Radeke Kupoluyi is one celebrity lady whose job is to make other ladies beautiful. She is a top clothier who runs a successful clothing store, Radek, on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos. From a little store she started from 20 years ago, she has built her business into the chain of stores she manages today. She sits atop 3 stores in Ikeja, Lagos. She also sews Uniforms and she has been for very many years the No 1 maker of branded outfits for Glo.
As you read this, she is in a happy mood. It’s also her birthday. She clocks 52 today Monday 27th July 2022 and she is hosting her clients and customers at an open house party inside her Allen Avenue Clothing Store.
What have been her success secrets? How did she build her business into the big brand it is today? Last week she told City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE & NURUDEEN SALISU, her success story.
Let me congratulate you on your 20th Anniversary of Radek Clothings. How does it make you feel?
To God be the glory. I feel good. I feel happy. Like I always say, No one receives anything except it is given from above. It is God that gives Vision. He is the one that backs up the Vision, with strength, with ability. Unto him alone be all the glory.
It’s also your birthday. You are 52, how do you feel?
Yes because I actually started Radek officially on my birthday in the year 2002. So, I opened my first shop in Ogudu, exactly 20 years ago. So, every birthday, every 27th of June, comes with my shop anniversary, so we celebrate it every year like that, it is always a double celebration on every 27th of June.
So, how are you going to celebrate it this year?
This year is going to be different because we are 2 decades in the business and I have been looking forward to it, since last year. We are going to roll out the drums. We are going to prepare to host our customers. We are going to entertain people here. We are going to provide music and a lot to eat and drink, most especially to thank our customers because, without our customers, after God, there wouldn’t have been anything like Radek anymore. So, we are inviting all our customers to come, all RADEK customers both home and abroad to join us in celebrating these great achievements. So, we are expecting everybody to come here on Monday 27th of July 2022 at our Allen Branch which is the headquarters of Radek Ventures. It is located at No 64 Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos. We would be expecting all our numerous customers especially those in Lagos, and also outside Lagos and Nigeria. We want you to come and wine and dine and Thank God with us.
Looking back 20 years how has it been? What’s the story like?
Haaa! Yes, 20 years. It’s been a long journey but at the same time, it’s been a mixture of The Good, The Bad, the Fantastic, and the not too Fantastic. In life, that is what makes the story of any man. By that, I mean, the Good, the Ugly, the Fantastic. That is always what makes the journey good for any man. So, it has been rosy, it has not been too rosy, it has been bad, it has not been too bad, but in all, we thank God that we are still in the business, most especially, because every year we grow in the business, in experience, in design, in the fashion industry. every year comes with different experiences. So, as we wake up every morning, we grow in the business as well. So, it’s been good all the way.
How did Radek get into the Clothing business?
I studied Food Tech and Catering Studies at Yaba College of Technology. So, I did not study fashion because I come from a home that is very fashionable. In my family, we are very fashionable. We don’t joke about fashion and looking good, especially my dad. So, it’s an inborn thing for me. Though I did not study fashion, along the line, I just found passion in it and I just wanted to try it on maybe it will work for me, and along the line, I got stuck. Here I am today, and we are happy doing it.
When you started off which area did you focus on?
When I first started, I started as a young lady. I wasn’t married. We were doing everything. I was selling bags. I was even selling men’s wear. I was selling men’s sandals, men’s shirts, and perfumes. But along the line, I found out that fashion is a multi-trillion-dollar empire. It cuts across. So, you have to decide which area you want to specialise in, especially because you need a lot of capital to do the fashion business. For you to be able to excel in the fashion business, you must have Quality capital to work with. For you to be able to do Quality clothing is not a joke. We are talking about dollars here, not naira. I feel anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. You must have the Capital. So, I decided, let me go into Clothing. Later I went into Maternity wear because it was an area that nobody was going into at that time. And I felt there was a vacuum in that line of Fashion. So, I delved into Maternity wear. So, in all, I do Maternity, Corporate, Casuals, and Ladies’ wear. Basically, I deal in Clothing generally, not footwear. I don’t do shoes. Now I do Clothing, bags, other accessories, and girdles. That is what I do for now.
You have 3 outlets. What do you do in each one?
Yes. I have 3 outlets and I make uniforms for companies like GLO. At our Allen Branch, is where we have our headquarters of Radek Fashions. We have 2 shops. One is Strictly for Pregnant Women. You can see our Mannequins outside and you can see the Signage. It is called Maternity Wears At Radek. If you come into that shop you will find that all we have there is for pregnant women, from Corporate to Casuals to Party wears, to dinner wears to Girdles to Jeans Trousers, to Corporate Trousers. We deal in Maternity Wears in that particular shop. In this shop, where we are seated we sell purely ladies’ wear, from dinner dresses, high and dresses, expensive ones, the middle class, the corporate, the casual, all sorts, skirt suits, trouser suits. That is what we sell in this shop. In all, we cater for women, from age 10 to 100. That is what we do here on Allen Avenue. At Alade Market, we have one big shop there, that caters for both pregnant and non-pregnant women. So, we sell both Maternity and non-maternity at Alade Market.
How have you found the changes in the economy? How have you found the fluctuations in the dollar rate?
Haaa! It’s been a big issue. That is one area where we have a lot of challenges. But God has always been my strength because if I want to look at the journey so far, in terms of the economy and the changes in government policy, and of course the exchange rates, I am sure today, nobody will be in the fashion business. Because to sell clothes now, you need a lot of money to excel in it. And the exchange rate is not helping matters.
Now, the dollar to naira is N614 to the dollar. It’s crazy, nobody wants to hear that. But that is exactly the way it is today. Getting money to do the business is another area to look at. By the time you add the interest on the loan, the rent for the shop, the overheads ooo. It is endless. In this shop, now, I pay like 5 Lagos State agencies. I pay Lagos State Tax. I pay Federal. I pay LASAA for my Signages, I pay Ikeja Local Government, I pay LAWMA. I pay 5 agencies on Allen Avenue, apart from my overheads, the expenses, the cost of running Generators, the Diesel I buy, the list is enormous. But in all, God has been my strength. I can’t complain because he has been my Rock, my Guide, my Shield. He has been there for me all the time. We thank God.
I want to thank our numerous customers. I want to pray for each and every one of our customers that the Lord will continue to meet them at the point of their needs. Some of them have even become investors. I dare not complain that I need Capital to do business, really. A lot of my customers always stand by me. I don’t need to tell them I need this, they will support me, they will invest in the business and get their interests. We are family. Some of my customers have even become my blood. In the course of doing this business, I have found favour before God and man. And I want to appreciate all Radek Customers, both home and abroad, who order from Canada, America, London, Ghana, and South Africa. They pay and we DHL it to them. We reach all the countries from here in Lagos. At times, I just wonder if Radek is the only shop. I know it is God. I appreciate all our customers. I pray that every one of them will continue to soar high in whatever business or endeavour they find themselves in. Thank you all Radek customers.
I also know you do uniforms for Globacom. How are you enjoying that line of business?
I am enjoying it. I make uniforms for Globacom. As of today, I make their Uniforms for them to wear from Monday to Friday. I started making Uniforms for Globacom in 2018 and up till now, there is no outlet you go to in Globacom if you check the label on their uniform you will see it’s Radek. So, we make uniforms for Glo. And it has been good all the way. I want to thank Glo for every opportunity I have been given to me. Thank you.
How do you juggle all your roles?
It’s not easy. I am a wife, mother, sister, friend, and entrepreneur. It is only God that gives strength because at times, I don’t know where I get the strength from. One thing I know is that if you have a good heart. If you are good at what you do, it won’t be stressful for you. So, I know how to balance my activities. I am not a superwoman. I tell people there is no superwoman anywhere. I get tired as well. But one thing I do is if I need to delegate duties, I do. When I want to do things myself I do it. Like in a few days’ time, I am going to be out of the country again. I am going to be on my feet for complete 10 days. I am going to 2 countries in just 10 days. But what I do is when I get to the hotel I shut down. Everybody all over the world knows that once it is 10 pm you can’t get me on the phone. I mute my phone and I sleep. Once I wake up in the morning I am on my feet again. I am a workaholic. Nobody can take that away from me. God has been my strength in all. And I appreciate what I do and I find fulfilment in the Clothing business. It has been a career for me. I don’t think about the money again, because the money will always come, but I have found fulfilment. When customers come in and they buy, and they leave with smiles on their faces, that is what gives me fulfilment. So, I have found fulfilment in the clothing business, and I return all glory to God.
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