‘Furniture industry is capital intensive but the rewards are enormous’

Ifeyinwa Ighodalo is the chief executive officer and founder of Designs Limited (DO II). She is an entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in furniture making. In this interview with JOSEPHINE OKOJIE, she reveals what inspired her furniture business and her perception of Nigeria’s furniture industry.

 

 What inspired you to move into the business?

 

I was 12 years old when my father was studying for Masters Degree in Business Administration. He would come home from the university and tutor me on what he was studying. This aroused my interest in business.  I decided to study Accountancy in the university, because I was very good at Mathematics and my passion for business at that time helped shape my decision.

While I was at the university, I discovered my interest in interiors. Upon graduation, I decided that my interest in interior design would be my future career. Eventually, what I actually ended up practicing, which is my real passion, is furniture manufacturing. The interior design aspect of my business is to support the core business of furniture manufacturing.

I started my own business over 25 years ago when I founded Design Options, a furniture production company. A couple of years ago we re-branded and evolved into DO.II Designs, which is who we are today.

                        

What was your initial start-up capital?

I started my furniture business with little capital, because it was built on existing platform. The business was also built on goodwill and excellent business practice.

 

How would you say the business has grown since starting?

Since I started DO.11 25 years ago, the business has grown tremendously. We have quadrupled more than our initial investment.

 

What are the challenges you have faced since starting your business?

 

At the moment the main challenge we are faced with is poor power supply. This has increased our production cost tremendously. We need power supply for the machines we use for production. This is the biggest challenge manufacturers in Nigeria face.

Another major challenge is sourcing quality materials for production. Also, unregulated competition from import renders us a lot less competitive than our foreign counterparts.   We source our woods locally. Infrastructure is also a major challenge. In most developed countries goods can be transported by rail and that ends up being more cost-efficient option.

 

What is your technical capacity?

We employ over 40 technicians who provide their expertise in various capacities and departments. We are also semi-automated, as we still believe in the aesthetic value of excellent craftsmanship. Our current employee capacity ranges from the role of our general manager operations through to the various feeder departments such as projects, sales, production, accounts, and logistics. We have 60 staff members at the moment and a show room in Victoria Island. We also work with some foam manufacturers in the country.

 

Who are your target clients?

Our main customers are consumers who want tastefully appointed furnishings at an affordable price. Our corporate clients patronise us for a similar reason. We service customers across the various industries – banking, manufacturing, hospitality and oil & gas. Our goal is to start exporting our furniture outside Nigeria, like to the West Africa coast, and we are looking at developing the capacity for that drive. Our capacity has increased tremendously since FX restrictions because the demand of our products has increased.

 

What is your perception of Nigeria’s furniture industry currently?

I believe Nigeria’s furniture industry is a sector that can be expanded upon greatly, especially in the area of manufacturing. We are a very industrious nation and in our various tribes there are entire groups of people for whom furniture-making is part of their culture. With the proper focus, training and capacity building as well as the right infrastructure and government policies, there is no reason why Nigeria cannot count furniture as one of its exports.

Having said that, the market is highly competitive and capital intensive, but the rewards and opportunities are enormous.