Francesca Odimgbe
Lagos State is gearing up to host the first Lagos Shopping Festival, scheduled from December 23 to 25 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Lagos Island.
The State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced the initiative during the unveiling of the festival symbol at the Lagos House in Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu said the inaugural Lagos Shopping Festival will drive commerce by supporting local businesses, attracting global brands, and creating direct and indirect employment opportunities through vendor participation, logistics, events and entertainment management.
He said the Lagos Shopping Festival, which the Lagos State Government is supporting through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts in partnership with Tolaram Africa Group, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Chain Reactions Africa, will attract local and international tourists to Lagos and position the state amongst her peers with their shopping festivals.
He said, “We are a city of audacious people who dream and think big. By this December, the City of Dubai will be holding the 30th edition of its annual Dubai Shopping Festival. But we are just starting now, and we believe it is never too late. Through our Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts, in April, we had the proof of concept. We had a trade fair where sales over N5 billion were recorded by just 245 vendors in just three days. So, we have tested the concept, and we know it can only get bigger.
“I am excited that come this December, the City of Lagos will be joining the league of other global cities such as Istanbul and Dubai with their own dedicated shopping festivals. This is part of our broader strategy to continue to market Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure.
“For us, this festival is not just about enjoyment; it is an economic tool to achieve a number of economic objectives. It will drive commerce by supporting local businesses and attracting global brands. It will also create direct and indirect employment opportunities through vendor participation, logistics, event and entertainment management.
“The festival will attract the Diaspora community to Lagos this December because Lagos is safe. It will also attract local and international tourists to Lagos and position Destination Lagos amongst her peers with their shopping festivals.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu also commended Tolaram Africa Group, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Chain Reactions Africa, “for heeding the call, seeing our big picture, and supporting the maiden edition of the Lagos Shopping Festival.”
The festival’s Director of Organisation and Logistics, Ms. Damilola Pedro, who described Governor Sanwo-Olu as the Lead Strategist and Biggest Salesperson for Lagos, said the shopping festival will promote trade and commerce during the three days of activities.
She said, “Mr. Governor, this project is your baby. It is one of the legacies you will be giving to Lagos. When we first presented the concept to you four years ago, we wanted to have it for seven days non-stop. But you counselled us to run the maiden edition over a period of three days first. We have been planning and refining the concept. Now is the time for us to join the league of other global cities such as Istanbul and Dubai.
“I am a Lagosian, and I always enjoy myself in December every time in Lagos, and that is what the Lagos Shopping Festival means to us. We believe in Mr. Governor for his vision. He has always been the biggest Salesperson for Lagos, and we are working continuously to make sure that this event also leads us towards positive value and changing the perception of who we are as Lagosians and what Lagos means to the rest of the world.
“The Lagos Shopping Festival will happen from December 23 to 25 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos Island. We are inviting everyone to come and have fun. We will be bringing small-scale businesses through our partnership with several agencies within the government for SMEs and businesses around and outside Lagos to come and sell their products for our people to be able to shop at very highly discounted rates so that we can all have fun this December and journey towards the rest of next year.
“For us, the Lagos Shopping Festival also places us alongside other big economies like the Singapore Shopping Festival and Dubai Festival. Lagos is thriving and opening up for more businesses. This is our Lagos, and we will continue to build it as long as we can as citizens of this positive state, this big state that we are all proud of under the leadership of Mr. Governor.”
Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser to Governor on Tourism, Culture and Arts, Mr. Idris Aregbe, narrated how, by sheer happenstance, the Ministry had used a fair earlier organised in the month of April in conjunction with another private entity as proof of concept to test the waters ahead of the Lagos Shopping Festival, which is bigger in scope and scale.
He told the gathering comprising representatives of Zenith Bank Plc, Tolaram Group, and Guinness Nigeria Plc how the sales recorded in a period of three days surpassed the N250 million sales threshold the organisers had never crossed.
Aregbe also commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for giving support to every Lagosian and for using entertainment as a platform to promote commerce.