•Alhaji OLAWALE ODESEYE Speaks On His Success Story
Everyone calls him Oddy Royal. But that is not his real name. It is his company name. He is a big Phone & Laptop merchant at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos. Everyone there knows Alhaji Ayub Olawale Odeseye, the founder & CEO of Oddy Royal Nigeria, Limited. He is an accredited Importer of GSM Mobile Phones like Samsung, Nokia, Tekno, Hp, Apple, Huawei. He also deals in iPhone 14 series. He also sells Laptops and Computer Accessories.
So big is Oddy Royal that many retailers depend on him for their stock. He operates from 2 outlets at the Computer Village, at No 5 and 13 Kodesho Street, Ikeja, Lagos, opposite Cash and Carry Store, next door to Juli Pharmarcy. He also has an outlet at 7 Isolo Road, in Mushin, Lagos.
Right now, his services are in hot demand which explains why his personal telephone lines are constantly ringing, back-to-back, as people call him directly to make orders and to get generous discounts from him. He has in stock the latest iphone-14 series, which is in high demand right now. He also has in stock, the Mac series of laptops. And because he is known for giving good rates, his outlets are a beehive of activities, as customers troop in in droves to buy from him. And he attends to them all. He also has technicians who repair phones and laptops.
How did he become this big in the business? How did he take his computer and phone business, which he started a few years back, by selling through show glass on the streets to a big business with 3 outlets? How did he also hit it big, becoming one of the biggest importers of phones and laptos, recording a huge turnover in sales, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis? How did Oddy Royal Nigeria Limited become this successful that the company’s brand name has become the buzz word on the lips of many retailers and customers in the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.
Last week, Alhaji Ayub Olawale Odeseye told City People his success secrets. “I think it is the grace of God,” he explained. “I can’t say it is because I do this or that. I just think it is the Grace of God that I enjoy and the fact that right from day one, I was determined to succeed in life and in what I do”.
What makes Oddy Royal different? What services does Oddy Royal offer its customers? “I deal in Phones and Laptops. I am into all brands of phones and laptops. I have been selling phones since 1997. We started with Zain, when MTN and Zain launched their services then, that is where we started from”. Why did he go into the phone business then? What was the attraction then? “Because that is the direction God showed me. Once God shows you your direction, take it and run with it. That is what happened. God showed me the way to go. He guided me in the way to go. And I went in that direction, and I have continued with it. That is how I started. And we have grown from strength to strength.”
He told City People about the growth of Oddy Royal, how the business has grown from strength to strength. “I appreciate God, I appreciate my late mum and my late dad as well. This is because I started from selling phones from showglass on the street of Computer Village. I was once a street person before. I grew up on the streets selling phones, from 1 phone to 2 phones, to 3 phones. That is how I grew big and I became a shop owner with outlets. From one shop to 2 shops, to 3 shops, just like that. It is not by my power or might. It is by God’s design. Now, today at the Computer Village, everybody knows me. Its by God’s Grace, that everybody knows me worldwide.”
Does Oddy Royal have branches outside Lagos? “No, we are only in Lagos for now. Right now we are in Ikeja, Mushin, Ikorodu for now. We are trying to open somewhere in Lekki now. We have acquired a property in Lekki for use”.
What is the secret of his success in business? “Like I said earlier, from the beginning it is the Grace of God and self-determination”. We got him to talk about the growth of the business of phones & laptops. Which of the 2 is moving? “The sale of phones is moving faster then the sale of Laptops,” he explained. “There is no day we don’t sell up to a minimum of 50 pieces or 100 pieces of phones in a day. Because our shop is popular and we are well located and we are known for selling good products, people rush here to buy their phones especially the ladies who love iphones.
Sale of phones give a huge Turnover. Everybody wants to buy phones. So, phone is moving more than laptop” Does Oddy Royal repair phones? “Yes, we do. We are into phone repairs. We have Engineers who repair phones. We have a section for that. We pay them for that service at the end of the month”. Does he do other businesses apart from phone and laptop business? “Yes, I do. I am into Property as well. I am also a hotelier. I am going into another business soon. I will tell you about it later. I am still working on it”.
His 2 phones ring every minute. How does he cope on a daily basis, with his phones always ringing, intermintently? “I am used to it”, he said. “That is my job. That is the nature of my business. People need instant-information they can use to take decisions. People need to know what you have in stock and the prices. They need you to give them good rates. They need personal attention. “They need to talk to the boss. They feel happy to talk to the owner who can respond to their enquiries immediately. I have been doing this for long. So, I am used to it. I also sell and market our phones via calls. I send out messages to my contacts, to my customers”.
What sort of advice will he give phone and laptop users that can help them take decisions and get the best out of the products they buy? “What I have found out is that most of the people who buy expensive phones, don’t know the value of the phones, its not all of them that know how to use the phones. They don’t use half of the facilities on the phone. For many of them, it is to just show off that they are using an expensive phone.
Some know what their phone is all about, they will tell you everything about the phone. Others just want to be seen to be using expensive phones. They will tell you I want to buy this phone. This phone just came out. I want to be the 1st person to use it.”
How does he fund his business because most of the products he sells are premium and expensive products? More so, if the products don’t move in the market, how does he ensure that he does not tie down big money? “You need heavy funds to do phone and laptop business,” he explained. “If you don’t have big money you cannot play in this sector. If you don’t have big capital you can’t take risks in this business, because you need big money. On iPhone 14 I invested almost N220 million on it. The iPhone series are expensive phones. We have iPhone 7-12 series, 13 series and 14 series. If I tell you how much I have invested on these series, you won’t believe it. If I tell you what I invested on these MAC Apple Computers alone, its almost over N300 million. So, I can’t inport these products and just sit down and watch it lie there. I have to sell it. I have to find buyers for it. Because I stock the best and top of the range. Some people come to my shop everyday to take photos and videos, to see what we have. My office is like showroom to them.
They are always amazed at what we have in stock, like whenever they come, they can see someone with 200 pieces of phones which is worth about N270 million. iPhone is selling a lot. That is why if you see 6 people out of them at least 4 must be using iPhone.
iPhone is common than any other phone. It is a good product”.
Each time he stucks up, how is he aware that people are aware of what Oddy Royal has in stock? “Though my phone. I do a lot of adverts.
Every week I inform my contacts on what we have. I do broadcasts”.
We asked him to tell us a bit about his background. Where was he born? Where did he grow up? “Olawale Odeseye is from Ogun State, in Ijebu-Ode. Alake exactly. I was born in April 23rd, 1979. I was born and brought up in Lagos but my mum and my dad are from Ijebu.
