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Liz Anjorin is one of the popular actresses in the Yoruba Movie industry She is a good actress. And she has produced so many movies over the last few years. Recall that she was in the news recently because of her face-off with fellow actress, Toyin Abraham. But she has put all that behind her and gone back to her trading business at the popular Ikota Shopping Complex at Ajah area of Lagos. Where she owns a big clothing store called Liz Anjorin Clothings. She sells exquisite fabrics and finished female & male clothings. She has a rare collection of richly stoned Abayas, Kaftans, boubous and many other lovely pieces. You can’t enter her shop and not buy from her.
Many don’t know she is big in Fabrics and Fashion business. She buys her fabrics from all over the world and brings them back to her shop to stock. She has about 60 tailors who designs for her and stones the fabrics. We can tell you that she has been in the Fashion business for 20 years. She also sells Gold Jewellery. She is big in the sale of 18 karat gold. She has been selling Gold for 16 years. She has been running her various shops for the past 10 years. She is also into sale of land in the Lekki & Ajah axis of Lagos. What Liz does is to source for available free land lieing fallow, check out all the documentation, and then resell after a few months. She also supplies Diesel to big companies and individuals.
And right now, she is cleaning out big time, as all the big women and wives of rich Nigerians who live in the Lekki/Ajah axis patronise her. They drive to her shop to buy up her fabrics and clothes she has on offer. How does Liz create awareness for her clothing brand? Through social media. Almost on a daily basis she posts videos of her latest outfits and 18kt Gold. She also does videos of the land she has for sale and she gets instance response. The day we went for our interview we had to wait for her to finish with her numerous customers, most of whom are the rich wives of big men. Some came to buy Kaftans and Boubous. Others came to buy Gold. Many of them saw it on her Instagram video.
That Liz is doing well, in business can be gleaned from her affluent lifestyle. She drives the latest Range Rover Jeep and recently moved into her brand new house at Lekki County Estate in Lekki. She owns 3 properties in Lekki. She also owns a large stock of undeveloped land in Lekki for sale.
Liz is happy at what she calls her “modest achievement” in life. She does not hide the fact that she is unarguably the richest actress in Nollywood. She tells anyone who cares to listen that none of her colleagues can boast of owning what she owns in terms of asset. “I hustle a lot,” she explains. “When you see my videos, you will see how I spend the whole day dancing and recording. It takes a lot to sell one single boubou. You have to dance & dance. I travel abroad myself to source for fabrics you won’t see here.”
“I also go to buy Jewellery myself. You can’t find my collection elsewhere. I go for very rare pieces, that you won’t find anywhere. Even the fabrics. After buying the fabrics we still have do stoning. Many don’t know I have a full fledge tailoring workshop. I have a staff strength of about 60 Tailors and those who do stoning for me. I put in a lot into my business because I don’t want to depend on any man for money or existence. What many people don’t know is that men don’t give ladies like me who work free money. How much will any man give a lady like me. My salary bill alone, monthly, is close to N1 million. So how much will a man offer me. I just wonder”.
How did she get into the Fashion business we asked her?
“What has kept her going?” The Grace of God. We give thanks to God. Perseverance, Endurance. Its God. You have to be tough to be able to do business in Nigeria. There is so much pains doing business.” Each time you see Liz these days what one can see is affluence. How does she put all these together? “I am fashion conscious. I love fashion. I love buying because I work so hard. I buy to keep, I buy fabrics and clothes and keep. Then later I will begin to match them and they come out nice. For my designs, I always want something very unique, something that is not common. I love my things to be very, very unique. That is why if you look around this shop, all you will see are unique things, fabrics that are not common. Kaftans, Boubous, Abayas that are not common. I love my things to be very, very unique. When you wear unique things, you look gorgeous, classy and dazzling.
We asked her to tell us about this lovely outfit she has on. She just did the video…
“Oh yes. Many of my customers have been asking for it. They want it. They are coming for it. I have it in various colours, designs and look. I bought it in Italy. I buy my fabrics in Italy, Austria, Turkey. I travel a lot. I am always going round all these countries to pick the best for my customers. That is why once I land, my customers come in to pick what they want. I have very, very loyal customers. I know what they like. I know what they want and I give it to them. I travel to unique countries to get fabrics. All the top fabric merchants know me. I enjoy shopping. I enjoy shopping for my customers.”
“When I buy these fabrics, I take it to my tailors because I don’t sew here. I then bring it back to Nigeria. That is why it is difficult to compete with me. What you see in my shop is a lot of work. When I bring the fabrics back to Nigeria, I then re-embellish them. I give my outfits names. I have names for my attires. This one I am wearing is Ede Pupa. To coin a name for my attires, I look at the colour. I always give them names that are funny”.
Let’s talk about Liz and Jewellery…
“Don’t go there. I am in love with Jewellery. I am in love with Gold. What I have on is 18 Karat Gold. I sell 18kt Gold. I also sell Zaconium Gold-Zaconium gold is a copy of the Diamond set. But 18 Karat Gold is 18 Karat Gold. My jewellery are very special and different. My clients marvel when they see my collection. They always say I have special jewllery and that my Gold collection is so unique. It has to be. Every time I travel. I usual visit 7 countries. I have supplies in the Middle East countries. I go to countries like Turkey, Germany, Italy, Austria, Qatar, Dubai and Jeddah. When I go shopping for my Jewellery, I pick the very best. I don’t mind the amount. I pick the best. I love hand-made. I love the antique. I am into Jewellery. So I know the trends. Some are made by machine. Some are handmade. I love hand made jewellery”.
How did she make a success of the business of fabrics, clothing, jewellery?
“They go hand in hand. Fashion is art. Art is fashion. If you have a clean heart, you will see beauty in things. So, once you have it in you, you will be able to add one or two ideas together. That’s what I do. And I don’t copy because I always want people to copy me. If I copy that means I am an Apprentice. If you copy me, it means I am the Boss”.
We have also noticed that she ties her gele differently…
Oh yes, I have my own type of Gele signature. It’s my style. That is why some people call me a fashion doctor, some call me Queen of Fashion. Some call me Iyalaje of Fashion. It’s because of my fashion style. What I have on my head is a scarf, not gele. But I did it so well that it looks like gele”.
What does she have in her shop?
It’s loaded. People will love to know what’s in here.
“It’s basically a shop where you can find fabrics and clothes for parties. I mix for parties. Here, I make outfits you can wear to a party and stand out. If you want to be the talk of the town at a party if you want to paint the party Red or Blue & Black come to Liz Anjorin Clothings. I am into styling. I am good at it. If you want to stand outcome here”.
“If you want to wear something very unique that will make heads turn 360 come to Liz Anjorin’s Clothing. I sell exquisite lace fabrics here. You can’t get them anywhere else. I am the only fabric merchant that stocks them. They are Italian laces. Those ones you see there are 100% cotton fabrics here and well embellished with high-grade Swarovski. That is what you see on me. We have some Silk, we have some Chiffon. When we talk about silk, we have two types of silk-like cheap silk and expensive silk. We sell high end, expensive silk. We sell correct fabrics here. You can’t do embellishments with inferior fabrics because of the stones and heat in the machine. I can spend like 40 days to make one outfit. So if the material is not quality, it can melt it or spoil the material.
Why did she decide to go into fashion when she went 20 years ago?
“I did fashion for business’ sake. I needed to make money from my hobby. I sent myself to school. I paid my way through school single-handedly. I started off by helping people to pack their clothes and taking them to laundry. People will just make statements and comments like I like good clothes, I wish I can have more. That gave me the idea that I can get it for them and sell it to them. That is how I started when I was in Poly. When I was in Jos I did the same thing. When people say they want to buy Ankara, I will go and get it and sell to them.”
So, there is a way in which her growing up shaped her going into Fashion. “Yes, my growing up shaped me. My mother shaped me also. My mother is behind everything I have become today. She really helped me. She was tough on me. She was very, very tough. Being the only child, I was supposed to be getting away with very many things. No. If I want to get anything I have to work for it. Even as a child. That really helped me”.
“When I was much younger, my mother used to tell me, people you line-up with will determine your future and your personality, in the society. She used to tell me to greet rich kids when we were young. Greet them over & over again because you want to be rich in life. If you join the group of kids that hate them or that snub them, that means you don’t want to be rich. She said you should hold on to people below your calibre. If you see people of your calibre, hold on to them also. She said at times you will need people below you to do some things which people above your calibre won’t be able to do for you. That has really helped me. She has been a wonderful mother.”
How did her love for Gold Jewelry start? “I love Jewellery. My mother does not wear Jewellery. She does not use Makeup. When I use to see people that use Makeup and Jewellery when I was younger, I used to love it. But she does not wear them. I used to say when I grow up, I will be doing it. I had a dream of being a big Jewellery merchant”.
When I was in school, I used to sell things. Jewellery was like a store of value. Jewellery makes me keep money. I tie down money with Jewellery. I mean Gold, helps me keep more money because it appreciates in value. It is one of the things that has really helped me.
-Seye Kehinde & Nurudeen Salisu
