Read How Araoluwa Popoola Turned a Necessity Into Pure Cash In This Innovative and Inspiring Business Story.

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My Business Story by Araoluwa Popoola
Araoluwa Popoola's venture into fashion designing was triggered by common sense. As a university undergraduate at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Araoluwa used to design his own wear or redesign what he purchased because he very often could not find ready-to-wear clothes that fit.

His trouser length measures 44.6inches, while his sleeve cuts the tape at 26 inches, nearly three inches above the normal.

“I always had issues getting my size because of my long legs and longs arms, so I needed to always design my outfits and give to a tailor or buy big outfits and amend them to my size. After a while, I thought, instead of just making those clothes for myself alone, I can actually make them for people.”

For the 32-year-old graduate of Microbiology, necessity appears to have coincided with passion.

Araoluwa kept making more and more friends among tailors and took his first job after graduation with a fashion outlet in Abuja.

WHAT NEXT?

Between 2008 and 2011, he did several paid jobs, while maintaining his fashion design business by the side. In 2012, however, he decided to concentrate on being a fashion-design entrepreneur.

Armed with N150,000, two sewing machines and an incredibly unconventional business model, he moved back to Ibadan where he grew up and started Aramanda International Couture Limited.

“I wasn't satisfied with the idea of a 9-to-5 job. So I asked myself if I was going to keep doing fashion on the side or just take it up full time. Although I was making money from both ends, I decided it would make more sense if I could just give up the paid job and concentrate on the fashion business” Araoluwa said.

Sourcing highly skilled staff who understood, and were willing to conform to Araoluwa's ambitious vision was an initial challenge. He had to comb the length and breadth of Nigeria and even went as far as Ivory Coast to source staff.

BREAKTHROUGH
MOMENT:

“After 5 years of working with over 150 tailors, I now have the perfect team. This is because everybody calls themselves tailor but the cut, the stitch and the delivery, makes the difference,” he said.

SETBACK:

Power supply, funding and sourcing materials (which he gets most of the time through merchants from Turkey and Vietnam at ridiculous prices) to meet high-end clients' demands, were also initial challenges. Araoluwa had to seek creative ways to address. It seems to be paying off now because Aramanda boasts an average of 200 clients a month. The clients include celebrities such as Ali Baba, Selebobo and Mozez Praiz.

CURRENT STATUS:

It is not often that a five-year-old fashion outlet would claim to be one of the best in the business. But Araoluwa believes that his design now has a definite signature recognised and respected by his clients: “I can say we have mastered the art. We make sure the thread lines are never seen. When we make an outfit, it is so perfect that even your identical twin brother or sister cannot wear it. What is for you is for you; it is totally bespoke.”

As part of his business model, Araoluwa refers to himself as the “team lead” of his 15-staff Aramanda Couture because he doesn't subscribe to the idea of “one-man business ” . His approach is that of mentoring and teamwork, so that the absence of a member does not affect general output. This is a necessary approach, considering how often the team lead travels to source materials and meet clients.

“We are the convenient tailors, so I travel a lot. I have been able to meet with clients that cannot leave their shops or offices or even their States. I have been able to cater to all those clients. For instance, I can fly to Abuja and back for just one outfit for my client” he stated.

Although Aramanda Couture is based in Ibadan, Oyo State, Araoluwa frequents celebrity hangouts and events in Lagos and elsewhere as part of his marketing strategy. The reason is simple: despite a turnover of over N5million in 2016, he has his eyes on further growth and growth in the high-end fashion industry means hobnobbing with celebrities.

"I have worked with over“150 tailors; that is because, basically everybody calls themselves tailor, but the cut, the stitch and the delivery make the differences."

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