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There is Big Hope for Manufacturing in Nigeria — Binatone MD

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The Managing Director of Binatone Nigeria, Prasun Banerjee, talks about his brand and the new innovations targeted at the heart of the Nigerian consumers in this interview with Anna Okon

Although a big player in the electronics sector, Binatone is facing competition from new brands springing up regularly; how are you coping?

Competition will always be there. Whenever there is a demand for a category, there will always be competition. But we believe that we give good value for money in proposition. We give a product which is affordable, has value for money and at the same time, gives peace of mind.

Our core philosophy is to try and get the product across a wide spectrum of society at very affordable price. We don’t just give value for money; we also give value to many.

We are available, pan Nigeria and one of our strengths is giving the consumer peace of mind.  One of the ways we do that is to declare two-year warranty on each of our products.

We have a service centre that is well equipped with trained engineers to take care of consumers even when they have complications beyond the two years covered by the warranty.

Concerning the issue of adulteration, there are so many Binatone brands all over the place selling cheaper than yours; is that a threat to you as a business owner?

Whenever you have genuine products, fakes will be present. So it is something we have to work on. We have been working with Standards Organisation of Nigeria in identifying and destroying fakes and taking the perpetrators to court. Some cases are still in court.

What we do is that whenever we see any product being converted to a fake, we try to exit that model and launch a new model.  We try to keep one step ahead of the fakers.

I advise customers to buy from authorised agents and distributors of our products and from leading electronic outlets and supermarkets where there are no fakes.

How is the practice of faking impacting on your bottom-line?

It is not really affecting our bottom line because as I said, we also try to stay a step ahead of the fakes. It is not really a big threat.

Don’t you think that it is because of the unavailability of Binatone products that you find so many brands in the market?

In terms of availability, you are right. We were limited to certain class of retailers, now we have started expanding our retail network.

We only had few supermarkets and retailers in Alaba but now we have big retail shops across Nigeria. We are working with the top retailers in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos.

What are the challenges that come with your expansion efforts?

In order to expand, one needs to invest, get their share of space in the showroom, and in order to get this share of space, they need to do visibility exercises in terms of product display and demonstration.

We have demonstrators that we train on a regular basis on key features of the products and how to handle and sell them.

Some merchants are our first point of contact with the customers. The trained demonstrators are one of the touch points that we have.

The second touch point we have is in terms of the display. The customer gets to have a touch and feel of the product. He gets it near to his house; he does not have to travel far to get the product.

So our products are available in every supermarket and top retailers across the 36 states and the FCT.

Abuja looks after the entire central and North; Port Harcourt looks after the East; Onitsha looks after Onitsha and Enugu and Lagos looks after Lagos and the South West.

During this process of expansion have you observed a need to branch into the hinterland?

What we are doing is to expand step by step.  Once we see that a certain market has potential, we open a branch there. Onitsha was big for us; our next target is Kano or Kaduna to cover the entire North.

We have a vast team of people here. I would like to also point out that all the fans that you see here are assembled in Nigeria. We have an assembly unit here in Nigeria and we are planning to assemble some other items here as well.

We have given employment to many local people and we have also done good business and generated revenue for the government.

Which other products are you planning to assemble in Nigeria?

We are looking at blenders and smoothie makers.  We are still at the discussion stage. Since we have stabilised with fans we want to take it step by step with the next product. So we take one product at a time and go on from there.

Do you have challenges bringing in your raw materials?

Initially most manufacturers had that challenge but in the last two months, there have been changes. Foreign exchange has been readily available and relatively stable. There is big hope for manufacturing in this country.  I think once the forex gets available freely, markets will again bounces back and boom.

I don’t have too much to complain about in terms of bringing in raw materials because we are getting good support.

How has it been managing Binatone?

I have been managing the affairs of Binatone Nigeria for one and half years. During this time, we have been able to do good business although there have been some economic challenges.

Binatone as you know is a well-known British brand that has been in Nigeria in the last 40 years.

It started with electronics and over a period of many years, it shifted its product offerings to fans, kitchen appliances, power products like UPS and stabilisers.

We are leaders in fans. We have a wide range of fans. We recently introduced a tower fan with a Bluetooth speaker which means that if you switch on your fan, you can pair your phone to the Bluetooth speaker and listen to music.

The purpose is to launch this one of a kind product that is not available anywhere. We are happy that we are launching it in Nigeria for the first time.

How would you compare your market shares in Nigeria and the UK?

Nigeria is a very huge market filled with a young population. Nigeria is one of our home countries. It is a huge opportunity for us that our fans are coveted in every household in Nigeria.

How about the performance of your products in both markets?

Our products are well accepted products. We are not premium products, we are value for money and value to the many products. They are products which the middle class will always like to buy.

How are you responding to demand for products that meet the energy challenges of the Nigerian environment?

To take care of the energy challenges, we have rechargeable fans and we will be launching more fans with rechargeable capacity. We know that this is a challenge in Nigeria and there is an opportunity there. So we are one of the pioneers of rechargeable fans in Nigeria.

Are you also looking at making fans that could use solar energy?

We have another company which is based outside the UK and which does that. Discussion is going on but there is no product right now that is commercially available to take care of that challenge.  But I am sure that if there are driverless cars, there should also be solar fans.

The government has come up with the procurement policy that says expatriates should not be used for any skill that can be sourced locally; how are you responding to this?

Absolutely, we are doing that. We have very limited expatriates only wherever required, basically the MD. Across all our products and divisions, we have locals running the shops.

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Businessinsider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Continue to Slide: Drops Over 1% Amid Surging U.S. Stockpiles

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Amidst growing concerns over surging U.S. stockpiles and indications of static output policies from major oil-producing nations, oil prices declined for a second consecutive day by 1% on Wednesday.

Brent crude oil, against which the Nigerian oil price is measured, shed 97 cents or 1.12% to $85.28 per barrel.

Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slumped by 93 cents or a 1.14% fall to close at $80.69.

The recent downtrend in oil prices comes after they reached their highest level since October last week.

However, ongoing concerns regarding burgeoning U.S. crude inventories and uncertainties surrounding potential inaction by the OPEC+ group in their forthcoming technical meeting have exacerbated the downward momentum.

Market analysts attribute the decline to expectations of minimal adjustments to oil output policies by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, until a full ministerial meeting scheduled for June.

In addition to concerns about excess supply, the market’s attention is also focused on the impending release of official government data on U.S. crude inventories, scheduled for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).

Analysts are keenly observing OPEC members for any signals of deviation from their production quotas, suggesting further volatility may lie ahead in the oil market.

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Energy

Nigeria Targets $5bn Investments in Oil and Gas Sector, Says Government

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Nigeria is setting its sights on attracting $5 billion worth of investments in its oil and gas sector, according to statements made by government officials during an oil and gas sector retreat in Abuja.

During the retreat organized by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, explained the importance of ramping up crude oil production and creating an environment conducive to attracting investments.

He highlighted the need to work closely with agencies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to achieve these goals.

Lokpobiri acknowledged the challenges posed by issues such as insecurity and pipeline vandalism but expressed confidence in the government’s ability to tackle them effectively.

He stressed the necessity of a globally competitive regulatory framework to encourage investment in the sector.

The minister’s remarks were echoed by Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, who spoke at the 2024 Strategic Women in Energy, Oil, and Gas Leadership Summit.

Kyari stressed the critical role of energy in driving economic growth and development and explained that Nigeria still faces challenges in providing stable electricity to its citizens.

Kyari outlined NNPCL’s vision for the future, which includes increasing crude oil production, expanding refining capacity, and growing the company’s retail network.

He highlighted the importance of leveraging Nigeria’s vast gas resources and optimizing dividend payouts to shareholders.

Overall, the government’s commitment to attracting $5 billion in investments reflects its determination to revitalize the oil and gas sector and drive economic growth in Nigeria.

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Commodities

Palm Oil Rebounds on Upbeat Malaysian Exports Amid Indonesian Supply Concerns

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Palm Oil - Investors King

Palm oil prices rebounded from a two-day decline on reports that Malaysian exports will be robust this month despite concerns over potential supply disruptions from Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil exporter.

The market saw a significant surge as Malaysian export figures for the current month painted a promising picture.

Senior trader David Ng from IcebergX Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur attributed the morning’s gains to Malaysia’s strong export performance, with shipments climbing by a notable 14% during March 1-25 compared to the previous month.

Increased demand from key regions like Africa, India, and the Middle East contributed to this impressive growth, as reported by Intertek Testing Services.

However, amidst this positivity, investors are closely monitoring developments in Indonesia. The Indonesian government’s contemplation of revising its domestic market obligation policy, potentially linking it to production rather than exports, has stirred market concerns.

Edy Priyono, a deputy at the presidential staff office in Jakarta, indicated that this proposed shift aims to mitigate vulnerability to fluctuations in export demand.

Yet, it could potentially constrain supply availability from Indonesia in the future to stabilize domestic prices.

This uncertainty surrounding Indonesian policies has added a layer of complexity to palm oil market dynamics, prompting investors to react cautiously despite Malaysia’s promising export performance.

The prospect of Indonesian supply disruptions underscores the delicacy of global palm oil supply chains and their susceptibility to geopolitical and regulatory factors.

As the market navigates these developments, stakeholders remain attentive to both export data from Malaysia and policy shifts in Indonesia, recognizing their significant impact on palm oil prices and market stability.

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