Sunglasses.com.ng Redefines Online Marketing

As the campaign for cashless economy gathers momentum, more business organisations are promoting online business transaction in Nigeria to simplify buy and sales through non-store retailing marketing.

The latest in the Nigerian market to key into the development is sunglasses.com.ng and glamour.com.ng, owned by Startup Partners Africa.

The company’s initiative is coming on the heels of the rate the social media is catching the attention of many people and with internet penetration growing by 16.1 per cent in 2011.

Startup Partners Africa, a successful e-commerce company in Nigeria, is specifically involved in Glamour – cosmetics, sunglasses and glasses of different types as customers can buy the firm’s products from the comfort of their homes and the products will be delivered to them at no extra cost. Some of the brands of its glasses include Ray-ban, Oakley, Carrera, Boss Orange, D&G, Fossil and Prada.

According to the promoters of the company, what perhaps makes the firm’s offering significant is that the customer can pay at the point of delivery or through POS.

Speaking on the online shopping platform recently in Lagos, the CEO of Startup Partners Africa, Jaime Moreno, Spanish, said customers don’t need to spend hours on traffic or travel to far countries like Dubai, Paris or UK to buy cosmetics or pair of sunglasses and reading glasses.
He said; “You can buy from your home at the company website and it will be delivered to the customer within short possible time and you pay on delivery”.

The CEO further stated that the firm’s website was sophisticated but simple and easy to navigate as it would provide clear pictures of what customers wanted. In addition, he added that there exists opportunity for customer to interact with client service on the site.

On sunglasses, Moreno said the company also offers sunglasses, glasses and contact lenses. “If someone in Port Harcourt or elsewhere needs glasses the customer can put his specifications from his optician on the website, the glasses will be delivered to him based on his prescriptions. On the sunglasses, the websites provides platform for clear viewing and even chatting with the office on recommendations,” he said.

On the cost of the company’s products, he pointed out that there are glasses that attract as low as N5,000. “We offer European quality for less amount of money in addition to home service delivery which is value added’ he said. According to him, the potential in Nigeria is enormous and Nigerians are becoming brand savvy and they see trend and want to follow it.

It is believed that increasing internet penetration and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued effort to sustain the country’s transition into a cashless economy are part of factors driving the non-store retailing.

NLC Charges Govt on Visible Industrial Policy

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has charged the Federal Government on sustainable industry policy that will create opportunities for real sector growth and employment creation.

President of NLC, Abdulwaheed Omar, who made the call in Abuja, said the growth of the real sector is dependent of visible industrial policy even as he urged government to decisively tackle the menace of high cost of governance and pervasive corruption in the country.

Omar, who expressed concern over the increasing level of poverty in the land, maintained that the present economic growth does not translate into industrial development and better life for the Nigerian people.

According to him, the economy continues to experience incessant factory closures, and with no visible industrial policy, has led to continuous informalisation of work and de-industrialisation. He added that unemployment has continued unabated while hyper-inflationary pressure, which has been most severe in the food, energy and transport sub sectors have impoverished majority of Nigerians.

He recalled that the economy, in 2012, was characterised by a number of maladies, with dire consequences for workers and the Nigerian people. Specifically, he explained that the crisis of unemployment has continued to be the greatest challenge facing the country.

“Official statistics puts the unemployment rate at above 24 per cent. As alarming as this would seem, it actually disguises the enormity of the unemployment problem given the huge pool of disguised unemployment and underemployment. The incidence of unemployment among the youths is even more alarming. Though official figures indicate over 40 per cent of them as unemployed, the reality is that about 60 per cent of youths remain unemployed.

“The underlying inflation in the economy has also continued to erode the purchasing power of workers’ incomes, making the N18,000 Minimum Wage largely a poverty wage. Aggregate inflation, which officially stands at 11.7 per cent in the third quarter of the year, might be misleading as the fuel price hike in January, the increase in electricity tariffs and the floods in the third quarter of the year that have been major culprits driving inflation, have largely disempowered working families,” Omar said.

He said the challenge is for government to promote employment generating growth so as to break away from the malady of jobless growth and evolve a sustainable industrial policy rather than throw up figures that are not in tandem with present day realities.

N196.5bn generated from retail operations in 2012 – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said it generated a sum of N196.5bn from its retail outlets in 2012.

However, the impressive revenue profile was dwarfed by the enormous value of investments made in the establishment of the outlets.

According to the corporation, a total of N192.55bn was spent on the operation of the retail outlets across the country during the year.

The details were contained in the ‘NNPC 2012-2015 strategic plan and 2013 budget,’ presented to the National Assembly recently and awaiting consideration.

Although the corporation had projected a total revenue profile of N188.32bn, it actually realised N196.45bn during the year under review.

In the same vein, while it projected total operational expenses of N168.6bn and a capital expenditure of N6.92bn, it ended up with a total of N187.5bn and   N5.05bn, respectively.

The calculations showed that in weighing the revenue realised from retail outlets against the expenditure, the corporation only boasted a balance of N3.88bn, as shown by its financial performance for the year.

For 2013, the corporation has, however, projected total revenue of N290.81bn, with a corresponding gross expenditure of N278.96bn.

According to NNPC, the increases in the revenue and operational expenses, compared with the earlier projections, are “as a result of the upward review of Premium Motor Spirit pump price.”

It noted that only N5bn performance was achieved in its capital expenditure, which was projected at N6.92bn, due to the fact it did not spend the first quarter allocation because of late passage of the budget.

The corporation also gave details of its sales volume from the retail outlets, noting that a total of 1.97billion litres were sold during the period under review, against the 2.5 billion projected at the beginning of the year.

Giving reasons for the shortfall in retail sales volume, the corporation reported, “Sales volume planned was based on three additional mega stations and five standard stations, which are yet to be completed. Only six out of the 12 floating stations are operational. Reduced sales volume in 2012 was as a result of rationalisation of affiliate stations.”

FAAN denies borrowing $500m to acquire 30 aircraft

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has denied that it borrowed $500m from China to acquire 30 aircraft for domestic airlines.

It was widely reported last week that FAAN had borrowed $500m to acquire aircraft to help ailing domestic airlines to re-fleet.

However, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN,  Mr. Yakubu Dati, in a statement on Sunday said, “FAAN has not borrowed $500m from China or any country for that matter.

“FAAN is a service provider in the industry and it is presently preoccupied with translating the transformational aviation master plan into concrete realities.”

According to him, the reorientation of aviation employees is being vigorously pursued through capacity development.

Besides, he said the agency’s Managing Director, Mr. George Uriesi, had been busy spearheading the paradigm shift towards service delivery, accountability and self-sustenance.

However, Dati said the Ministry of Aviation was making arrangements to facilitate the acquisition of 30 airplanes to boost the operations of domestic airlines.

According to him, the modalities are being fine-tuned to checkmate the abuse of the Aviation Intervention Fund.

He said, “This strategy will plug the loophole that allows fortune seekers free access to this fund. Some airports have been designated as agro-allied and cargo terminals to promote investment and make them self-sustaining.

“In the area of safety and security, modern security equipment have been procured, following a comprehensive security threat and vulnerability assessment.”

DPR indifferent as filling stations continue cheating customers

Despite repeated threats of punishment by the regulatory agency, petroleum product marketers and depots in the country have continued to cheat consumers by selling above regulated prices and under-dispensing products.

In what many market watchers see as indifference on the part of the Department of Petroleum Resources, the filling stations seem to have perfected the art of short- changing customers by capitalising on the inadequate supply of products, especially petrol, which became apparent in the last quarter of 2012.

Filling stations in most states of the federation are currently selling petrol above the N97 per litre that the Federal Government pegged the price after last January’s protest against the removal of subsidy on the product.

Before now, Lagos and Ogun states appeared to be insulated against the sale of petrol above the official price, but findings by our correspondent on Saturday and Sunday showed that most filling stations in both states were now openly selling above N97 per litre.

In both states, as indeed other parts of the country, the product is now being sold at prics ranging from N105 to N120 per litre.

Our correspondent, who drove into a filling station along Ikotun road, Lagos on Sunday afternoon, was informed before buying the product that the price was N105 per litre, though the dispensing machine still displayed the regulated price of N97.

A consumer in Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, narrated his experience to our correspondent on Saturday, “I drove into the filling station opposite my estate to buy petrol for my generator. When I told the attendant that I wanted to buy N1,500 worth in a 25-litre keg, she told me I would pay N100 extra and I consented, but what she sold barely passed the quarter of the keg.

“Ordinarily, the content of the keg should be above half even if as they usually claim, the keg can hold five litres extra because of expansion. I complained to the station manager and he was just giving excuses about attendants not being honest.”

Some oil marketers, who spoke to our correspondent on Sunday, however, blamed the malpractices on poor enforcement of directives on the side of the DPR.

They said most of the filling stations that indulge in the act of selling above the official price and under dispensing to customers had been doing so for a long time, while the regulator was turning a blind eye and pretending not to notice.

Our correspondent also gathered that the average ex-depot price of petrol per litre at Apapa, Lagos, as of Friday, was N96, a trend that had continued for months.

A marketer, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said DPR officials should ordinarily visit the depots and enquire why the ex-depot price had continued to soar for months above the recommended N87.90 per litre.

“There is the need for us to know why the DPR cannot make depot owners to sell petrol for N87.90 considering the over 30-day product sufficiency the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation claims to have. This is a serious problem because some people are busy making good money at the expense of Nigerians as this anomaly continues,” he said.

However, efforts made on Sunday to get DPR officials to speak on the allegation proved abortive. An email and several text messages sent to the spokesman, Mr. Belema Osibodu, were not replied, while his telephone line was switched off.

Last month, DPR had threatened to shut filling stations found to be under-dispensing petrol to consumers, but had yet to make good its threat even in the face of glaring evidences that the station owners and attendants were milking the buyers dry.

Osibodu had said in a statement issued in response to our correspondent’s enquiry then that errant petrol stations risked being shut for 60 days.

He had said, “As a further punishment, the stations will be stopped from further lifting and sale of all petroleum products for the period that they are under seal.

“The issue of stations with adjusted pumps,, which deliver less than a litre of fuel for the price of quantity invariably leads to overpricing when the actual litre is dispensed. The consumer is, indeed, being cheated.”

According to the regulator, this is a malpractice which its officials look out for, while on routine monitoring of petrol stations across the country.

Osibodu said, “It is also one of the reasons why the public has been availed of some DPR telephone lines to enable them make reports when such cases occur, which may not be known to us.

“DPR officials go to the stations with our own meters, which are used to monitor the stations’ dispensing pumps at regular intervals in addition to checking the pumps whenever on surveillance exercises. We also do this when cases of under-dispensing are discovered or complaints are lodged with us.”

The department had in October and November 2012 sealed 96 filling stations across the country for various sharp practices, including under-delivery of products, operating without valid licences or with expired licences, compromising safety, overpricing and diversion of products.

Selling petrol above the official price of N97 per litre or adjusting dispensing pumps to sell less than a litre for the price of a litre are some of the anomalies in a market that is undersupplied with products.

This trend is also prevalent when oil marketers decide to hoard products, even when the market is adequately supplied.

The current supply problem started in August last year when the System 2B pipeline was vandalised at Arepo along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State. The pipeline was shut after it caught fire as a result of activities of vandals.

The shutdown resulted in petrol distribution hitches, with states like Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Edo and Kwara severely affected.

With the closure, trucks that were hitherto loading at Shagamu, Ogun State had to come to depots in Apapa, Lagos to load.

Normally, NNPC pumps 11 million litres of petrol per day through the System 2B pipeline. But as a result of the shutdown, the corporation was struggling to supply about six million litres of petrol per day through private depots in Apapa.

PIB to ensure penalty for oil asset vandalism

Host communities of oil and gas resources and assets will, henceforth, be penalised for cases of vandalism if the current Petroleum Industry Bill before the National Assembly is eventually passed into law, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said.

This, according to the corporation, will be implemented through the Petroleum Host Community Fund, which will be created by legislation and will coordinate conditional participation of host communities in the petroleum industry by enforcing security of infrastructure and consequences for vandalism.

Addressing journalists in Lagos on Friday, NNPC’s Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, Mr.  Abiye Membere, said the PIB would incorporate lessons learnt from the Niger Delta on all new frontiers and increase freedom to operate by including host communities as stakeholders.

He said the PIB would assign oil and gas infrastructure security to the host communities and minimise environmental degradation due to vandalism and crude oil theft.

“There is the flexibility to make changes depending on the existing environment; and the PIB provides environment to consult host communities widely prior to making regulations for the management of the fund,” Membere said.

Also in a fresh move, the NNPC said it had initiated new ways of reducing the high cost of operation in the oil and gas sector.

According to Membere, the corporation is working towards achieving the standardisation of processes and evaluation mechanisms for estimation of drilling and drilling services costs, using a common template across all the International Oil Companies.

The NNPC, he said, had also moved to benchmark major costs of players in the sector.

The NNPC GED said another new agency would be created from the PIB, to be known as the National Frontier Exploration Services Department.

According to him, it will be vested with the responsibility of promoting  front end data acquisition of hydrocarbons in the frontier basins in the hinterland.

When passed into law, he said the bill would deliver needed reforms within 36 months, which would be driven by a special task force on the PIB and an  implementation committee.

Listing the objectives of the PIB, Membere said it would enhance exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources; significantly increase domestic gas supplies (especially for power and industry); create competitive business environment and establish fiscal framework that was flexible, stable and competitively attractive.

According to him, it will also create a commercially viable National Oil Company, create efficient regulatory institutions; engender transparency and accountability; promote ‘Nigerian content’ and promote and protect health, safety and environment  concerns.

Membere said the draft PIB recommended a fiscal policy framework derived from a strategic national interest, with incentives for attracting sustainable investment to the region, as well as achieving the unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

“It recommends the creation of a National Oil Company that promotes indigenous operational capacity development, as well as the creation of an asset management company, and a gas market and gas infrastructure development company,” he said.

According to him, the PIB will strengthen regulatory and inspectorate institutions that promote transparency, safety, consumer rights and safe environments.

Membere added that a department in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources charged with frontier exploration services would be established courtesy of the PIB.