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How Nigerian Fashion Designers Can Grow Their Clothing And Fashion Businesses In Six Proven Ways

Emmanuel Nnaemeka
  Fashion and clothing is a powerful and booming industry worldwide. Nigeria is a thriving industry, despite the local and international competition. According to StearsBusiness, world fashion industry is worth over $2.5 trillion, with Africa’s share estimated at less than 1% of that total. Meanwhile, Euromonitor suggests that the Sub-Saharan fashion market is worth $31 billion, with Nigeria accounting for 15% of the $31 billion ($4.7 billion). The statistics are bound to increase with lots of attention focused on the Nigerian fashion industry. Experts have shared optimism that the nation’s fashion industry will continue to thrive in the coming years. This is the best time to invest in the fashion industry. In this article, I highlight six proven ways to grow your fashion and clothing business in Nigeria.
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  1. Invest In Quality Branding
Branding is everything when it comes to fashion. As a starter, how you enter into the fashion world matters a lot, especially in Nigeria. Nigerian consumers are a different kind of breed. They can be sceptical of you if you play small or appear unpolished. Therefore, carrying out brand polishing for your business requires you to have a brand name even if you stay in a room apartment to operate. Secondly, own a logo – a simple and attractive one. Third, have your business mission and vision that will guide your operations. Fourth, package your product in plastic or paper packs. If you want to be respected in the industry, do what the big players are doing. How do you want the world to see you? The answer lies in how you package your business.
  1. Have An E-commerce Store
In today’s fashion world, you cannot afford to miss out on not having an e-commerce store. There are options for e-commerce stores on WordPress. You can either create one for yourself or get a website developer to create one for you. Having an e-commerce store gives you the opportunity of creating a digital catalogue where visitors can look at your latest work and their prices. Even if they aren’t ready to buy immediately, your brand will always be in their minds. Also, having an e-commerce site is one, responding to customers’ inquiries is another. There are cheaper stores you can display products. One good example is the Selar App. Download it and then redirect your customers to visit your store through your social media.
  1. Invest In Social Media Footprints
As a fashion and clothing business owner, whether you sell already-made clothes or you make them yourself, you cannot afford to overlook the power of social media marketing. The ideal social media platforms for people in the fashion industry are Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp. For Instagram, there are various ways you can carry out brand promotion. You can either build organically or automatically. If you want to build organically, you must upload useful and related content regularly, invite people to like your page, invest in content production & content diversity, run promotions & contests, promote through other social platforms and others, get influencers mentioned and so on.
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  1. Look For Cheaper Raw Materials Suppliers
Getting your fabrics from cheaper suppliers is the secret of thriving fashion businesses in Nigeria. There are various markets in Nigeria that are known solely for the sales of fabric materials. Your job is to locate them. Some of these markets include Yaba, Aba, Balogun, Oshodi, Lagos Island etc. These days, people get cheaper options through importing from China.
  1. Stock Up Inventory Ahead Of Festival Or Seasonal Sales
Being proactive is the hallmark of the fashion and clothing business. The clothing business is ultimately seasonal, and there are certain times of the year when your sales increase. Eid-Kabir, Ramadan, Easter, Christmas, New Years, wedding season — are some of the times when people shop for new apparel and accessories. Therefore, ensure to increase your inventory ahead of the busy times. Don’t let a shortage of sufficient cash reserves prevent you from increasing your festival or seasonal sale inventory. You can get SME loans from family, friends and public and private lending platforms to stock up your inventory.
  1. Invest In Social Events And Networking
Fashion and clothing are mixed with entertainment, therefore, invest in social events. Nigeria’s fashion has increased in size, it has risen by 17% since 2010. Events such as the Lagos Fashion Week and Africa Fashion Week are responsible for this surge, due to the exposure of brands that are based in Nigeria. As a fashion designer, invest in networking through various means, whether offline or online. One of the ways to get featured in fashion magazines is to participate in fashion weeks, events and activities that surround fashion promotion. Through this, you can link up with the right people that can promote your business. Featured image source: Pinterest
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