Lillian Ikem’s reputation as a creative designer and entrepreneur in the fashion industry is something you cannot ignore any day.
After succeeding in turning her passion to a thriving business, the Economics graduate of Edo State University recently expanded her Lily and Gees business group with the establishment of Lil-Gee salon chains. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, the amazon shares the secret of success, challenges, as well as her new passion for the bone china plate collection trend.
HOW would you describe your experience in the business and fashion scene?
I have been a player in the Nigerian fashion industry for about 10 years and the experience gained has been worthwhile. In the process, I met a lot of people and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, growth and relationships that have been fostered over the years with my numerous clients.
What is trendy for women at the moment?
The fashion scene has grown really big and we have a variety of trends evolving simultaneously. We also have a lot of women going for African wears these days. However, we also have a number of trendy corporate wears especially when it comes to suits. This is interesting because we all have different parts of our bodies that we are trying to hide. Some of us are into trousers, because we do not want parts of our legs to show. For some women, it is their shoulders. Suits are still good. You can decide to get them in the three-quarter sleeve, the jacket. If you are able to do that, it is still interesting.
Isn’t it tough moving from a familiar terrain to an area that is totally different?
As I said before, I am not leaving the fashion industry. I love it too much to abandon it. I am merely expanding my frontiers. As a woman, when you have worked so hard and achieved your goal, then the next step is to think of expansion. The salon franchise like the fashion world is beauty-based. The dishware business is beauty-based in a sense. What Lille and Gee is positioning to do is to raise the overall aesthetic appreciation in Nigeria.
The focus should not just be on what people wear and how they look but also on how they live. As for the plates, it started also as a passion. Once my husband travelled, on a good day, I would go straight to a store and just change the household dishware, the plates and cutlery before he comes back home. I used to go as far as change the bed sheet. So it’s a love, a passion.
Are you going to be manufacturing them here?
Eventually, I would be designing the plates. For now, I am in collaboration with some major manufacturers on this. I am going to be importing them from China.
Bone China is one of the highest premium qualities of plates that you can find. Imagine very good quality China plates with beautiful delicate prints on them. In the collection, you would find flat plates, saucers, cups, trays, wine glass all in the same motifs, but in variety of colours.
Such might appeal to a few connoisseurs. Why would an average Nigerian leave the plate in the supermarket to buy one of your exquisite Bone China?
Nigerians’ aesthetic appreciation has really shifted. Bone Chinas are beautiful plates, on a different echelon altogether. Imagine plates for royalty that is being made available to the middle class!
Do you think there is a market for this now?
There is a market for it. Though things are really expensive these days and people are running away from spending money, that is why I will be making it available to people that are like me.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. When you see the plate, nobody needs to cajole you. Merely looking at them says everything. They market themselves. It is something worth saving up for. The plates are on a different ladder and that is why I said, imagine a tableware meant for royalty that is now being made available for the middle class, as simple as that.
How is your salon franchise doing?
The salon is under the Lily and Gees Group. Having looked around, I noticed that for women to get their hair or nails done, they most often travel some distance. The idea behind Lily and Gee Salon is to turn it into a franchisable brand so that in almost every hub, every locality within the metropolis, you can find a Lily and Gee salon. Here you have at your service best braiders, best nail technicians, best wigs specialists and the likes.
What are you doing differently, apart from assembling the best team?
For me, I would say that the most important thing is affordability. Imagine coming to the salon where you are going to meet the expert in hair and hair care, where you have products available as well and it is all affordable – the best of everything at affordable prices. That is really what the salon is about.
Given your background in the beauty industry, what areas do you want to fill?
There is a hair knowledge gap, and Lill and Gees is motivated to fill that. Nigerians are excelling at making hair look good. Lil and Gees want to combine that with maintaining healthy hair that retains its lustre, length and nutrients to old age. Nigerians are lacking in knowledge. We are not lacking in the appreciation of good hair when we see it, but it is usually at the neglect of our own natural hair. Right now, it is fashionable to have multiple wigs, but then, what are we really doing about our natural hair?
What products suits fine or coarse hair? Those are the things we are bringing into the Nigerian market. We want to begin to educate, so the stylists and the dressers are trained to educate the clients of Lily and Gees to knowing the particular products that they require for the different hair textures.
Take for instance, women who seem to be going bald. I have seen people use very expensive products, such as weave-on but had it on too tight and too long a time, and perhaps failed to apply a little bit of coconut oil, Shea butter or something that could help.
This is not about expensive products; it is about knowledge, and two, consistency. That is why we are coming into the market. Our franchise is not about just taking customers’ money but also educating them on what to do to the hair.
Do you have business trainings in these areas that we are talking about?
I have had multiple personal development training. I have consistently done business. If a person finds that her interest lies beyond one thing, and she has the capacity to do more than one thing, then why not? That is essentially the motivation. The capacity is there, so is the willingness to do all these, and what’s more, the market is there also.