…As festival ends on a high with incredible performances from Teni, Young Jonn, EmmaOMG
Lagos, Nigeria – December 26, 2024
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lauded the staff and management of Chan Reactions Africa, a frontline PR firm and the organisers of the much-anticipated Lagos Shopping Festival (LSF)which was rounded off at the iconic Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan Stadium, on Christmas day, Wednesday December 25.
The Governor who was full of praise for the organisers, commended them for giving Lagosians an amazing festival, and the first of its kind in Africa, pointing out that the fact that the 72-hour non-stop shopping and entertainment event was concluded without any hitch or medical emergency was a testament to their excellent organisational skills and event management.
He thanked the organisers for reigniting the culture of strategic scaling and optimisation of small businesses with the Lagos Shopping Festival, which is the first of its kind that brings and connects shoppers with Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), providing opportunities value-driven collaborations and growth with innovators, entertainers, and the creative industry, as well as the food industry and everybody at appreciably discounted deals.
Sanwo-Olu emphasised that the Lagos State Festival has demonstrated its ability to drive collaboration and business connectivity, while advancing the collective aspiration for a thriving, inclusive, and resilient Lagos, which stands as Nigeria’s commercial hub and a model for other states, a fact, he said, was further validated by numerous sponsors who endorsed the festival having seen it socio-economic potentials.
So far, the festival has been full of success stories, with commendations also coming from the vendors who took part in the event, as well as sponsors the lead sponsors.
One of the vendors, Rita Ishaya who sells oil perfume and burning incense, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the event. Coming from Kaduna, she said she had initial concerns about the return on investment, but acknowledged having had an impactful experience, especially in meeting with other vendors in Lagos, and having an increase in sales volume. “So far, the event is going smoothly, and we are making sales, even customers are still coming and we are still making sales”, she said.
Simbo Faloye, who runs what she calls ‘Otalenu Lagos’ African Food Kitchen, echoed similar sentiments, and testified to increased sales. “This is ‘Otalenu Lagos’ African food, pounded yam, amala on the spot. We are here at Lagos Shopping Festival. It’s been so good so far, and we’ve really enjoyed ourselves – good sales, good people around, good music, and many more”, she said.
For Peter Johnson, proprietor of Just Grill International Catering Services, it was a surprise that sales have been good despite this being the very first edition of the festival, and for this, he said, he is looking forward to participating in the next edition. “Sure! I will come next year, 100 percent!”, he said confidently. Same goes for Olaposi Yusuf, owner of Olas Clothing Line, who expressed satisfaction when asked about the volume of sales made during the festival. “It surpassed my expectations. The sales are more than what I expected. It’s worth it, and I will definitely do this next year”, she exclaimed.
In the same vein, Lekan Marayesa who runs Naija Shop, an e-commerce platform that connects Nigerian vendors to local andinternational customers, attests to a good volume of traffic at the booth of one of his vendors, Ablavi Couture. “We’ve seen sales, a lot of pretty good deals, and the volume was there. At the moment, I don’t know the sales figure, but I have seen a lot of traffic, and we are definitely looking forward to next year”, he said and thanked theorganisers for coming up with the idea for the event.
The highlight of the closing day of the festival was the incredible musical performances by some of Nigeria’s A-list artistes, including singer, songwriter, and record producer, Young Jonn, Teni The Entertainer, and the multi-talented entertainer, EmmaOMG, among other upcoming artistes.
The Lagos Shopping Festival, powered by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with Chain Reactions Africa, a frontline PR firm, was supported by leading brands, including Zenith Bank, Tolaram Group, First Bank Plc, and Guinness.
