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By Ayo Alonge, [email protected]
Having travelled widely to ply his fashion trade, the Creative Director of Twelve06 Clothing, Gabby Ibeabuchi, asserts that, through an effective local and international competitiveness, coupled with government intervention, the fashion industry can yield close to the revenue which Nigeria gets from oil.
In this interview, the entrepreneur and trainer also talks about customers’ satisfaction and loan acquisition for business growth.
Background
I studied Information Management in my first degree and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). I started up as a model during my undergraduate days and was able to successfully combine both fashion and photography modeling. As a photography model, I was able to represent big brands such as MTN, Gulder, Dangote, Unilever, Huawei, FCMB, etc. I consider myself one of the most successful fashion models in my time. With over a hundred fashion shows to my credit, locally and internationally. I also emerged ECOWAS best model in the first ever ECOFEST competition. It was during this period that my passion for fashion grew immeasurably. After my first degree, I enrolled for MBA in the University of Lagos. While I was running my programme, everyone was suggesting I get a white collar job. Most times, parents consider little about their children’s passion; rather, they place more emphasis on getting a paid job, especially when you are academically sound. I took that part and got a job in Globacom. Few years later, I wanted more and I went into banking. I worked under Tony Elumelu in corporate banking for about five years. While I was in the corporate world, I never ceased to make clothes. You will find me on Lagos Island, every Saturday, either buying fabrics or struggling with one tailor just to produce a design I created over the week. I found more fulfillment in making clothes than doing anything else. Eventually, I resigned to follow my passion.
Early motivation and prospect
All through the years of doing corporate work, I had this unending desire to do fashion. Everyone knew me as a fashion enthusiast. I would style my colleagues and bosses for free. I felt more fulfilled making clothes even when I should be resting. I just knew I had to do fashion. Considering the height we have achieved today, people always ask how we got funds. Sincerely, I didn’t need much to start. When I resigned from the bank I had already registered Twelve06 with the CAC. I only did a research to find a suitable fashion school both in affordability and relevance at a time. While undergoing training, I started prospecting for customers. Little by little, I started getting patronage from friends and family. I had referrals from my satisfied customers from which I made substantial funds to pay my fees and rent a small store then.
Challenges
There are challenges in every business but the major one for me is manpower. To run a successful fashion business, you need resourceful hands who would be able to translate ideas into reality. Most tailors are not committed. A lot of them are only in the business for money; hence, unable to share the vision of excellence. You already know numerous problems entrepreneurs face in Nigeria
Managing challenges
Tackling the challenges, I hire the best of tailors the industry can offer, which increases cost drastically. I am a perfectionist, so I go all out to ensure I achieve excellence at all times. All tailors/staff undergo compulsory one month intensive training, no matter your years of experience. This helps to prepare them for the great task ahead.
Profitability
Fashion business is supposed to be profitable through turnover, especially when you are creative and can make contemporary designs. Trust me, breaking even sometimes can be challenging due to some factors like inflation which affects the price of materials thereby, reducing the buying power of prospective customers also. It is almost impossible to make a realistic projection. There are very few people who can afford premium designs and the numbers keep dwindling.
Competition
Fashion designing is very competitive in Nigeria and I love it. We have plenty of talents here. I believe competition enhances creativity. Trust me, if you are not exceptionally creative, you may not survive in the Nigerian fashion space up to the big stage. We have been able to flourish over time because of our exceptional creative acumen. Above all, we are passionate and resilient. Those two ingredients are vital in surviving the harsh realities of a competitive fashion industry.
Patronage amid pandemic
COVID-19 is the harshest hit in my years of practice as a fashion designer. I had already started receiving huge interest from the UK and US and invested heavily in manpower and structure to capture that market. I took trips to major cities in the US and UK in consolidation of our yearning prospects. Suddenly, COVID-19 happened. It looked like shattered dreams but we have picked our pieces and gearing up for the future. We are grateful for life and surviving such ordeal is a privilege. Locally, things are beginning to pick up and we are hopeful.
Financing
Seeking a loan in Nigeria today is a huge risk, considering the impact of inflation on repayment. Interest rate is so high, and in a bid to improve profitability to enable repayment, you become overly pressured which hampers your creative element and turns counter-productive. Commercially, banks give little or no moratorium and as such eludes the comfort to strive. More so, how do small businesses secure collateral to qualify for commercial loans? Loan is simply a luxury that SMEs cannot afford in Nigeria.
Entrepreneurial drive
I have supported a lot of startups in the fashion industry. I have a group of mentees who have benefited from my tutelage and have been able to grow immensely. Fashion business goes beyond knowing how to sew. You have to learn how to make money from it; otherwise, you will toil for years without result. In the midst of competition, you have to throw in something different and relevant, per time, to attract patronage. Apart from topnotch finishing and packaging, you must bring your “A” game in customer service to bear, at all times. You must constantly reinvent yourself with one goal — “customer first”. We are opening a training centre where fashion designers and other artisans can come for relevant training to improve their sales knowledge and grow their business as well.
Startups
Government can support SMEs through the provision of enabling environment to operate in. One is through long term grants/loans with minimal interest rate. We need mechanised factories that do mass production. This will enable competitiveness locally and internationally. Fashion can give close to what oil gives Nigeria. We need partnership with other designers in the world through summits and expos. We need our export counsel to engage willing designers on efficient ways to get our product to the international customers, seamlessly. Government can create a special ministry for creatives.
