The success story of Afolabi’s Marv D.Designs

Afolabi Oluwaseun started his shoe-making business like every other entrepreneur in the industry. At a point many Nigerians were regarding home-made shoes as inferior and ‘tasteless’, Afolabi stormed the industry (in 2011) and brought something different on the table: Quality. This has driven his products far, as they are now found in various online stores such as Jumia, Konga, and Payporte, among others. In this interview with Start-Up Digest Editor ODINAKA ANUDU, he explains why his brands are in high demand in the country.

Tell us about Marv D. Designs

Marv D. Designs is an indigenous shoe and fashion outfit, incorporated in 2011. We have, over the years, come up with shoes and quality designs that match international standards.

What level did you start from and where are you now?

We started from one to three pairs. We started with family and friends but today we are on every online market. We started with Jumia, then Konga and Payporte. Today, we are on other online platforms. We have also extended our supplies to major supermarkets in Lagos State. We are in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Akure.

How have these online platforms you mentioned assessed your products?

They are always communicating with us. We are always having meetings with them on how we can better our products. We have been on Jumia and Konga since they started. For us to still be there now shows there is something we are getting right. Though we sometimes discuss issues, but not quality, because we have our quality assessment team that ensures that every product we send out match international quality.

How many shoes do you produce each week?

We sell an average of five to six shoes per day. So that’s talking about close to 30 shoes in a week. That has kept us stable in business.

Do you think Nigerians now buy more of locally made shoes?

Yes, I do. This is even the best time because we are at an advantage at the moment. Most people that did not have confidence in home-made brands before cannot now afford the so-called foreign-made brands. The interesting thing is that we even make better quality products than the so-called imported brands. What is just needed is for Nigerians to appreciate their own thing. Then we can, together, lift the country and create employment.

How affordable are your shoes?

Prices of our shoes range from N10, 000 to N20, 000, depending on the design you want.

Don’t you have far cheaper ones, because many people may not be able to afford a pair of shoes at N10,000 to N20,000?

It depends on your business model. We have adopted a model majorly for the middle-class. If you talk of cheaper shoes, the question is, are they actually cheap? You buy a pair of shoes at N5, 000 and use it for three months and you want to buy another one. What stands us out is quality. We have identified ourselves with quality and that has been our hallmark. We don’t want to make a pair of shoes for you and in three months you cannot use it again. What has made our customers remain loyal to us is the quality of our products. And quality comes at a cost.

How do you get your raw materials?

We get some of our raw materials from Kano. Some others come from Italy and China. We don’t have the finished animal skins here so we get them from importers, who bring them in from Italy.

How have you been surviving high cost of raw materials necessitated by foreign exchange crunch?

Well, the question is, how have we been surviving without electricity? Anybody who could have survived power cuts can also survive foreign exchange challenge. What we do is to factor foreign exchange into our prices. The truth is that the foreign exchange crisis made us think deeply. We began to think of other materials we could get locally, and now we are beginning to use fabrics and they are being appreciated better than the so-called foreign materials.

So how will you assess the Nigerian business environment?

The truth about the Nigerian business environment is that the challenges are there but the opportunities are also there. It depends on what you see. We rather choose not to see the challenges but focus on opportunities.

How much were you worth when you started and how much are you worth now?

I won’t tell you I am worth an X amount, but we have over 10 staff members. Some are married and are feeding their families from the business. Some are using cars. Families are being fed through this business.

So what will you advise younger entrepreneurs or those wanting to come in?

I advise them to begin to empower themselves. We have left the era of certificates and we are now beginning to embrace productivity, and that’s the only thing that can take this country out of where we are today. So they should not be ashamed of any skill they have. Whatever you have passion for, stick to it.

Do you have any foreign partnership?

Yes, that is the level we are going into. We are currently discussing with some foreign partners to begin to have our products displayed on their shelves abroad in countries like the UK and the US. We believe that this will enable us to represent the Nigerian brand abroad. It will also enable our people abroad to have access to our products.