Ayodeji Alayande is a young, dynamic entrepreneur. He started his Afrocentric brand I.RASA two years ago and at the moment sits at a vintage position in the fashion industry.
A new arm of I.RASA was opened at the Ikeja City Mall, Lagos on Sunday 9th of February, 2020 and in this chat with KUNLE GAZALI, Alayande traced the beginning of the business, where it is presently and the dream of becoming the largest in Africa…Excerpts:
At what point in your life did you decide you were going to do business?
I was in London for some months, while in London I realised my dreams were bigger than the kind of lifestyle there, so I had to come back to Nigeria.
What kind of lifestyle was that?
The normal white collar job, working 8 to 5. I don’t fit into that, that was why I decided to come back home. My father wanted me to be a banker but there was this multi level business around then, Forever Living Product, I joined them and it was there I found a better opportunity, so from that point, everything changed. I focused on the business and it brought out the good in me and since then, God has been so good.
Why the fashion business, there could have been other businesses at that time that you could have done?
Actually, my major business is fabric. I have few popular brands in Nigeria- eastern market, Kano, Lagos and Ibadan. At a point I just thought of doing something, I had thought I should diversify, but I wanted something around my major business which is fabrics. So, one day I sat down with my Chinese partner and we talked about it, we decided to build a brand in Nigeria, an afrocentric brand and we started in the first quarter of 2018.
That kind of business was not common in Nigeria, what were the early challenges you faced?
Actually there were lot of challenges but I just don’t allow that to stop me because I know where I was heading, I’m a fashion lover, I’m a Nigerian that always want to give back and do something that could bring out skills, talent and any other thing that can bring pride to my country as a nation. Initially, it was very difficult for us to understand the actual needs of the market and like you know in every new business the first 3 to 5 years is a learning stage, so it was very difficult for us to understand the sizing, what could fit who and how to put it together with an infusion of Ankara, but with time we have been able to get an actual direction for ourselves. The major challenge is duplication, if you come up with a concept , before you know people copy your ideas. There is no way you can hide an idea because you want the whole word to see and before you know people grab it. I realized we can’t do without that, we just have to find a way to be above them all the time and that is very challenging.
Here in Nigeria, we are used to going to the market to buy fabrics and bring back to the tailors. I.Rasa deals in ‘ready to wear’, how does it work because we tend to have different shapes and sizes?
You know in business like I said, there is a point and stage that we are in Nigeria, Ghana was once at this point, that what they needed to do every time was to take material to a tailor. In Nigeria there are two sets of people they say would not make heaven, mechanics and tailors. There were stories of disappointments. So, we are trying to find a way to solve that problem. A woman came to my Lagos store yesterday, she has a naming dedication and she doesn’t have anything to wear, the fact that she came to the mall to get something and saw a store and was able to get what to wear immediately, she was so happy.
If you have a situation whereby you have something to do tomorrow you won’t have to think of how will I get what to wear, you will know there is a place that you can enter and pick whatever suits you, you have a party in two weeks and you won’t have to bother if a tailor won’t disappoint or not. That’s where we come in, we are trying to solve that kind of human problem.
What is unique about your style of business?
The uniqueness is this, people wonder when they enter our stores and see the finishing and all, they wonder how, you won’t know whether you are looking at Ankara print cloth or something else. Our goal is to be able to stand side by side with international brands which in terms of finishing and styles we have been able to meet up with that, people can testify to it.
What can we call you, a fashion designer or a businessman?
Yes, I am a businessman, and this because apart from the fabric business, I have other businesses I do but majorly, I’m known with my textile business, so, I’m an entrepreneur.
It’s been 2years of I.RASA, has there been any regret?
In my career, I have not had any regret. I’m doing very well as a normal young person, I’ve been in business for over ten years, it has not been a bed of roses but to the glory of God I’m doing well. So, I don’t think I have regret in my business, but sometimes, people wonder how I ended up in what they term a woman’s business.
I don’t do my business like the normal market business because I don’t have a shop, I’m a distributor, I make goods for people that sell wholesales, they book orders with me, so, whenever I said my office is in Gbagi, people would be surprised because what they want to hear is shop, and I don’t have a shop I only have warehouses and my administrative office. So, the way I do my business is quite different, even seeing me sometimes you wonder what I do, sometimes people say I am a yahoo boy, I face that issue a lot. So, I don’t have any regret in my business but with I-RASA I have to work with some set of people because I was new to the industry, I don’t know who is who, and there are people trying to take advantage.
You mentioned your office is at Gbagi, was there anyone in your family in this business or how did you just kick it up?
None of my family is in the business. It happened when I was with FLP (forever living product), I’m an aggressive marketer and when I joined FLP I became a manager in two months. These are places I go to sell my stuffs, people want to go to offices but I was fast to know my buyers are not in the banks. I know where they are, so I go to the markets, I organize seminars, I go to the mosques on Fridays and I will speak with the Imams, I will bring along my doctors to come and enlighten them more on health issues, then I will be able to sell my products and tell them why my product is the best for them. From there I go to Gbagi market, Agbeni market, places like that and churches, although I am a Muslim but I go to churches. While doing this I met a guy who later introduced the textile business to me.
To any young entrepreneur trying to come into your kind, where do they start from, what is your advice to them?
My advice is make sure you follow someone. I tell people, I can say it anywhere, nobody was there for me growing up. I’m a child that grew up with a single parent…my mother, growing up with my grandma at the interior part of Ibadan, it was very tough for me growing up but one thing I had in mind is whichever it takes, I have to be someone in life. So, I tell people, even my nephews, everybody can’t be as lucky as I am, you have the opportunity that I’m here, try to learn. The mistakes young people make these days is they trust books more than they trust practicals. Look for someone that is doing what you are aspiring to be in life, learn from them and stay focused, then you also have to be determined, and again, don’t leave God.
The new I.RASA opened on Sunday, is this the fourth outlet?
It is the fourth, but I shut down the first two in Lagos, I used to have one in Lekki and one in Ikeja, I don’t want to manage so many retail outlets, so, I shutdown the two. Now, I only have one in Lagos and one at the Palms Mall in Ibadan.
In terms of staff strength, how big is I.RASA?
I have over 50 people working with me, and we are also looking forward to employ more
What is the dream?
The dream is to be the best afrocentric clothing brand in Africa.
Why did you choose the name I.RASA?
It is actually RASA, it is an Indian word that means a great taste, but to just make it sound better we added an ‘I’ to it.
How big is your brand in Nigeria?
To be honest, I can’t really measure now because we are not close to where we want to be, some people will walk up to me and say less than two years you have done well, but to me, we are still growing.
