Silky Touch expands with new Ikeja outlet

In a bid to further expand its reach and provide lovers of fashion and luxury with the best in men’s designs and apparels, Silky Touch Emporium recently threw open the doors of its new outlet to the delight of their loyal customers.

Expressing his delight at the opening of the new store, located in Radisson Hotel, Ikeja, the Managing Director, Silky Touch Ltd, Victor Okoli, said it was homecoming for him. He said they started operations originally from Ikeja before moving on to other places. He added that the first store, opened in 1984, was located on Olowu street in Allen Avenue, Ikeja but was closed for some reasons.

He added that when the opportunity to come back to Ikeja arose, he was happy as “it is the kind of place that can house a luxury store such as ours. We stock the best luxury designers worldwide and are the sole representatives of Stefano Ricci in West Africa. We also represent brands like Moschino, Pal Zileri and a host of other Italian luxury brands.”

Okoli said he has dreams of expanding to other countries in West Africa, adding that the immediate past South African ambassador to Nigeria, Lulu Mngunu, was a customer and friend to the brand and had urged him to open in Johannesburg. Saying he wasn’t ready then, he said he is now and asides Johannesburg, will also consider Rwanda and Kenya.

Boasting a direct staff strength of 22, the fashion mogul said even though the economy has been a bit stagnant, their core customers remain loyal to them. “We are a one of one brand; you cannot get what we carry here anywhere else. Nigerians love luxury and our range includes fashion, leather, jewelries, fragrances, accessories and watches.”

Pointing out that local designers still lack in the area of steady production, distribution and quality presentation, which prevents them from being world-class. He added that local designers still have a long way to go before they can attain world-class standards. “We need to train them on how to produce and not just design alone as well as ramp up local production.”

He urged the government to pay more attention to the productive sector and lean into export more. “Nigeria can actually become a global fashion power; we can produce a lot of things here but the atmosphere is not encouraging. Nobody can produce anything with a 35 per cent interest. Most production houses overseas go home with a 10 per cent markup because they enjoy a very low interest rate. Our high interest rate here discourages production, there is no way we can produce and sell anything with a 50 per cent mark up. This is partly why our fashion industry is not really going anywhere. Our high customs and interest rate prevent us from favourably competing with our counterparts from other countries,”