Bubbly and baubles for the wealthy

IN Lagos’s fanciest shopping centre, The Palms, it does not take long to find the champagne.

It is on sale in Shoprite next to the entrance, so you do not have to walk far or look hard — pretty much like the cigarette counters in South African supermarkets.

It is not the cheap stuff either: Moët et Chandon costs 11 299.99 Nigerian naira (about R732) and is a big seller, one of the top brands quenching the aspirational thirst of wealthier Nigerians.

Nigeria has the fastest-growing rate of champagne consumption in the world, second only to France and ahead of Brazil and China. And only the best will do: Cristal, Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot or Moët.

Nigeria has become Africa’s biggest market for private aircraft, leapfrogging South Africa and far ahead of third-placed Angola. It has one of two Porsche outlets in Africa (South Africa has the other).

It is no surprise that Shoprite, Game and other companies have opened shop in Nigeria. McKinsey Consultants recently estimated there was a $40-billion (about R427-billion) growth opportunity in food and consumer goods in Nigeria from 2008 to 2020.

Some South African companies such as Shoprite and MTN have first-mover advantage, but others have botched their entry in Nigeria. Vodacom, Nando’s and Woolworths have all shut their Nigeria operations, and Tiger Brands recently had to write down almost half the value of its R1.5-billion investment in the Dangote flour mill, bought only months earlier, after badly misreading the market.

Nicholas Kühne, MD of marketing company Wunderbrand, said affluent Nigerians were well educated and often studied at universities such as Harvard and Stanford.

“Everyone thinks they can be a millionaire in Lagos,” he said. “They’re always hustling, they always think tomorrow’s going to be my day . . . in Lagos it’s luck, Jesus and sheer hard bloody work. They never stop.”