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| Accra-Ghana |
On the 26th of November 2014, West hills shopping mall was inaugurated with much fanfare and commentary. Located in the western part of Accra, the mall is said to be one of the largest shopping malls in West Africa. In fact in the week West hills mall was inaugurated another shopping mall (Junction Mall) was also opened to customers in the South eastern part of the city. This brings the total number of malls that was inaugurated in the country to 3. Meanwhile there are other existing malls such as the Marina mall, A&C shopping mall, The Oxford Street mall and the Prima Donna of all shopping malls in the city the Accra mall. Apparently, more are in works such as the Achimota mall. For a country that is currently struggling economically that is quite a substantial investments on the part of these companies. It shows a fundamental belief in the politico-economic system of the country to take such risk.
I visited the West hills mall with a friend to window shop and peruse all the delights that the mall has to offer and indeed i was very much impressed. You could find world class brands and products on display at the several shops available. There was a cinema, restaurants and a plethora of stores. I found brands such as Mango, Adidas and Samsung and they operated from rather large stores. I particularly liked the Lego store. Who knew there were such many creative ways of arranging Lego. But what got me curious as i have mentioned above is the confidence that these brands and developers have in the the economy of Ghana and it's people to take such giant steps. Per my personal observations, Ghanaian shoppers are becoming brand savvy and spending conscious. This is aided greatly by the penetration of mobile phone and mobile devices such as tablets and pads. A greater percentage of the youthful population as well as adult population have these devices. With these devices comes the internet and with the internet comes news and information happening around the world in record speed. Therefore a lot of people are privy to what foreign brands has to offer even before they set foot in Africa. For example, the shoe brand 'Loboutins' is very popular amongst the young fashion savvy people here in Ghana although there is not a single Christian Loboutin store or partner retailer in this country. These fashion savvy people are very much aware that Louboutin is also an upscale brand so it usually perceived as a coveted status symbol. The internet coupled with celebrity culture and digital television has opened the eyes of the average African consumer to the endless list of luxury goods and accessories on the world market.
But there is room for improvement when it comes to luxury brands opening stores and outlets in Africa. Luxury brands tend to be lackadaisical when the question of investing on the continent rises. I read an article where the CEO of a luxury goods company said that Africa is not big enough a market for his company to think about opening stores and having retail partners on the continent. But the interesting bit is, you go to the local open air Ghanaian market and you will find a huge variety of knock-offs/fake goods modeled to look just like the CEOs products. Clearly some Africans would love to associate with his brand. Therefore global producers of luxury/quality products are better off finding ways they can partner with African retailers or set up shop in Africa than letting producers of knock-offs take advantage of their brand prestige and identity. As it stands now, avenues through which Africans can lay their hands on popular luxury brands are limited. Either the consumer purchase the products whiles travelling abroad or via online shopping and shipping (which is quite expensive to do here in Ghana). This makes accessing luxury goods quite difficult even for those who are willing to pay the extra cost that is associated with these items. Africa as a market for luxury products is here to stay whether producers of luxury goods accept it or not. Therefore it is time decide. They can stand at bay and watch a great revolution unfold or they can get in here and chart a new path to greater profits and brand awareness
But there is room for improvement when it comes to luxury brands opening stores and outlets in Africa. Luxury brands tend to be lackadaisical when the question of investing on the continent rises. I read an article where the CEO of a luxury goods company said that Africa is not big enough a market for his company to think about opening stores and having retail partners on the continent. But the interesting bit is, you go to the local open air Ghanaian market and you will find a huge variety of knock-offs/fake goods modeled to look just like the CEOs products. Clearly some Africans would love to associate with his brand. Therefore global producers of luxury/quality products are better off finding ways they can partner with African retailers or set up shop in Africa than letting producers of knock-offs take advantage of their brand prestige and identity. As it stands now, avenues through which Africans can lay their hands on popular luxury brands are limited. Either the consumer purchase the products whiles travelling abroad or via online shopping and shipping (which is quite expensive to do here in Ghana). This makes accessing luxury goods quite difficult even for those who are willing to pay the extra cost that is associated with these items. Africa as a market for luxury products is here to stay whether producers of luxury goods accept it or not. Therefore it is time decide. They can stand at bay and watch a great revolution unfold or they can get in here and chart a new path to greater profits and brand awareness
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