In less than a year, the Apapa Mall, one of Nigeria’s newest shopping malls in Lagos, has become a centre of attraction for shoppers. The mall is competing with the South African retail giant and the mall’s anchor tenant, Shoprite, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN.
A few years ago, shopping for grocery could only be done in the local markets, but the introduction of western styled shopping malls has redefined not just grocery shopping, but every other facet of shopping.
With the addition of another mall on Park Lane, Apapa, Lagos, tagged: Apapa Mall, adjudged as one of the world’s largest shopping malls, shopping has bcome a serious aspect of human endeavours.
Walking into Apapa mall premises, you will easily notice names of various international brands inscribed on the building housing the mall. The front, side and the top of the one-storey building are marked as car parks.
Apapa mall boasts of bringing one of the world’s largest shopping stores to Nigeria with the main entrance heavily decorated with colourful lightings and the name of the mall boldly inscribed in block letters.
The front view and the expansive car park boldly announce its various tenants. Some tenants pitched their tents on the walk way of the mall, displaying their products to willing consumers while others have their representatives distribute flyers to people as they walked into the mall.
One of such is a liquid washing soap retailer, called Rita, who said the mall is a good channel for displaying her product for all classes of people to see.
According to her, the items needed to be displayed in a reputable place that would be conducive to buyers.
On display on the first floor of the one-storey building are Lifemate (a furniture merchant); Beerhugz (a bar); film house (a cinema); Montaigne (seller of designers wrist watches); Twice as Nice (a clothing store) and Samsung (stock all kinds of electronics) among others.
In all, the mall houses 40 tenants with Shoprite, Filmhouse, Lifemate as anchor tenants. Others include Cash N carry (stocks household items); PEP and MRP (sell clothing); Daviva (sells colourful fabrics); Health Plus and Med Plus (attend to people’s health) and Essenza (stocks perfumes). Others are; Airtel, Kobis, Homely, Evoke, Image, souls and others.
Shoppers were seen driving in and out, with some making purchases inside the store. It showed that the new mall, which opened in May last year, is gradually warming itself to the hearts of shoppers.
Some of the customers, who spoke with The Nation Shopping, said they have tried Apapa mall and are ready to remain there. “The mall has just been opened. Yes! It has all I expected to see and for convenience, I love this concept,” said a young woman, Stella Okoro, who was loading the goods she purchased into her car. “It is a welcome development in this neighbouhood,” she added.
Another shopper, Mr Akin Akinyemi, was seen buying apples from Shoprite. He said: “This is my first time of coming here. It looks good to me, and the prices are fair. I wish we could get more. If this kind of development is stretched to other strategic places within Lagos, it would be nice.”
Speaking on the status of the mall, its Project Manager and Chairman, Top Services Limited, builders of the Apapa Mall, Chief Tokumbo Omisore said: “Apapa Mall is a one-stop-shopping mall, offering shoppers from Apapa and its immediate environs a unique opportunity to carry out all their shopping activities, relax and entertain themselves.
“This ultra modern retail centre offers its tenants an ideal platform to showcase their products to shoppers, create awareness for their brands, and take advantage of the tenant mix to compete with international brands now settling in Nigeria markets.”
Concerning tenant mix in the mall Omisore said: “The idea behind the tenant mix is not only to offer quality, taste, and variety, but to give room for affordability within the same mall.”
To achieve this, he said, all known local brands, having a successful experience in existing shopping malls in Nigeria, are allowed to cohabit with bigger brands of international standards within a reasonable let-table area.
To realise the vision of combining shopping and leisure, the mall came with a restaurant where shoppers can also have good time after shopping, thus making the art of shopping more attractive and eventful.
It is, therefore, not an accident that Apapa mall has continued to receive wide spread commendation and applause from Lagosians and Nigerians across social and religious divide. They have commended Omisore for his steadfastness and the architectural designs, as well as for his entrepreneurial drive.
Also, the mall has become a Mecca of some sort to the high and mighty.
It is against this background that many Lagosians applaud the mall for setting a new standard in the art of shopping and giving people a sense of leisure and shopping.
Some shoppers, who spoke to The Nation Shopping, applauded the quality of products on offer, even as they lauded its security and serenity.
Wale Ikuomola, a lawyer, said he bought most of his family needs from the mall because he believed in the quality of the products and for the inviting ambience the mall has.
“I make it a point of duty to always buy from Apapa Mall on way home from the office because I trust the quality of their products and the inviting ambience here.
“I also come here every weekend to stock my home with various products. I have been doing so in the last six months and all I get is quality and good customer service. Everybody at the mall is friendly. In fact, my week is not complete without shopping here,” Ikuomola said..
For Linda Aguocha, a banker, Apapa Mall is more than just a shopping mall. It is a leisure destination that combines ambience, serenity with security.
“Apapa Mall is more than just a shopping mall. It is a leisure destination, where you can shop under a secured and serene atmosphere and enjoy some level of comfort. It is a place I go to shop and relax with my friends every weekend. I love the place, it is home away from home,” she affirmed.
Linda’s friend, Helen, described the mall as a preferred shoppers’ destination. “Apapa mall is a place I always want to be again and again. I just cannot stop shopping at the mall. I like the quality of their products and the ambience of the place is alluring. I always want to be here every day and I do not get tired. Each shopping is an experience. It is my choice place for both shopping and leisure,” she said.
The completion of the mall came in two folds: when it was inaugurated in June/July last year and when the Shoprite, its major tenant, started business. After these every other businesses started running.
Beyond the products is the fact that the mall is replete with security gadgets of various specifications and standards, which make both doing business and leisure at the mall attractive.
According to the mall management, the reason customers besiege the place is that apart from selling goods that meet the requirements of the Standard Organisation Of Nigeria (SON), they also have taken into cognisance the essence of security and convenience.
Its management said apart from adequate security, one of the facilities that has been put in place to ensure customer satisfaction is the multi–million naira parking lot, which has made shopping fun, unlike what is obtained in some shopping malls in the country.
Apapa Mall is believed to have changed the face of shopping in Nigeria when it emerged on the scene last year, creating the shoppers’ destination in the country and setting new standards in shopping.
It immediately caught the attraction majority of Nigerians, who thronged the place day and night to buy from the best on offer.
An Apapa resident, Emeka, who had lived in the area since he was a child confessed that Apapa Mall is the ideal place for shoppers, particularly those who reside in Apapa and its environs. To his wife, Ann, an accountant, the mall is more of a tourist centre. “This is a beautiful tourists’ attraction and I give kudos to the Project Manager and Chairman, Top Services Limited, builders of the Apapa mall, Chief Tokunbo Omisore who thought of this,” she said.
Both Emeka and Ann are right. Right from the three entrances of the straddling edifice, legs and cars competed for space. Strategically placed within the neat premises were trolleys waiting to be used to convey items to consumers’ cars.
Besides security agents, managers of the commodious car park were on hand for serious business, as cars were parked without paying to anyone, unlike what obtains in other malls.
From the exterior of the imposing emporium, various sizes of sign posts welcome prospective customers into both the building and its compartments.
A stroll past the two main entrances leading into the structure and a stand-by parking kiosk brings a visitor to Shoprite, which directly faces the main entrance, there is the cinema and restaurant in the one-story structure’s belly.
The electronic stair-cases conveying visitors to the upper chamber of the edifice was a spectacle to behold. As many mounted them for genuine shopping, some others stood transfixed to behold the delight.
Parading neatly dressed, sprightly-looking attendants, all the tenant-companies transacting business there appeared to have keyed into the seemingly inviolate culture of cleanliness in the market.
Shoppers need not burden themselves with loads of cash from their homes as Standard Chartered Bank and other banks have made available functional ATM services at some locations.
While many window-shopped, others were busy with genuine transactions with attention from the company’s polite sales persons.
Also, an entertainment centre
what does the mall have to offer shoppers and its tenants?
Apapa Mall is one-stop shopping Mall, offering shoppers from Apapa and its immediate environs a unique opportunity to carry out all their shopping activities, relax and entertain themselves. This ultra modern retail center offers its tenants an ideal platform to showcase their products to shoppers, create awareness for their brands, and take advantage of the tenant mix to compete with international brands now settling in Nigeria Markets.
How did you mix the tenants such that one compliments the other to benefit the shopper?
The idea behind the tenant mix is to offer quality, taste, and variety, but to also give a room for affordability within the same Mall. To achieve this, we allowed known local brands having a successful experience in existing shopping Malls in Nigeria to cohabit with bigger brands of international standards within a reasonable lettable area.
Why should an Apapa resident remain in the environment when he wants to shop?
We believe the reason shoppers are going out is to provide for their basic or social needs or simply to entertain themselves. Apapa residents will have the opportunity to do just that with the new mall, where they can shop affordably for their groceries, pastries, drinks or household items, eat out with family and friends, make their hair at the Evoke salon, watch a movie or simply take a drink at the Bheerghugs VIP lounge.
Does the mall have all the shoppers’ desires?
As far as food, health, entertainment, clothing and household items, internet and telecommunication are concerned the shoppers’ desires will be greatly met, with the variety of brands available on ground.
Does the mall house international brands? Who are they?
The Mall houses International brands i.e Shoprite, MRP (formerly known as Mr. Price), PEP, Cash N Carry, Samsung and Lifemate
What does a shopper have to gain from these international brands?
Quality for a good price, variety, creativity, fashion.
What would be the shoppers experience when he visits Apapa mall?
Good ambiance, fun, relaxation, good prices, good quality, multi choice, beautiful environment.
What will the mall give back to the society in form of CSR?
The Mall for now is giving free Car Park to the end users as its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Mall will promote entertainment events, almost quarterly, for Apapa residents and the immediate environs
What is the mall’s statistics?
Footfall during the week is on the average of 2,000 visitors/shoppers daily. Weekends increases for now to almost 3000 and more atimes when the month ends on a weekend. With the Cinema commencing operations this week more are expected from the coming week.
Shops in operation 82%
Total number of Shops is 93%
How many tenant stores are in the mall and who are they?
40 tenants are in the Mall:
Anchor tenants (Shoprite, Filmhouse, Lifemate) other tenants (Cash N carry, PEP, MRP, Daviva, Health Plus, Med Plus, Montaigne, Essenza, Samsung, Airtel, Kobis, Homely, Twice as Nice, Evoke, Image & souls, etc).
How secured is the mall? What are the security measures put in place ?
The Mall is well secured with Police presence; Professional and trained security guards with body scanners and vehicle scanners; CCTV .
