Fashion lover, Afolabi Aremu originally from Nigeria put his fashionista skill into a business, branded as Bold Men.
The brand Bold Men is known across the United States and beyond as his merchandise are superb, fabulous and unique.
In an interview with Olori Wendy, he divulged the secrets of his fashion business.
What is your background like?
My name is Afolabi Aremu. I was born and raised in Lagos State, Nigeria.
My Elementary and High school was in Lagos, while my College was in Benin, Edo State before I travelled abroad.
What is the history of this store?
I am this type of eccentric person that loves fashion. I have always loved to dress. I went to a High School called Government College Lagos (GCL) Surulere, that students compete among each other on who dresses better so I got my fashion sense from High School and I took it to College where I earned the name LOP.
If you are from Lagos back then, you will know the Fashion Outlet LOP in Kofo Abayomi. I might buy one thing then and when I take it to school, University of Benin (UNIBEN), where I was one of the best dressed student, which my fellow students admitted to me. They will tell me they love the way I dress so I started buying stuff as I know everywhere in and out of Lagos where to buy stuff, and knowing what people would buy, I will buy and take it to Benin to sell.
So when I came to the US, I saw the vacuum, when Nigerians want to go out for events, especially in the area of Men's shoes, there weren't the Europeans brands that Nigerians are used to in most stores, so since I have the connection of those involved in the business and I know the trends and classic brands people would love, I decided to venture into it.
What is the competition like?
There are pocket of people that sells, Nigerian stores into the business but what I sell is quite different from theirs. If you come to my store or follow me on social media, you will be amazed on my products compared to other people's product. They have this monolithic kind of items. They all do one particular merchandise, but I'm diverse, I cater for the young, middle age and the old, so that makes me different. My products caters to everybody.
Which brands and type of shoes do people patronize the most?
My clientele base is not just Nigerians, but also include other Africans, African Americans, so when it comes to Sports sneakers, the African Americans tend to go for that more, while the classic, trendy and casual shoes are what most Nigerians kind of like.
I have got different Italian brands from Paciotti, Moschino to Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Fendi, Alexander McQueen, so generally unique styles to get that fast forward fashion.
Which brand of shoes are currently in Vogue?
There is no particular brand but people know what they want, and they they see it, they go for it. What I do is to get them all together so they can decide what brand they want to go for. But most of the time, people like my stuff, as long as it flows with what they have in mind.
But most really go for Ferragamo, Paciotti, and Versace but generally every stuff that I sell.
What is one strategy for gaining customers that you have been successful with in competing with the bigger or more established stores?
The thing is that, I have a price model that makes me stand out, from the clothing, to shoes to belts, my prices are very affordable. This is because I have contacts in Europe. Where I buy, not everybody can buy from there, so I have advantage on the pricing since I can get good deals from where other people can't buy and I transfer it to the customers at a better price than any other store can.
What is your most memorable experience in the store?
In the beginning, because I hit the ground running when I knew what I wanted to do, I didn't do this from home, I just opened the store right away, the first few months was really tough but once people started getting to know that there is Bold Men and they sell unique shoes, people started buying and they kept coming back because what I sell are unique and the prices are great, not deep pocket pricing.
There was this particular period, because opening this store is a great learning experience as sales were not coming and I had to be dipping into my savings. However, thank God I have a supportive wife, who always tell me, "you can do this, you don't have to give up, you just have to stay there".
As she backed me up, I persisted and persevered in those tough times because of the believe and support of my wife plus her encouragement that there are better days ahead, I was able to weather it through.
What other businesses are you into?
This is what I do full time. I am into shoes, clothing, and accessories, but shoes are the vocal point of the store.
What is your view about Nigerians in Los Angeles?
Nigerians have been very supportive, I get a lot of sales from them as they patronize me but not just Nigerians, Africans generally, African Americans and other nationalities.
My clientele base is wide and not just narrowed to Los Angeles, or America. Even without a website I get sales from the UK, and most of the sales I get are from the East Coast of America.
What are the things people don't know about the store?
The first impression people get coming here are "whoa", because way I envisioned it is, I dont just want to do the traditional Nigerian store, I wanted it unique, so the people that walk in here are not just Nigerians but African Americans, Belizeans, Mexicans, as it is not geared to a typical Nigerian setting.
Anybody can walk in here and find their interest in the store. It is welcoming to everybody, and when Nigerians come in here, they are so proud when they find out it is owned by a Nigerian because initially they don't know it is owned by one, until we start talking, so basically we have to promote ourselves that we can do better.
What do you enjoy most about your life since you opened the store?
I enjoy the feed back I get from people when they buy from me, and they feel the value for their money, and I am in a position to make them feel that way.
Customers feed back gives me a sense of fulfilment that what I am passionate about is yielding good results not just financially but that they acknowledge that I know what I am doing.
How do you relax with your family?
I am married with kids and I am very close to my family. We all go out when we are all off. We like to eat together, spend quality time in the amusement park or at the mall. We always do family stuff together. The time hardly permits but we always try to make time for it.
Myself and my wife are so into our kids.
Where can you be found on the internet?
Right now I am using my personal page Aremu Bold to promote my products. I have a Facebook page Bold Men, which is active as well.
I also have an instagram account Bold_Men and my website will be out pretty soon.
Nevertheless, whatever customers get here, they can't get a better deal anywhere else. All I can importantly say is All Glory is to Almighty God for making this a success after many failed businesses that I tried.
Bold Men ( Shoes. Clothing. Accessories )
302 S. Market Street, Inglewood CA 90301
Aremu Bold - Facebook
Bold Men - Facebook Page
Bold_men - Instagram
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