Sinmi Olayebi is the director of social programs at FemiHandbags, a leading Nigerian luxury handbag design and manufacturing company. At FemiHandbags (a subsidiary of My World of Bags) she leads and manages the company’s social programs and projects in partnership with donor organisations like Mastercard Foundation, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Bank of Industry, and others. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, Olayebi explain how MWOB projects tackle social issues like unemployment to industry capacity building and health safety, amongst others. Excerpts:
Before we delve into Project SafeUp, we need to understand My World of Bags (MWOB) better. What is the acceptance level of your luxury handbags brand before and after COVID-19 using the company as a reflection?
My World of Bags (MWOB) is a homegrown design and accessory manufacturer based in Nigeria, with two main areas of focus – a luxury leather handbag and accessories line called FemiHandbags (FH); and corporate accessories and gifts for businesses, conferences and events, produced by MWOB. Year on year, we have experienced an increasing demand for both product lines, with the corporate line being the primary bottom-line feeder, as a result of its greater production volumes.
When the pandemic hit, like much of the global business world, the company experienced a shutdown in activity – orders slowed on our luxury line and stopped altogether on the corporate front. We have since begun to regain momentum, following the period of reorientation and re-innovation provided by the slowdown of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, our products speak for themselves and the brand reputation has remained consistent, which has enabled us to create and own a space in the up-market for leather accessories. We have established a niche audience for our luxury line, and we have a variety of loyal customers at home and abroad who appreciate the bespoke high-quality handcrafted FH product and its ethnic infusions. This meant that, over the past year, despite the general economic challenges, the FH brand has continued to experience some patronage from its customer base.
As a communication person; what is your visibility plan for the brand as a whole?
While both brands have continued to remain distinct, FemiHandbags has been the greater bearer of visibility under the My World of Bags umbrella – this is as a result of its retail product focus, and more so, the brand’s distinctive, bold and memorable nature.
As we continue to expand the presence of the FemiHandbags line beyond the local, to the international, the main goals of the brand remain the same: that is, to send out clear and memorable messages that seek to tell a powerful African story; to tackle and correct the misconceptions and false narratives around Made-in-Africa brands; and to further enhance the brand’s associative relationship with the phrase ‘leather luxury’.
Through the establishment of Project SafeUp – our COVID-19 intervention – My World of Bags, has also begun to expand its focus areas and the brand associations to improve its long-term sustainability. The pandemic has brought to mind the various ways in which our manufacturing services and activities can be brought to bear on areas of need across industries. As a result, we are keen to build and solidify relationships as we expand our focus areas.
How was the transition from making handbags into the production of PPE for the company?
The production of leather products and fabric items require different techniques and processes; however, our corporate line has typically worked with various types of fabric, and so the transition was smooth. Most of the essential tools and materials needed for the production of gowns, scrubs, face masks and the other types of PPE that we are producing are very similar to those we use in the production of our corporate accessories. That being said, we still made various modifications to enhance our COVID-19 compliance all-round and implement the necessary social distancing measures.
Even more so, the project has been a fantastic learning curve for us, as we have significantly expanded our in-house and external production capacity to accommodate an increased production output. It has also required an enhancement of our production efficiency across the board, from techniques and material sourcing to quality control expertise, amongst a variety of other things. Most of all, these learnings are transferable to our corporate line, and have enabled us to improve our capacity and quality in a way that will inevitably have far-reaching effects on our business.
What were the challenges faced during the transition period (since the factory was closed for about 2 months)?
In a business like ours, two weeks is a long time, so a two-month shutdown put us in a completely unprecedented situation. When we did return, there had been a sharp drop in our regular activities, so remuneration was the biggest obstacle, as well as an all-round dormancy, as a smaller portion of our staff worked reduced hours. With a reduced workforce, production output also dropped.
Additionally, maintaining brand visibility ahead of a return to normalcy proved challenging, as we worked to sustain relationships, and keep our marketing tactics active to drive sales, at a time when everyone’s focus was on survival: we worked hard to adopt a nuanced approach to communication, which took the general climate into consideration and created a means of deepening our connections with our client base. The launch of Project SafeUp was extremely timely, and has provided a great source of motivation and purpose for our entire team, amidst these challenging times.
What would you say inspired the company’s CSR initiative, Project SafeUp?
When the pandemic hit, there was a national lockdown that affected all businesses including ours, so we had to shut down the factory. We had all our staff observe the stay-at-home protocol, as we monitored the situation for about six weeks. Naturally, we hoped that things would ease up sooner rather than later, but unfortunately, it got worse. It was then that we decided that we wanted to play an active role in helping our community. The WHO had recommended the use of face masks to curb the spread of the virus and so, we decided to set up rotating schedules and return to work. We had the machines, we had fabric that we could upcycle, and most of all, we had a means through which we would keep our staff occupied. So we started producing face masks in small quantities for hospitals, clinics, and people in the community, completely free of charge. We were aware that it would not necessarily be sustainable, however, we were keen to be a part of the solution, for as long as possible. It was our way of giving back.
Mastercard Foundation had set up their COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, and following an earlier partnership that had been put on hold due to COVID-19, we were asked to participate in the Resilience Program. The partnership with the Foundation empowered us to expand to the production of other PPE materials – including face shields, gowns, scrubs, head and shoe covers for health workers, in addition to masks – in much larger quantities, and expand our reach to other states across the country. More so, it provided a means through which to sustain our workforce and create employment and an income source for hundreds of youth and MSMEs. The latter in particular is one of the core areas of focus and interest for our organisation, and thus, we were able to realise some of our corporate impact goals.
How did you arrive at the number of PPE’s to be distributed freely?
All 2.5 million PPE items produced through Project SafeUp are being distributed free of charge to our beneficiaries. Prior to kicking off distribution, we conducted a rigorous needs assessment exercise which reviewed areas of need based on the COVID-19 cases state-by-state, as well as population size in towns and local government areas. Our research team spent weeks engaging prospective beneficiaries to understand the extent of need. The five states our distribution is centred in – Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti – were chosen, not only based on their proximity to the project hub, but also due to the higher incidence of COVID-19 cases in the region at the peak of the pandemic; by taking markets, schools and health facility populations into consideration, we assessed that 2.5 million items would enable us to reach a decent portion of the population, sufficient for curbing the spread of the virus.
What drives the brand’s COVID-19 educational message and communication strategy?
As the world comes to terms with this virus and its effects, and we gain an increased understanding, we are aware that it is potentially as easy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the general public as it is to contract it. Fluctuating case rates and the possibility of surges make continuous education and re-education necessary. With Project SafeUp’s mass production of PPE, it has been integral to the distribution to educate our beneficiaries on the importance of use. Through the course of our distribution activities, we have actively worked to counter myths about the virus and its spread; misconceptions about PPE; and encourage continuous safety and protective measures. A key approach that we have adopted to tackle doubt and skepticism has been the re-telling of COVID-19 stories – Nigerians who had direct experiences with COVID-19 have been sharing those experiences, and this has drawn sentiment from the general public, as well as a better understanding of the risks of relaxing protocol, even at this time.
