How Emilinks wants to give Nigerians 1 billion naira
How does Emilinks hope to achieve this? By offering up to 1 billion naira in retail giveaways.
In what the company is now calling its Name Your Price plan, it is selling its 900mm x 2.1m hand-finished wooden door for between N150,000 and N120,000. Ordinarily, this door retails for about N350,000.
Its pure wood hand-finished interior doors, popular among modern builders, is now down from N110,000 to just N50,000, just like the Economic Flush Door which now sells for N30,000 instead of N60,000.
Also, Emilinks is currently selling its made-in-Italy fire-rated door for half the normal price, at N120,000.
In the superior range, the Emilinks Historic Armour Door was going for N3m. Now it is N1m. This Armour Door was often reserved for high net worth individuals who prefer its unusual makeup of galvanised steel and pure forest wood. As for the non-corroding and non-rusting security doors that used to be sold at 370,000 per unit, they are now available at N150,000 each.
For good measure, Emilinks states in its announcement, every door comes complete with frames, lock, cylinder, handles, and keys.
Altogether, the company plans to give away 1 billion naira in discounts.
These are mind-boggling deals, especially at this time of galloping inflation. But the chairman of Emilinks, Solomon Emeka Nwadiogbu, insists that his firm is the only one in the market that can pull off such a whimsical auction. In fact, he says, Emilinks has been selling its products at these shocking prices for five months.
‘It is the perfect time to give Nigerians this kind of gift,’ Nwadiogbu says. ‘Now that the economic climate has changed, it has become extremely important to curb the waste in the housing sector and help many Nigerians build or finish their homes. We call it Operation Kick Against Waste and for the first time in our country’s history, people can buy the best quality doors at the price of the lowest quality doors. This perfectly underscores the efficiency of our manufacturing process.’
But this rate drop is extremely radical for Emilinks, which is regarded by many building contractors as a luxurious, and often pricey, brand.
Nwadiogbu responds to that remark by saying that his company’s latest current pricing policy is possible because of a pretty straightforward strategy of absolute independence. This strategy rests on three legs.
One, Emilinks never takes loans to finance its projects so that it can remain flexible. Two, it continues to expand internationally and earn foreign exchange (it currently sells doors in 82 countries). And three, it tries to create products that will turn customers into brand evangelists.
‘It’s not enough to be alive just to make a living,’ Nwadiogbu says. ‘One needs to live to make an impact. For me, I want to impact my generation with quality and elegance. That is why we’re offering the excellence at prices that no one can beat at home and abroad— not even in Italy.’
And, good for him, his enthusiasm is catching on fast. These days, Emilinks’ four warehouses in Lagos are always flooded with builders, homeowners and resellers who are cashing in on the ridiculously low price tags. The question, though, is how the company is able to afford the costly bonus it is gifting to its customers.
Nwadiogbu says it took him and his team some long-term planning. “We’ve been working on this plan for many months; it just happened that it reached maturity at the time that Nigerians need it most. For me, it’s a dream come true,” he notes.
Also, Emilinks owns a forest in Europe from where 30 to 50-year-old trees are harvested. The logs are then transported to a plant where they are processed and designed according to Emilinks custom specifications. Since its third-party expenses are considerably lower than its competitors’, the corporation can sell at prices that others can only dream of.
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