…THANKS GTCO FASHION WEEKEND
By Okosun Dennis
As the Creative Director, FabulousbyMide, Badmus Olamide, stood large with inclination to excel in business despite some harsh economic realities, which has consistently dwarfs investments.
But at the just concluded GTCO Fashion Weekend, she was loud and made a bold statement with her line of business; which she expressly made known with her gigs and presentation in classical manner.
While speaking with People and Power Magazine Online, Olamide averred she started the business in February 22 about three years ago and source materials from a local market in Lagos called Mushin markets.
JOURNEY INTO BAG BUSINESS
“I would say the journey is amazing. However, it’s not as smooth all through the year as some people might conjecture. So, we call on the government to support us with finance. One of the most challenging thing is getting workers – craftsmen -which has largely been very difficult.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people do not know about Bag Making hence we are trying to have an academy, where we can train people. And to do that, we need to put so many things in place, like getting a place. As a result, we really need support in taking the brands far.
“At the moment, the brand is growing, but we need more funds to boost production capacity, like make yourself more of the bags available for people to actually purchase without having to, wait on pre-order, because so many times people might want to buy these items and, maybe, we don’t have it. Most times, we give them days to be able to deliver it.
“Some will pay you and want it delivered urgently but because you don’t have the wherewithal to mass produce to satisfy customer’s need at the right time, you stand to lose some money. So, we need funds in making more production,” she further explained.
QUALITY OF MATERIALS AMONG THE BEST
On quality of her products, “We make quality leather brands here – the Nigerian brand. Some customers know that you can’t even compare it with China, because most of China brands use, very inferior materials, and that is why the prices are relatively cheaper. Imagine buying a bag for N5,000, and they ship it to Nigeria. So what’s the cost of production? What’s the shipping cost and other things before you sell it for N5,000 in Nigeria?
“When you buy that kind of product, you already know that you’re buying an inferior product. So, you can’t even compare them. They don’t last long compared to the ones made in Nigeria. We use good quality materials, and they last for a very long period of time.
“So, people that really understand the differences, will always come back whenever they buy. They always come back for handmade in Nigeria. So it’s work both ways.
APPRECIATION TO GTCO
To Badmus Olamide, expressed satisfaction and appreciation to GTCO for making the platform – GTCO Fashion Weekend – to express herself and showcase her quality products.
“I’m immensely grateful to GTCO for giving us this amazing opportunity. And I will say with this, we’ve been able to showcase our craftsmanship to the world and meet a lot of people, which would help us gain visibility for this brand. So I will say thank you so much to the organisers of GTCO Fashion weekend.”
GTCO Fashion Weekend is an annual galaxy of fashion extravaganza, giving unique opportunity for vendors and designers to showcase wears of varying designs, masterclasses where audiences are taught on different areas and runway for showcasing avalanche of dress sense that make sensible sense.
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