Latest / thefashionroundtable / The Truth About Nigerian Fashion & Clout Culture | Ozinna Anumudu S2 E4

Transcript

The Truth About Nigerian Fashion & Clout Culture | Ozinna Anumudu S2 E4 · thefashionroundtable

0:13
SPEAKER_01: This episode is brought to you by Flutterwave.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: Check out Flutterwave.com.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: Who really decides which Nigerian brands get seen, get taken seriously, and even get sold?
0:24
SPEAKER_01: Ozina Anumudu has worked with brands including Puma, L'Oreal, Martel, and even Nigerian brands like Wanifuga, Bankekuku, Dilab, and many more, helping brands like these build their image and connect with consumers.
0:40
SPEAKER_01: But her understanding of fashion started much earlier.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: Her mother, Inkiru Anumudu, has a legendary wardrobe filled with international designer pieces, many bought straight from the runway.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: Today, Ozzinna has turned that eye for fashion into TSC Agency and Ozinna.com.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: So, what really makes a fashion brand sell?
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Who gets chosen and what does Nigerian fashion need to grow?
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Ozzinna, welcome to the fashion roundtable.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm very happy this is happening because I wanted to be part of season one.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: But, you know, timing and everything.
1:15
SPEAKER_01: So it was so great to, I think I ran into you at an event and I was like, come on the show.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so sorry I missed the first season.
1:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad I'm here.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: It's cool.
1:24
SPEAKER_04: Thank you for having me.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: You're welcome.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: So you started with the style concierge, which eventually evolved into TSC agency.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: What did you see in the Nigerian fashion industry at that time that made you think, okay, there's a business here?
1:39
SPEAKER_04: Okay, um, good question.
1:41
SPEAKER_04: So I'll tell you my background first.
1:44
SPEAKER_04: Then so um I have a master's in branding and communications, all that good stuff.
1:51
SPEAKER_04: Um when I moved back to Nigeria, I was doing NYC as an advertising agency.
1:55
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:56
SPEAKER_04: So I always knew I belonged in the agency world.
1:58
SPEAKER_04: And that was always my plan.
2:00
SPEAKER_04: However, um I think I moved back in January.
2:03
SPEAKER_04: I was doing NYC by February, March.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: And you know, Fashion Week is in October.
2:08
SPEAKER_04: So by the time Fashion Week came about, um, my social media had started growing.
2:13
SPEAKER_04: Um, I had started posting about what I was wearing because in camp, and I always tell that story in camp, people come up to me like, oh, I know your page from Instagram, I make this, I make that, and that.
2:23
SPEAKER_04: So I knew that I had some of a sort of a following.
2:26
SPEAKER_04: Then when Fashion Week came about, um I was working, but the team at Fashion Week had reached out to me to come and work with them.
2:33
SPEAKER_04: And my boss was like, Listen, if you go and work for Fashion Week, don't come back to the office because you're gonna get in trouble because you're missing out on work and blah, blah, blah.
2:41
SPEAKER_04: But then NYSC salary and what I was doing for Fashion Week.
2:45
SPEAKER_04: So I was like, okay, you know what?
2:46
SPEAKER_04: Let me go to Fashion Week, which was a gamble I took.
2:50
SPEAKER_04: And so when I went to do Fashion Week for like a week or two, a lot of the brands were then coming to me and saying to me, Oh, I really like you.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Can you wear this dress for me?
3:00
SPEAKER_04: Can you do this?
3:01
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, no, actually, I want to do more for your brand.
3:03
SPEAKER_04: I don't just want to wear the clothes.
3:04
SPEAKER_04: I want to help with your branding, I want to help with your this, I want to help with your that.
3:07
SPEAKER_04: So I think that was the moment I realized, like, listen, there can be a business here.
3:11
SPEAKER_04: There's a gap.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: A lot of these brands are trying to project themselves.
3:14
SPEAKER_04: And they think, you know, at the time we weren't that many influencers, just like myself, Dinola.
3:20
SPEAKER_04: What year was this?
3:21
SPEAKER_04: This was 20.
3:22
SPEAKER_04: I moved back January 2014.
3:23
SPEAKER_04: This is 2014.
3:24
SPEAKER_04: So this is October 2014.
3:26
SPEAKER_04: Exactly, because my company is about to be 11 years old.
3:29
SPEAKER_04: So I registered the style concierge in December 2014.
3:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
3:33
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, December 2014.
3:35
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
3:35
SPEAKER_04: I think, yeah.
3:36
SPEAKER_04: 2015, sorry.
3:37
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
3:37
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
3:38
SPEAKER_04: I moved back December 2014.
3:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
3:40
SPEAKER_04: And then by December 2015, yeah, you were able you were able to do that.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: What were you contacted to do at Fashion Week?
3:46
SPEAKER_04: Great.
3:47
SPEAKER_04: Um, so I had a big sister, her name is Zara Opar.
3:49
SPEAKER_04: Zara was Zara Odinow.
3:51
SPEAKER_04: Zara was the it's fashion girl at the time.
3:54
SPEAKER_04: She was running PR and branding for Lisa Falawio.
3:57
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
3:57
SPEAKER_04: And she did that for at least a decade.
3:59
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
3:59
SPEAKER_04: And then um at Fashion Week, she was head of production.
4:02
SPEAKER_04: So she was the one back end running the show.
4:04
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
4:05
SPEAKER_04: And Zara, you know, she's like a big sister to me.
4:07
SPEAKER_04: She saw that was trying to get my feet wet in the fashion industry.
4:10
SPEAKER_04: So she asked me to come and work on the production team with her.
4:14
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
4:14
SPEAKER_04: So that was my very first job at Fashion Week.
4:16
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
4:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: You've worked with various brands.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: You've worked with Shop Major, which we're going to come back to.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: We've worked with Wani Fuga, Banker Cuckoo, as well as Global Names, uh Puma and the rest of them.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: What has working with such different brands uh taught you about what actually makes a brand powerful?
4:35
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: So when I started, when we were still the star concierge, most of my clients were in the fashion space.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: And like I said, with my background and working advertising, I always knew that my heart really wanted to work with the corporates.
4:47
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
4:47
SPEAKER_04: And so I rebranded to TSC Agency because I wanted a name that could accommodate everyone, not just fashion.
4:55
SPEAKER_04: Because I was moving away from fashion.
4:57
SPEAKER_04: I mean, fashion is still the core of who I am.
5:00
SPEAKER_04: But business-wise, we're moving.
5:03
SPEAKER_04: But the one thing I noticed with the brands is how intentional they are with their storytelling and connecting to their audiences.
5:11
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
5:11
SPEAKER_04: And that is literally the core of what TSC does.
5:14
SPEAKER_04: It helps brand tell the stories.
5:16
SPEAKER_04: I like to say to people that I connect brands to their audiences, and my agency is a vessel to do that.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: In what that was my next question to say, break it down, even down to the nitty-gritty, for example, like the day-to-day.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: So if a brand comes to you and says, hi, would like to sign up to your agency, we make bags and shoes for women.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: What's what would your line of questioning be?
5:40
SPEAKER_01: For example.
5:41
SPEAKER_04: So we'd first have a brand consultation, just a discovery call to kind of discover your brand, what your brand is, um, why you're coming to us, what exactly it is you want from us, um, your brand's current positioning, where the brand is, who your audience is, and would even ask you questions to understand your audience.
6:00
SPEAKER_04: Because it's possible that you say your audience is the 1% of the Nigerian market.
6:06
SPEAKER_04: But when you tell us about the entire brand, we're like, based on what you've said, you're not positioning.
6:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, this brand is more mass market, not a luxury brand.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: So we first of all do a brand audit, a brand consultation, and then after that, we put together a proposal and take it from there.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about your fabulous mom, who I always ask about every time I see you.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: She has the most amazing collection of shoes and bags and accessories and things like that.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: And I've often wondered, like, what was it like growing up around that level of fashion?
6:39
SPEAKER_01: And did you absorb your love for fashion from watching her?
6:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so how did I say this?
6:48
SPEAKER_04: I always assumed my mom was very normal.
6:52
SPEAKER_04: So my mom's love for fashion and all of that, we grew up around it, but that was very normal to my brothers and I.
6:59
SPEAKER_04: It was when we went to boarding school and people were like, Oh, your mom, or on Vistine Day, we're like, oh, people's moms don't look like our mom and things like that.
7:06
SPEAKER_04: I think that's when, I think maybe when I was like 10, 11, that's when I noticed.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: You started clocking that.
7:11
SPEAKER_04: For example, we're at the airport, my siblings and I, you know, normal people have carry-on and stuff.
7:15
SPEAKER_04: Our own carry-on was hat boxes.
7:17
SPEAKER_04: My brothers and I were always carrying my mom's hat boxes when we traveled.
7:20
SPEAKER_04: And I thought that was normal, right?
7:22
SPEAKER_04: But it's not.
7:24
SPEAKER_04: So, um, I like you said, I think subconsciously she rubbed off on me a lot.
7:29
SPEAKER_04: Um, we have different senses of style, but I feel like the one thing I absorbed fully from my mom was her confidence.
7:37
SPEAKER_04: My mom can literally wear anything she wants to wear, wherever, and own the room.
7:41
SPEAKER_04: And that's one thing I think I definitely um got from her.
7:46
SPEAKER_04: And then also, um, I was a bit of a tomboy, if I'm being honest.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: I have three brothers.
7:51
SPEAKER_04: And so the fashion thing we used to clash on it.
7:53
SPEAKER_04: Like, I'd come back from school, and my mom is forcing, like, this is what you have to wear after school today.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, I don't want to wear those clothes.
7:59
SPEAKER_04: But then I think um, by the time I got to university, like 16, 17, it's there coming.
8:06
SPEAKER_04: She noticed it.
8:07
SPEAKER_04: Like my first year uni, my mom gave me all these bags and all these shoes.
8:10
SPEAKER_04: Oh my god.
8:11
SPEAKER_04: Literally was my freshman year.
8:13
SPEAKER_04: And I think that was when I was like, okay, I think this is kind of cool.
8:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
8:17
SPEAKER_04: And that's when I started enjoying her stuff.
8:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: And yeah.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: And then I lived in Paris a few years after.
8:24
SPEAKER_04: And I think at that point, it became more apparent.
8:27
SPEAKER_04: Like these things I see in mom's closet are like things that are coveted here and stuff like that.
8:31
SPEAKER_01: So I remember growing up, the Nigerian press did not allow her.
8:35
SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: Especially these days, especially when these these days' style became a thing.
8:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, she was always every Sunday, she was always.
8:43
SPEAKER_04: I didn't know about that.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: I didn't really know about that.
8:45
SPEAKER_04: It was literally when I moved back and it started affecting me because like I'll just post something random and it will end up on a blog or a thing.
8:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, why is this being put here?
8:55
SPEAKER_04: Oh, it's because it's not news exactly.
8:57
SPEAKER_04: It's not even newsworthy.
8:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:58
SPEAKER_04: But because she was always being posted, and then it came to me, and I was like, okay, let's make the most of this attention.
9:05
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: I'll never forget.
9:06
SPEAKER_01: I think you were sitting next to her.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: I can't remember what year it was.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: It was some fashion show.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: And she had this hat that was in the shape of a shoe.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh my God.
9:19
SPEAKER_01: I had to take the picture.
9:21
SPEAKER_04: Yesterday she had a hat on with like five hats on it.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: Oh, see, you see, like just fabulous.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: Just, I mean, it would have been a shame if you did not love fashion one bit.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: Like it would have been like, ah, from Nigeria to the world.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: And from abroad, back home.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: With send app by Flutterway, you can send money across borders in minutes.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Send to and from Nigeria, the UK, US, EU, Ghana, Egypt, and more.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: It is fast, secure, and reliable.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Send up.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: Put your money where your heart is.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: But let's talk about your other business.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: It's Ozinna.com.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: If I'm a Nigerian designer, for instance, and I want my brand on your platform.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: For those who don't know what it does, please you let us know what ozina.com is about.
10:16
SPEAKER_01: And then how does that, if a Nigerian brand wanted to be listed on your on your site, how does that relationship come about?
10:23
SPEAKER_01: What are the things you ask or check for?
10:25
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
10:25
SPEAKER_04: So ozina.com is an online um store where we create the best of Nigerian and African fashion.
10:33
SPEAKER_04: And it's supposed to be a one-stop shop where you can find pieces specifically created by myself and my team.
10:39
SPEAKER_04: And it's available um worldwide.
10:40
SPEAKER_04: So you can see a piece.
10:42
SPEAKER_04: For example, what I'm wearing, free plug, if you go on ozina.com, this outfit is there right now.
10:46
SPEAKER_04: And how it started, really the initial journey, like I said, when I was in camp at NYSC, women I had no idea who they were, would come up to me and be like, Since I stayed following you, I'm always looking for this outfit, looking for that outfit.
10:59
SPEAKER_04: And I can't seem to reach the designer, they're not responding.
11:02
SPEAKER_04: At the time, bear in mind, this is 2015, 2016.
11:05
SPEAKER_04: Most of the brands they didn't have their own websites, they didn't have their own social media pages, all of that.
11:09
SPEAKER_04: And um in the US, there was an app called Like to Know It.
11:13
SPEAKER_04: When you like something and you can shop it.
11:14
SPEAKER_04: So that was my initial vision to create a Like to Know It.
11:18
SPEAKER_04: But then the problem was those brands I was trying to list don't even have their own platforms.
11:22
SPEAKER_04: I was like, you know what?
11:23
SPEAKER_04: You like providing solutions.
11:25
SPEAKER_04: So I started a platform where we could house these brands.
11:28
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
11:29
SPEAKER_04: And um my goal with it is three things to inspire, to discover, and to shop.
11:33
SPEAKER_04: So I like the fact that people come and like, oh wow, these are Nigerian brands doing great things.
11:39
SPEAKER_04: You can discover new brands and then eventually shop.
11:42
SPEAKER_04: Now, to your question as to how brands can list.
11:45
SPEAKER_04: So because it's curated, we're very intentional about the brands that we list.
11:50
SPEAKER_04: Um while it's um while a lot of it is inspired by my personal style, I still understand the style of the Nigerian woman and like, you know, the things that she wants.
12:00
SPEAKER_04: So when we are curating the brands, we're very specific to the design, the brand story, the vision of the brand, their price points.
12:09
SPEAKER_04: Because at the end of the day, 85% of the women that shop on our website actually don't know these brands.
12:14
SPEAKER_04: They're on our website because they trust that we've done their homework for them.
12:18
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
12:18
SPEAKER_04: You know, we have people in Paris saying, oh, I shop on your website because I know it's it has to be good stuff.
12:23
SPEAKER_04: You know, they don't they don't necessarily know the brand, but they know that it was on ozina.com.
12:28
SPEAKER_04: And so that's a reputation I've built for over a decade, right?
12:31
SPEAKER_04: So I'm not going to just let a random new brand taint that record we have.
12:36
SPEAKER_04: So for us, um, you know, we have a page on a website which is called Stuck With Us.
12:40
SPEAKER_04: And if you want to stuck with us, you go, you fill out the form.
12:43
SPEAKER_04: And um we have a number of brands that sign up, but not everyone makes it just because a lot of brands now just copy one another.
12:53
SPEAKER_04: And I never want to offend some of the brands that we already have.
12:56
SPEAKER_04: So I'm very intentional making sure each brand is distinct or the pieces we pick from each brand are not similar to pieces you'd find with another brand.
13:04
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so what are you looking for before you agree to stock a brand?
13:08
SPEAKER_01: So you've mentioned that you're not going to just pick just any brand.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, is it the product?
13:13
SPEAKER_01: Is it the quality?
13:14
SPEAKER_01: Is it um production capacity?
13:17
SPEAKER_01: Because they might have all these things, you know, they have a good story, they've been around for some time.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: How do you figure out their production capacity, for example?
13:25
SPEAKER_01: Or um maybe you just simply believe that your customer will buy it.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: They like it and they will buy it.
13:31
SPEAKER_04: So it's a combination of all.
13:33
SPEAKER_04: So once we've said, okay, the product, we like this outfit, okay, this outfit I'm mine, for example, okay, we've picked this product, it's nice.
13:39
SPEAKER_04: We know the quality either because we've already worked with the brand or it's a new brand.
13:42
SPEAKER_04: So we bring in the clothes, we see, we check the quality.
13:45
SPEAKER_04: And then we have our back end and say, okay, typically this outfit will probably sell in a good month, five of it.
13:52
SPEAKER_04: A bad month in sorry, in a bad month, five of it, in a good month, 50 of it.
13:56
SPEAKER_04: We know the numbers will then tell the brand.
13:58
SPEAKER_04: Then the brand, we handle all our inventory end to end.
14:01
SPEAKER_04: So if um we need 50 units and we say to you, we need 50 units, and you say to us, we can only give you 10 units, we then make a call and say, you know what, we actually don't want to stock it because that can meet our demand, because we don't want a situation whereby the day we post it, it's already sold out in one second.
14:16
SPEAKER_04: So then the designer says, Okay, give me two more weeks to meet your number.
14:20
SPEAKER_04: Or they say, Okay, um, can we give you what we have for now?
14:23
SPEAKER_04: And then maybe a potential restock.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you basically key you store the what made you do that?
14:31
SPEAKER_04: That that was a no-brainer for me after what had happened.
14:34
SPEAKER_04: So I shut down the business.
14:37
SPEAKER_04: I think I think I started it in 2016, and I shut it down 2017 because on paper it sounded nice, but back end was disastrous.
14:46
SPEAKER_04: So, for example, a designer will say they're sending me this outfit.
14:49
SPEAKER_04: I'll say, Okay, great, thank you.
14:50
SPEAKER_04: I'll take a picture in it and I'll post it.
14:52
SPEAKER_04: I'll say it's available at ozina.com.
14:54
SPEAKER_04: We'll get 30 orders.
14:55
SPEAKER_04: We'll call the designer, be like, eh, you've already sold 30.
14:57
SPEAKER_04: Ah, we only had fabric for 70, but let us go to the market and this and this.
15:02
SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh.
15:02
SPEAKER_04: And then the outfit, I'll never forget, the outfit was it was um a dark green, so like an emerald green, right?
15:08
SPEAKER_04: But when the designer found fabric, it was like a paler green, but she produced the rest.
15:12
SPEAKER_04: And next thing we know, everybody's calling us for returns.
15:14
SPEAKER_04: They're like, that's not what I saw on Ozina's page, that's not what I want.
15:17
SPEAKER_04: So that would cause issues, or they would get it and we would get returns, and they would say, Oh, um, I ordered size eight, what came to me was a size 10, this and that.
15:26
SPEAKER_04: And so in 2017, I was like, it's not that serious.
15:28
SPEAKER_04: So I was just being nice, trying to sell clothes, and I shut it down.
15:32
SPEAKER_04: And then during COVID, during lockdown, um, I was talking to one of my cousins, Iffi, God bless him.
15:37
SPEAKER_04: And ify was like, yo, you know, in America right now, everybody's shopping, retail therapy, blah, blah, blah.
15:43
SPEAKER_04: Imagine if you still had Ozina.com, you'd be making mad money during COVID.
15:46
SPEAKER_04: I was like, eh, okay, good, good idea, bro.
15:49
SPEAKER_04: And that's how I literally started it again.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: Um, I started at Ozina.com again in July 2020, with all the lessons I learned from the first time.
15:57
SPEAKER_04: And number one is inventory.
15:59
SPEAKER_04: Inventory is the most important part of the business because we offer, I'm trying to be like an Amazon, right?
16:04
SPEAKER_04: Offer same-day delivery, next day delivery.
16:06
SPEAKER_04: I can't rely on the designer to handle that part.
16:09
SPEAKER_04: So your only assignments as designers just give me, you know, make sure it's the right.
16:13
SPEAKER_04: Um, obviously, we have our quality control checks, but just make sure it's the right product, right amount, give it to us, and then we do the rest of it.
16:20
SPEAKER_01: And then the rest is history.
16:21
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: Sounds interesting.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: A fun outfit deserves a fun hairstyle.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: Look at how we're styling it for this episode.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: Don't forget to check out nigeria.lush hairafrica.com for the extensions, and they are called dancing curls.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Enjoy.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: I know that in the US, for example, there are some businesses that are like fulfillment centers.
16:44
SPEAKER_01: Do you think fulfillment centers will work in Nigeria?
16:47
SPEAKER_04: Yes, but not now.
16:49
SPEAKER_04: Fulfillment centers work because they're trying to um alleviate the problem and the logistics of it and quantities and all of that.
16:56
SPEAKER_04: I don't think um our brands can handle fulfillment centers because that means having different batches of clothes, different um quantities and stuff.
17:05
SPEAKER_04: But with the quantities that designers are providing at the moment, if a designer, for example, can only produce, let me say, 50 of a particular dress, then why are you sending it to eight fulfillment centers?
17:14
SPEAKER_04: Are you sending just two dresses to each fulfillment center?
17:18
SPEAKER_04: So it's definitely something that can work when the output is larger.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: For those who don't who might not know what a fulfillment center is, they're basically kind of like the middleman between the the brand and the customer.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: So you they uh they have these warehouses where they store the units.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they store, and it's not just for fashion, it's for different things.
17:37
SPEAKER_04: They handle the processing and all the things.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they handle the processing, the packaging, someone or the orders go to them, and then yeah, so all those things.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: So that the the the company doesn't have to handle all those things and they can just focus on creating, it does focus on other aspects.
17:53
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you've had long-standing relationships with many different Nigerian brands.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: What happened to Shop Major?
18:01
SPEAKER_04: Oh, so Shop Maju, I was the brand manager for a year.
18:06
SPEAKER_04: And that was Was it just a year?
18:08
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
18:09
SPEAKER_04: Well, it was a very, it was a very big, I think a year, it wasn't up to two years.
18:13
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
18:14
SPEAKER_04: So when I was brand manager full-time, um, what it was is exactly what other brands were asking me, but except this time, we had an official relationship.
18:24
SPEAKER_04: But then after the year passed, they became a client of the agency, and then we started doing work with them.
18:30
SPEAKER_04: Um, that was a great, it was like our own um fast fashion brand, like a fashion nova type of brand.
18:36
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
18:37
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because they really used to have like they had all these cool pieces.
18:41
SPEAKER_04: It was such an amazing brand.
18:42
SPEAKER_04: Um, I loved working with the brand because you know, she had a very clear vision, she knew what she wanted for her brand, and she gave me the opportunity to soar and kind of thing, whereby if we had a plan, just run with it.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: I swear I thought you were the owner of the brand.
18:54
SPEAKER_04: Many people thought you were the owner of the brand because she wasn't trying to be at the forefront of the brand, and I was the one she put in front of it.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: What did it stop?
19:02
SPEAKER_04: I guess life happens.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: I guess.
19:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I guess.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that was that was an interesting.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: So another brand is Di Lab.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, what makes a relationship like that work for over the over several years?
19:16
SPEAKER_01: And what is it about Di Lab that has made you continue to believe in their brand?
19:20
SPEAKER_04: Okay, um, so backstory before I'll even go into Dialab.
19:23
SPEAKER_04: Dialab is owned by um Um Joker Ladoja.
19:27
SPEAKER_04: Joker actually had a brand called Grey.
19:29
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
19:30
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
19:30
SPEAKER_04: So Grey was one of the first TSE clients.
19:32
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
19:33
SPEAKER_04: So that's a person that has believed in me and believed in my vision and how I work with brands.
19:38
SPEAKER_04: And so Gray was a client for at least a decade at some point, or more than that.
19:45
SPEAKER_04: So um when she shut down Gray during the downtime, that was when Dialab was birthed, right?
19:52
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think my dialab, we called it 003.
19:55
SPEAKER_04: I think I was the third unit of dialab that she had made and she just sent it to me.
19:59
SPEAKER_04: But at the time, she wasn't trying to go into um, I guess, designing full-time and all that stuff.
20:06
SPEAKER_04: So I was like, no problem.
20:06
SPEAKER_04: You know, I have uzina.com, just give it to us.
20:09
SPEAKER_04: You know, you know the drill, you give it to us and we'll sell.
20:12
SPEAKER_04: And so that's how our relationship started.
20:14
SPEAKER_04: So it's just important to know that we've had that solid foundation before.
20:18
SPEAKER_04: And then the synergy continued because she just understood the market, she understood the Nigerian woman.
20:23
SPEAKER_04: You know, at the time it was COVID when we started Dialab, and um everybody wanted comfortable clothing.
20:31
SPEAKER_04: You know, that brand she she understands the power of branding and the importance of branding.
20:36
SPEAKER_04: And so it was just a matter of okay, she's making this product, but she's not really trying to be as involved with it.
20:42
SPEAKER_04: So I was like, you know what, leave that part to me.
20:44
SPEAKER_04: I'm good at selling, I'm good at the retail part.
20:46
SPEAKER_04: And that's how it started, and it's been six years of awesomeness.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: Like, it's so interesting how the brand has taken off.
20:54
SPEAKER_01: I remember, um, I think it was gosh, it was um, what was it now?
20:59
SPEAKER_01: GTCO.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: You had a stand, and we had not, I also had a stand for Gwimisoke, and then you were still setting up.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: And we had a queue.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: There was a queue, a really long queue.
21:12
SPEAKER_01: And they were there for Dilab.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: They were literally there for and it's not again, if you are familiar with the brand, it's not cheap at all.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: But there was a queue, and I was like, oh wow, this is this is interesting.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: They've built like a strong, in fact, when they have um pop-ups, pop-ups.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: Do they have do they have a uh a physical store?
21:32
SPEAKER_04: No, we have an office, yeah, office here and then have pop-ups.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: When they have pop-ups, they literally limit how many pieces people can buy.
21:41
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, because of how easy it is.
21:43
SPEAKER_04: So we'd have a pop-up.
21:44
SPEAKER_04: Imagine we have, let me say, 50 units, and a lady will walk in and try and take 14.
21:49
SPEAKER_04: How look?
21:50
SPEAKER_04: It's half and half.
21:51
SPEAKER_04: So on the website, I don't put limits on it because it's online and you can do it.
21:54
SPEAKER_04: But if people came all the way and wanted to experience, we try and limit it.
21:58
SPEAKER_04: I say, okay, two to three.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: So people now get their nannies, their driving, as it might seem like if the person puts in all that effort to bring extra people, then it's fine.
22:08
SPEAKER_04: But they're like, no, you know it's for the same person.
22:10
SPEAKER_04: But online, we don't put a limit on it.
22:11
SPEAKER_04: So online, it's okay.
22:12
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
22:13
SPEAKER_04: You can pay the shipping fees.
22:14
SPEAKER_04: Go ahead.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: Do you think that um those kinds of physical activations are an important part of the future at Wasina.com, especially for customers who want to touch and try and you know, try on and stunt.
22:27
SPEAKER_04: So like I said, this business happened to be a solution.
22:31
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't that I was trying to own a physical store and all of that.
22:34
SPEAKER_04: And obviously, the business is named after myself.
22:36
SPEAKER_04: I feel like if I had a store, the business might suffer because that would mean me being very connected to it.
22:43
SPEAKER_04: However, I do understand the importance of this, and that's why I try to have pop-ups here and there.
22:48
SPEAKER_04: But my model is the pop-ups, I try to do them outside of Lagos or outside of the country.
22:54
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
22:54
SPEAKER_04: Because I feel like the people abroad need to touch, feel, and understand and then gain that trust, and then they shop with us.
23:01
SPEAKER_04: But in Lagos, I'm like, guys, don't worry.
23:03
SPEAKER_04: Like, we offer same-day delivery, next day delivery.
23:06
SPEAKER_04: If you have an issue with it, and not to twitter horns, we barely get returns because we're very good with ensuring quality, ETC.
23:13
SPEAKER_04: Whatever you see on the website is exactly what you order, is exactly what you're going to receive.
23:18
SPEAKER_04: In terms of physical activations, um, I think they're important, but I don't think they're a necessity.
23:23
SPEAKER_04: If you're really selling what you claim to be selling and you're offering the service in a timely manner, it's efficient.
23:29
SPEAKER_04: A lot of times customers don't even interact with us.
23:32
SPEAKER_04: I would go somewhere and someone would say, Oh, I bought something last week, and I'm like, Okay, I think they assume that I know every single order that comes in.
23:39
SPEAKER_04: Because, yeah.
23:40
SPEAKER_04: I'm not as con I mean, I am connected to stuff.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: I have a team.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: So what happens when, for instance, a brand is not selling like you projected that it would, for example, um, do you try to help the designer fix the problem?
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Or is there a point that you simply say, come, this is not working, no?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Let's, you know.
24:01
SPEAKER_04: So it never ends up being that extreme because of how clear-cut we are.
24:06
SPEAKER_04: Like I know our audience.
24:07
SPEAKER_04: So, for example, from the beginning, I would say if you tell me, um, I remember a designer showed me a dress and she was like, How much do you think this will retail for?
24:15
SPEAKER_04: And I said, Maybe$170,000.
24:18
SPEAKER_04: She was like, Oh, she was thinking sell for$350,000.
24:20
SPEAKER_04: And I said, I doubt my audience will pay$350,000 for that dress.
24:24
SPEAKER_04: If they're paying$350,000, it's for a brand they already know, um, the brand that's more established and stuff.
24:30
SPEAKER_04: Perhaps you should revisit the price.
24:31
SPEAKER_04: So the designer insists and say, I want to sell at$350,000.
24:34
SPEAKER_04: We say, um, I'm not sure, my team and I will talk about it.
24:38
SPEAKER_04: If we then go ahead to$350 and it doesn't sell, it's a matter of we did this trial with you.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: We told you.
24:43
SPEAKER_04: A lot of times, even if uh dry uh brands um, we have a life cycle um for styles and stuff.
24:50
SPEAKER_04: Even sometimes when we try and return stuff, brands are like, no, don't return it.
24:54
SPEAKER_04: They feel like the clothes will still do better just being at the bottom of the website than coming back into their inventory.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: And these are brands who some of them have stores, some of them have their own web, their own website.
25:05
SPEAKER_04: So we have people who prefer to shop with us than going into the stores because they say, for example, if you go into the store and you order something, they may say, give us eight, 12 working days to make it, but then they go on ozina.com and it's already there because we have um our inventory already.
25:22
SPEAKER_04: Or sometimes they feel like, why should I go to a store and or end up going to six stores when I can go to one website and all the stuff?
25:29
SPEAKER_01: And see like a lot of and it's not just um clothing.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: No, it's not just you know, that I've seen accessories and stuff like that.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: So if you were to let me let me skip that question for now.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: Um, when you're working with a Nigerian fashion brand, what are some of the biggest mistakes you see them making when it comes to branding, positioning, and even selling themselves?
25:53
SPEAKER_04: Um, a mistake I think a lot of Nigerian brands make is comparison to other brands.
25:58
SPEAKER_04: So I have brands say, uh, like someone might want to sell her own brand today.
26:04
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, I want to sell this dress for and I keep saying 350,000.
26:08
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, why?
26:09
SPEAKER_04: Like when I saw brand A and brand B and they have similar dresses and they're selling it.
26:13
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, yes, but that brand has earned that position in the industry, or you know, has paid their dues or is trying to position itself as this XYZ brand, but your new brand, what is the reason for you trying to do this?
26:26
SPEAKER_04: And they can't answer that question.
26:28
SPEAKER_04: How did you come up with the figure?
26:29
SPEAKER_04: There's no method to the madness, it's just throwing out figures.
26:33
SPEAKER_04: So a lot of times I feel like a the mistake brands make is that they are not intentional or they're not um authentic with their brand story.
26:44
SPEAKER_04: They just feel like if someone else can do it, I can do it.
26:47
SPEAKER_04: And I think that's the thing with a lot of Nigerian businesses, but that's a different conversation.
26:51
SPEAKER_04: So this is the problem.
26:52
SPEAKER_04: You just assume, you know, people come in all the time, oh, listen, I noticed somebody is trying to sell clothes the same way you're trying to sell clothes.
26:58
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, that's fine.
26:59
SPEAKER_04: In three months, they'll stop because they realize it's not a hobby, it's not an actual business that requires structure, there's a lot of back end to it.
27:06
SPEAKER_04: And so that's why I've noticed with new designers, is they just assume this person is making clothes and selling.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: I can do it.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: Oh my god, they're making money.
27:14
SPEAKER_04: And then they try and then they fail.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: So your dresses don't have to be 350,000.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: For goodness sake.
27:21
SPEAKER_04: Like, no, there's nothing wrong with the ones that are that price.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: It's just it's just that it's it's been a big um conversation conversation about pricing, about um why all of a sudden everybody wants to sell their quote-unquote ajoke dress for 500,000 naira.
27:38
SPEAKER_01: Why?
27:38
SPEAKER_01: Because one person has done it, so therefore And they feel like they can do it.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't think it works that way.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: But um, now let me get to the question I was gonna ask.
27:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, if you are going to identify one thing, I know that there's a bunch of problems, but if you're gonna identify one thing that the Nigerian fashion industry needs to fix urgently, what would it be?
28:00
SPEAKER_01: Would it be production?
28:01
SPEAKER_01: Would it be pricing?
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Would it be distribution?
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Would it be retail, marketing, should it be access to capital?
28:07
SPEAKER_01: Something, Sha, what is some one thing or a big thing that you think needs to be fixed?
28:13
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think two things from what you said, production, but that production a lot of times is tied to capital.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
28:19
SPEAKER_04: So if we're able to um handle that production problem, I think every other thing is a trickle effect.
28:26
SPEAKER_04: And you know, if they're hand they're able to produce and they have capital, then they're able to distribute, and when they're able to distribute, they need to then market it to push the sales and all of that.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: So I think production is uh so why you say production, so meaning that they go from maybe not necessarily like a lot of brands say, oh, they're ready to wear, but they're actually made to measure.
28:45
SPEAKER_04: Yes, basically.
28:46
SPEAKER_01: So they wait.
28:47
SPEAKER_04: I sell ready to wear.
28:49
SPEAKER_04: And that's literally means if you order it today, you're getting it today.
28:54
SPEAKER_04: It's available right now.
28:55
SPEAKER_04: It's readily available.
28:57
SPEAKER_04: Yes, but a lot of times brands don't have the funds or the backing to produce and have inventory sitting down because they're like, okay, I've tied on all this money, but who's seeing it?
29:07
SPEAKER_04: How am I marketing?
29:08
SPEAKER_04: How am I selling it?
29:08
SPEAKER_04: So that's another part of needing capital.
29:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
29:12
SPEAKER_01: Apart from you know, the people who have followed you, who know you as someone who, you know, has style or is, you know, a fashion enthusiast, how what other ways do you market?
29:24
SPEAKER_04: For Osna.com.
29:26
SPEAKER_04: So um before, you may not believe me, but we've never done any form of marketing at Ozina.com.
29:32
SPEAKER_04: So before it relied on my page, and then we started a company page and it's very organic.
29:37
SPEAKER_04: We have the audience there.
29:38
SPEAKER_04: Our newsletters are WhatsApp, social media content, and um, that's basically.
29:43
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I get I get your newsletters.
29:45
SPEAKER_01: So I see, yeah.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: So I know, okay.
29:48
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, okay, okay, okay, okay.
29:50
SPEAKER_04: So my team handles that.
29:51
SPEAKER_04: But before, um, when we early days, I had to wear something for it to sell.
29:56
SPEAKER_04: But now, like, um, in fact, let me tell you something happened.
29:59
SPEAKER_04: In the work group, a lady, um, someone put uh we got an Instagram DM from someone saying, Thank you so much.
30:05
SPEAKER_04: I really love this dress I bought from Ozenna.com.
30:08
SPEAKER_04: And they put it in a group.
30:09
SPEAKER_04: And I replied, Did we sell this dress?
30:11
SPEAKER_04: What dress is this?
30:12
SPEAKER_04: And they're like, Yeah, we sold it last year.
30:14
SPEAKER_04: But I had to wear it.
30:16
SPEAKER_04: I didn't have to wear it, and I didn't even know it was there.
30:18
SPEAKER_04: And then I went back in to look for the dress, and we only had maybe like 10 or 12 units.
30:23
SPEAKER_04: So I it was a dress that I hadn't and it went fast.
30:25
SPEAKER_04: And it went fast and like it sold on its own.
30:28
SPEAKER_04: But I remember panicking saying, Oh my gosh, is this dress really from us?
30:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, or like um I'd I'll see someone, she'd be like, Oh, she bought something on the website, and I'm like blinking, like, is that recense?
30:39
SPEAKER_04: Does she know who I am?
30:39
SPEAKER_04: Is she really saying the right thing?
30:41
SPEAKER_04: Because I've the clothes that now they leave them.
30:43
SPEAKER_04: They're selling themselves.
30:44
SPEAKER_04: They're selling themselves.
30:45
SPEAKER_04: So I'm grateful for that.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: Do you think that Nigerian designers are pricing themselves for the Nigerian customer, the diaspora customer, or for the image that they want to project?
30:58
SPEAKER_01: And is that creating a problem?
31:01
SPEAKER_04: All of the above, and yes.
31:03
SPEAKER_04: So, um, you know, with Nigeria, Nigerian fashion being on the global scene, which makes all of us happy, the diaspora market is looking this way a lot.
31:13
SPEAKER_04: And so um, it's natural that a lot of brands then now start pricing in dollars or give dollar figures and prices.
31:20
SPEAKER_04: And then what tends to happen is those dollar prices don't match the naira prices.
31:25
SPEAKER_04: So somebody's selling something for$300, yeah, but they'll typically sell it here for$120,000 naira, which is not the same.
31:32
SPEAKER_04: So they're like stuck between do I elevate or do I not?
31:36
SPEAKER_04: So most times the brands end up increasing their naira prices, but then the at that price point are we getting that same value?
31:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, my question.
31:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I have no issue paying$300 the Nigeria Naira equivalent of that, but am I getting that value?
31:52
SPEAKER_04: A lot of times the answer is no.
31:54
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
31:54
SPEAKER_04: So that's where that issue it now becomes a problem when that value is not there.
32:00
SPEAKER_01: Businesses have changed.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: You can start a clothing brand from your bedroom, sell your first collection through Instagram, get customers across Nigeria or even beyond, and start shipping internationally.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: And suddenly you find yourself paying suppliers overseas.
32:17
SPEAKER_01: Your money has to move with you.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: And this is why I like the bigger Flutter Wave story.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: Because it's not about just having one tool for collecting money, another one for banking, another one for international payments.
32:30
SPEAKER_01: It is one Flutterwave platform built around the different things your money needs to do.
32:36
SPEAKER_01: You can collect payments and send invoices through uh Flutterway for Business.
32:41
SPEAKER_01: Your business account can hold money and earn up to 14% per annum on deposits.
32:47
SPEAKER_01: And when your business starts dealing internationally, Treasury gives you the ability to hold multiple currencies and manage payments to international suppliers and global clients.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: And then, of course, there's the send app.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: Basically, for those of us who need to move money across borders and support people back home.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: So whether you are building a fashion brand, whether you're paying your supplier or you are getting paid by a client in another country or you're sending money home, Flutterwave is thinking about the whole money journey.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: Because fashion may be the business, but money is what keeps the business moving.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: Make sure you visit flutterwave.com.
33:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, I want to talk about global brands, for instance.
33:30
SPEAKER_01: Can you give an example of, or can you tell us what you did for like uh when Puma and Davido had a thing?
33:37
SPEAKER_01: I think it was last year, was it earlier this year?
33:39
SPEAKER_01: I can't remember.
33:40
SPEAKER_04: We've done two.
33:41
SPEAKER_04: We did one last year and we did.
33:42
SPEAKER_04: What were what was what did you do?
33:44
SPEAKER_04: Okay, so that that was for TSE agencies, not was it?
33:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes, no, it was an adult.
33:48
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
33:49
SPEAKER_04: So um Puma is one of our clients.
33:50
SPEAKER_04: So Puma, there's Puma here in Nigeria, and um there was a global launch for a collaboration between David and them.
33:58
SPEAKER_04: And so our job was to execute this and bring it to life.
34:01
SPEAKER_04: So, from you know, coming up with the concept of, I think the last one we did, uh, what was it?
34:06
SPEAKER_04: I think we um when we saw the collection and we saw the promotional content David had done, Davido had done um with the team abroad, we're like, okay, this is giving jet set lifestyle, you know.
34:17
SPEAKER_04: David is known for being on the jets and all of that.
34:19
SPEAKER_04: So we came up with a jet set theme.
34:22
SPEAKER_04: We found a venue or got this to the venue, created the mood board design.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: Um, instead of having um a host speaking, we had we created um what's the thing on the plane that you listen to?
34:33
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, I got it.
34:35
SPEAKER_04: Um we had those boarding announcements as telling about the collaboration.
34:39
SPEAKER_04: We created the list of the influencers to attend, we did the publicity or the PR, we did the activation.
34:45
SPEAKER_04: And so that's basically what CSE does.
34:47
SPEAKER_04: Like when a brand gives us a brief, we execute it, we help them connect to their audience, we created a pop-up shop there as well.
34:53
SPEAKER_04: People were shopping and that.
34:55
SPEAKER_04: And I think David was releasing um an album at the time, I think it was five.
35:00
SPEAKER_04: So we made sure to also tie the activation to that to the album as well.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: You also did something for I think the Devil West Prada earlier this year, the premiere.
35:09
SPEAKER_04: So I just got excited.
35:11
SPEAKER_04: I was like, yeah, she's seen our work.
35:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so for Devil West Prada, same thing.
35:15
SPEAKER_04: As you know, Devil West Prada is a global um phenomenon, and it was coming to Nigeria, and we're like, Nigeria, we can't carry last night.
35:23
SPEAKER_04: We need to feel that the Nigerians are um on the map.
35:27
SPEAKER_04: And so for this same thing, we came up with a strategy for it, the influencers to work with.
35:32
SPEAKER_04: We handled the premiere, we made the premiere look like I remember I saw some guy's review, I was so happy.
35:37
SPEAKER_04: He was just like, oh, AMVCAs, take notes.
35:39
SPEAKER_04: Look at the red carpet, look at this.
35:41
SPEAKER_04: And that made me happy because I didn't like the fact that people were looking at a fashion premiere, but they were thinking about a big award ceremony.
35:48
SPEAKER_04: Yes, you know, so yeah, same thing.
35:50
SPEAKER_04: So Filmhouse needed to talk to the Nigerian audience and say that Devil West Prada is here, and then we handled the strategy for that.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: Now I've I've attended a few of these events, not specifically these ones you mentioned.
36:03
SPEAKER_01: And um, maybe on the next day you see that community, maybe, let's say, for example, a beauty launch.
36:09
SPEAKER_01: I remember attending a beauty launch one year, and it was an international beauty brand.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: They had this event, lots of people came out, it was a mix of different people.
36:18
SPEAKER_01: And then the beauty community were very upset because I should be.
36:22
SPEAKER_04: I remember that one you're talking about.
36:24
SPEAKER_04: Because they kept tagging us, like, Uzina, why didn't you accompany it?
36:27
SPEAKER_04: And I was just like, guys, it wasn't us.
36:32
SPEAKER_01: And people were very upset, you know, the make makeup um influencers, the basically people who were, you know, in that world.
36:40
SPEAKER_01: So, how do you ensure that the right people or the right influencers are picked to attend certain events or be part of certain campaigns?
36:49
SPEAKER_04: That's why you come to TSE agency.
36:50
SPEAKER_04: So it's a it's not about strategy as far as I'm concerned.
36:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
36:53
SPEAKER_04: So I feel like with that particular one, if it's the same one I remember seeing, the agency or the um company that handled it missed the mark.
37:01
SPEAKER_04: Granted, you want to have an event and you want people to make noise about it.
37:04
SPEAKER_04: You need to talk to the right people.
37:06
SPEAKER_04: For example, you said you've been to our Devil West Product.
37:08
SPEAKER_04: The Devil West Product premiere, we only invited fashion people, um, fashion influencers, stylists, um, content creators, um, people who, in fact, we invited normal girls who necessarily don't necessarily have followings, but we know they're shoppers.
37:25
SPEAKER_04: We invited women who we knew could speak to the event and understand the lingo and all of that.
37:31
SPEAKER_04: A lot of people, people saw on the recap are like, I've never seen these people at things other than at Fashion Week because that is their market.
37:39
SPEAKER_04: So for a beauty event, it doesn't make sense that you're inviting generic influencers who have loud platforms.
37:45
SPEAKER_04: For a beauty event, you should be talking to the people who have catered and nurtured that community for a long time.
37:51
SPEAKER_04: So um, I think now brands are more intentional about this.
37:55
SPEAKER_04: Brands understand that for your for your product, for your activation, whatever to go the right way, you need to intentionally speak to the people who have nurtured your community the entire time.
38:06
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
38:07
SPEAKER_01: Makes sense.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: Now, there was a question I had about global brands.
38:11
SPEAKER_01: Many of them are now coming to Nigeria.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: Some are setting up shop here, some are doing different things.
38:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, do you think they understand Nigerian consumers well enough, or there are still some gaps and uh between how they see us and how Nigeria, how Nigerians actually behave?
38:27
SPEAKER_01: There's some brands that I even wonder why they're even coming here in the first place.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm like, I've never heard a Nigerian talk about or be enthusiastic or excited about this particular brand.
38:37
SPEAKER_04: So I think the brands know their stuff.
38:39
SPEAKER_04: They know that for them to come here, they know there's a market here.
38:42
SPEAKER_04: They know that um there's an audience that is willing to engage.
38:47
SPEAKER_04: However, the brands also are smart enough to know that they can't do this alone.
38:50
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
38:51
SPEAKER_04: That's why a lot of these brands, they go through agencies, they go through retail stores, they go through um franchises, people who already have done some of that groundwork.
39:01
SPEAKER_04: And then the difference or the challenge is now how you marry the two.
39:04
SPEAKER_04: They bring their wealth of experience and they take the understanding of the local market.
39:09
SPEAKER_04: But trust and believe that a lot of times when you see a brand here, they've done their research.
39:13
SPEAKER_04: They didn't just come in because they want to come in, they came in because they've seen that the numbers are there, they've seen that the demand is there, or they've seen that there's an opportunity, there's a space for it.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: If someone watching or listening to this right now is maybe trying to get into trying to become a style influencer or a fashion influencer, what advice would you give this person?
39:37
SPEAKER_04: So I I I I whenever I speak about this thing, um, I get in trouble.
39:43
SPEAKER_04: So I think if you wake up in the morning wanting to be an influencer, you've already failed.
39:48
SPEAKER_04: Because it's not something that you it's something that comes to you naturally.
39:57
SPEAKER_04: Like being an influencer is almost like saying you're beautiful, it's a way you're described, not something that you're doing.
40:04
SPEAKER_04: Someone's like, no, but Zina, people go online and they create content, then that's fine.
40:08
SPEAKER_04: You're a content creator.
40:09
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
40:09
SPEAKER_04: But being an influencer is a description that's given because people have seen the value in what it is that you are doing.
40:16
SPEAKER_04: So if you want to be a style influencer, okay, in what capacity are you trying to do?
40:21
SPEAKER_04: Are you a designer who happens to be wearing your pieces?
40:24
SPEAKER_04: Or is that you literally want to be a stylist and then you're building.
40:28
SPEAKER_04: So for me, you need to be authentic, you need to be consistent, and you need to genuinely build something.
40:33
SPEAKER_04: And then, based on that, that community you're building, then see and trust you.
40:39
SPEAKER_04: And when they trust you, you're able to influence them.
40:42
SPEAKER_04: So when you just wake up and say, I want to be an influencer, I just feel like you're you're approaching it wrong.
40:47
SPEAKER_04: It's that, oh, I want to be a designer, oh, I want to be a top model, oh, um, I want to be a stylist, um, I want to.
40:55
SPEAKER_01: One person is just a fashion enthusiast.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: They like fashion, then they like dressing.
40:59
SPEAKER_04: You want to be more of a content creator.
41:00
SPEAKER_04: So you want to create content.
41:02
SPEAKER_01: There's difference.
41:03
SPEAKER_04: There's a difference.
41:03
SPEAKER_04: I feel like when you say influencers, that you're saying, I want to force your opinion on me.
41:08
SPEAKER_04: No, you need to do be known for something.
41:10
SPEAKER_04: I always speak about my generation of influence.
41:14
SPEAKER_04: We never decided to be influencers.
41:16
SPEAKER_04: We were doing stuff and it happened to catch on.
41:18
SPEAKER_04: Look at my um Dimma Ume.
41:20
SPEAKER_04: Dimma was a YouTuber creating content and doing a lot of things.
41:24
SPEAKER_04: And then she became a beauty influencer because she had she's been online for almost 15 years now doing that.
41:30
SPEAKER_04: Same with Denala.
41:31
SPEAKER_04: Denola was um a stylist, he was hosting, he was an actor, and then he became an influencer.
41:36
SPEAKER_04: We were doing things, we're doing things that then allowed us to gain influence.
41:42
SPEAKER_04: My film now, people wake up, okay, because I was on a reality TV show or something, and I have 100,000 followers.
41:47
SPEAKER_04: Now I'm an influencer.
41:48
SPEAKER_04: Okay, you have 100,000 people, but why are they looking at you?
41:51
SPEAKER_04: Are they looking at you because they like your body?
41:53
SPEAKER_04: Or are they looking at you because you say controversial?
41:56
SPEAKER_04: Like, there has to be a reason first that the community is there.
42:00
SPEAKER_04: And then it's up to how authentic you are with that content or authentic you are with that journey, that the influence comes.
42:08
SPEAKER_04: It's not something that you just wake up and say, Oh, I'm an influencer.
42:11
SPEAKER_04: No, it's it's something you gain based on what you've built.
42:16
SPEAKER_04: But what's been happening?
42:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what's been happening is especially the I think the one that's let me choose my words carefully.
42:25
SPEAKER_01: I try to choose mine, so please the one that I don't know whether I should say irks me is the bride to influenza pipeline.
42:34
SPEAKER_01: Congratulations, you are getting married.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: But why now is has do you now have to take that bride to you know what influenza pipeline?
42:44
SPEAKER_01: You can create content around your wedding and this and that.
42:48
SPEAKER_01: Okay, congrats, happy married life, go away now.
42:51
SPEAKER_04: Like, go away.
42:52
SPEAKER_04: It's funny because um I was talking to someone about this the other day.
42:57
SPEAKER_04: I I I'm more intentional about being more offline now because I think I've been online for too long.
43:03
SPEAKER_04: I my people are like, how do you have your name Ozin on Instagram?
43:08
SPEAKER_04: I joined Instagram the day it started.
43:10
SPEAKER_04: Okay, remember I was in school, I was in uni 2012, so that's how I was able to get my full name on Instagram.
43:15
SPEAKER_04: It's also a unique name, so yes, but I never made it up.
43:17
SPEAKER_04: But I'm just saying, like, I didn't have to put a dot or like I was I've been on Instagram for so long that and like I said, when I moved back with my mom's exposure out, people have been watching me.
43:29
SPEAKER_04: So now I'm I'm tired of people watching me.
43:32
SPEAKER_04: I don't post as much.
43:33
SPEAKER_04: In fact, people complain you're not posting, so I just post stories because it's easier, it's low-hanging fruit.
43:39
SPEAKER_04: But there are people that are the opposite, they've been online since then, but they did not have the attention and all of that.
43:45
SPEAKER_04: So if her wedding is now the period where everybody's looking at her and she wants to gain from it, you know what?
43:52
SPEAKER_04: No problem.
43:53
SPEAKER_04: The only thing I would say though is you'd need to evolve at some point because you can't hold your audience, have them on chocolate.
44:03
SPEAKER_04: But the good thing though, social media loves loves love stories and things like that.
44:08
SPEAKER_04: So, but yeah, most of them end up wearing out or getting bored of it and stop.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I know I already'm gonna get in trouble, but that's that's but it's just like, yes, congratulations, but do you have to be quite like please?
44:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, crowding this place.
44:23
SPEAKER_01: Move now, but hey, it is what it is.
44:25
SPEAKER_01: Everybody, there's free will exactly, it's free will, do what you want.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: Congrats to everybody.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: I want to say thank you for stopping by the fashion round table.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: I thought it's she was concerned about the number of questions, but it was just did we finish?
44:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're done.
44:40
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
44:41
SPEAKER_01: See, everybody does it.
44:43
SPEAKER_01: Everybody says that.
44:44
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for coming.
44:45
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
44:46
SPEAKER_01: And uh, we'll definitely look forward to all the other things that you're working on, whether it's the agency or whether it's the website.
44:53
SPEAKER_01: Well done with everything.
44:55
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: This episode was brought to you by Flutterwave.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: Visit flutterwave.com.
45:01
SPEAKER_04: This was really fun.
45:02
SPEAKER_04: See, thank you for having me.
45:04
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.