ANTHONIA ADENAYA HUARD Culled from Business Sweeden
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, offers exciting opportunities within luxury and premium products due to rising household incomes, fast urbanization, and a growing middle- and upper-class consumers. Nigerian consumers react positively to international brands and there is a growing interest for sustainable fashion among the affluent consumers.
SUSTAINABLE FASHION ON THE RISE
Fashion and textile industry is the second-largest sector in Africa with a value of 31 BUSD and Nigeria accounts for about 15 per cent of it. However, the potential is much greater than that.
The fashion industry in Nigeria plays an important cultural role and contributes significantly to the nation’s economy. The country was once home to Africa’s biggest textile industry and Nigerian dynamic brands have brought new life into the industry. A new generation of talents are exploring and adopting low-impact production methods and handcraft with strong aesthetics and African wax prints. The fashion industry in Nigeria has long embraced sustainable craftmanship at a time when the fashion industry is forced to deal with its environmental impact.
In Nigeria, per cent of the population is considered middle-class with spending power and aspirations to match and the combined purchasing power is more than 28 BUSD. Nigerians allocate a larger share of their income to fashion products than Swedes as well as famous fashion realms like France (2019).
Historically, wealthy Nigerians have shopped abroad for international brands that are not available on the local market. This is changing as more global and luxury brands are entering the Nigerian market, often via franchise agreements and strong online presence. The effects of the pandemic on global supply chain have further reduced the ease of traveling or international shopping, hence accentuating the needs for these customer segments to buy locally. In the past decade, the establishments of quality shopping centres, exclusive boutiques, and retail outlets, with international standards, have grown rapidly.
We can expect these retail developments to continue in years to come across the nation due to the increasing consumer demand, boosted with e-commerce purchases. 4 out of 5 consumers in Nigeria shop more online since the covid-19 outbreak. The nation has a young population which is aspirational and exposed to international lifestyles daily through mobile technologies.
Nigerians are fashion-centric people, love international brands and are always hungry for more fashion. However, international brands need to do a customer segmentation to know who they are targeting on the Nigerian market
Our report, Nigeria’s Rising Fashion Industry provides detailed analysis and exploration of Nigeria’s current and future growth opportunities within the retail and fashion industry. The report includes insights from local industry experts, including the Founder & Executive Director of Lagos Fashion Week and the Executive Director for Polo Limited and Polo Avenue.
