadan city attracted Governors and high dignitaries from the state and all over the country.

    Some of the governors stopped by at Simba Den, a new store also in Ibadan. They were led by Governor Ajimobi of Oyo State. Their aim of stopping over at Simba Den was to check out the products and services offered in the cozy environment of the store that is also in Cocoa Dome.

    The Manager of the store, Mr. Surajudeen while welcoming the Excellencies, used the rare opportunity to take them round the various departments in the store and explained to the governors, that Simba Group is working towards a greener Nigeria by offering power solutions that are noise free and environment friendly. He explained that the power solutions which include Luminous Inverters, Genius Inverters and Solar power have been embraced by many Nigerians both for domestic and official use because they do not have any health hazards that generators have.

    Speaking further on the products, Mr. Surajudeen said Luminous inverter is more durable than any other in its class and that it has the ability to store power for a longer period. He pointed out that because they do not require servicing and maintenance as generators do, the side effect of wear and tear of the power solution is considerably reduced, hence it is more durable and saves a lot of cost and stress.

    He also used the opportunity to highlight the online power steadiness of Luminous Inverter. According to him, they give uninterrupted power supply and smooth change-over when power from the grid goes off. In essence, there will be no loss of power at all. He said that was the reason most banks have adopted the inverter for their ATM transactions, while hospitals and Laboratories also use it as power back up for their theatres and Laboratories, where they cannot afford to have power outage.

    The Governors who were very pleased with the quality of products and services offered by Simba group were even more impressed when the Manager informed them that all the products and services were covered by warranty and after-sales services. The warranty covers up to 12 months while the after sales services start from the installation of the inverters for customers and goes even beyond.

  • Abuja Jabi Lake Mall to open shop in 2015

    IT is designed to be Abuja’s one-stop leisure, restaurant and retail destination. Billed to offer the first destination shopping experience to residents and visitors, the Jabi Lake Mall is located just 10 minutes from the Central Business District (CBD) on the shores of Jabi Lake, Abuja.

    Opening in late 2015, the $100 million retail centre will be Nigeria’s largest mall. With 30,000 square metres of grade-A shopping space on opening, it has expansion potential.

    The two-storey mall will feature contemporary architecture and a lakeside boardwalk with beautiful views over the water. It will also hosts cinemas, restaurants, cafes and a children’s arcade. Flagship stores Shoprite and Game, a Walmart subsidiary, have already signed up as anchor tenants for 10,000 sqm of space.

    Jabi Lake Mall follows the success of other Actis malls— The Palms and Ikeja City Mall in Lagos.

    Actis Director of Real Estate, Amanda Jean-Baptiste said: “Actis is thrilled to reach this key milestone in delivering a unique shopping experience in Abuja. The assistance and cooperation of the local authorities has been first rate which has allowed us to meet our delivery programme. We have been encouraged by the strong demand shown by retailers and restaurateurs, who, like us, see Jabi Lake Mall as a landmark destination in Nigeria.”

    Hakeem Belo Osagie, Chairman of Duval Properties, said, “Beginning construction of the waterfront mall is an exciting stage, we are extremely grateful to the FCT Minister, the Federal Capital Development Authority and other local authorities for the strong support we have received in pushing this landmark development forward.”

    Jabi Lake Mall development and construction is managed by Laurus Development Partners.