Meet Charlotte Obidairo of Pandora, BoConcept & more

Charlotte Obidairo is warm, amongst other things. Not forgetting she is who I want to be when I grow up.

Charlotte Obidairo is a franchisee for Pandora an international bestselling jewelry brand amongst other hats she wears. I can’t remember exactly how I met Mrs Obidairo but she is one of the most interesting and inspiring people I have met till date. Ah, I remember, It was via LinkedIn. I probably would be working directly with her right now but then I may not have had the chance to write this story that I’d have given anything to be able to tell. Charlotte Obidairo is who I want to be in a few years, I call her one of my role models, see I have a couple – amazing women and men who are making moves.

I was a bit nervous asking Mrs. Obidairo to do this cover interview – styling, makeup and all because I know she’s a very private person – I wanted her to be the first actually, before I woke up one morning and decided on the Ooni Of Ife, if you missed the interview, read it here. 

Charlotte Obidairo was worth the wait, in fact in her words “…I am very honoured and humbled by the invitation and of course, I cannot say no to you ….ever ;-)”. She has no idea how that has inspired me till date and though this took forever because ask me about trying to make things work around here and I’ll tell you stories of how hard things can get but then here we go.

On deciding to move to Nigeria

Charlotte: Coming back to Nigeria was very much driven by a passion for developing Nigeria. I come here and see so many opportunities, outsiders are genuinely scared about Nigeria but I really wanted to bring businesses that are relevant to Nigeria.

Then Agriculture…

Charlotte: Bringing agricultural expertise to this country, that’s really where it started. We looked at fishery and farming. We looked at a lot of things because that is the space I really wanted to play in when my husband and I came back to Nigeria. So, we looked at that and we advised a lot of companies but when push came to shove and money needed to be invested, they gave excuses. Today, “our anti-corruption says this is not possible”, or “our chief account adviser blah the blah suggests that you shouldn’t be doing blah the blah” … in short there was a lot of “no, we don’t really want”.

So, that realisation sunk in, if I need to get anything done, if we want to get these things to happen, we need to get the money ourselves and just keep going. That’s very much in my attitude. I try to convince people, but once that fails, I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves and getting to work myself. 

BoConcept

Charlotte: The opportunity came with BoConcept first, they had been looking for a little while to dabble in Africa and I thought, I grew up with this furniture, it’s a huge design furniture company from my country. I love good and functional designs, I like things that have multiple purposes and roll away easily. That’s one of the things we had issues with when we came to Nigeria, I started looking for furniture. As much as people produce here and bless them for doing it, I really think that it’s hard to do comfortable furniture and this is an issue. You can’t put up a production facility here. It’s very hard, there are no logistics for transporting furniture, those are the realities of businesses here, it’s very hard.

We said we were going to give ourselves 5-10 years to see if we can. My dream has always been to produce here. That is my ultimate goal but to think, to learn from the best, to do the best and implement the best practices is really what I want to do. So we started with this and now we have two stores and both of them have just moved into bigger locations, it’s going well, people appreciate it.

We have this ‘Art Meets Design’ commitment where we invite young artists to come and display with our furniture, we have young architects, we also sponsor, those that are upcoming by using our spaces to work so they can get experience. We organise workshops for them as well, they would come in and listen to our designers. I feel part of my obligation/part of my being is to ensure that we share all the good things that we have instead of keeping them all to ourselves.

& Then Pandora 

Charlotte: So, I barely had signed the dotted lines on BoConcept and I thought this is what I’m going to be focusing on from now then Pandora came to me. They had been looking for somebody in Nigeria for four years and it was heartbreaking that they hadn’t had the greatest experiences. Even though I was worried about taking that on at the same time, I also felt like I could show them it was possible. It was like a task for me to push it because I could not be allowed to give up on Nigeria, such a big market. Just because they had had some bad experiences.

So even though I was very nervous about it and about the money coming out of my own pocket, I also didn’t know much about jewellery anyway but a part of me felt like I can’t let Nigeria down because this is what everybody in the consultancy business has been telling me. “Oh it’s too difficult it’s so this, it’s so that”. And it is difficult, and it is hard and it is every day. You know how it is…

If you’re coming from a developed country in the Western World, it’s hard to see what is beyond and I think there is so much to Nigeria than what is always portrayed in the media. So I took that one and obviously pretty quickly. I went to all the places, it was a learning experience as well, especially for me. I’m a lawyer, I didn’t know very much about jewellery. So that was quite funny, but you learn and surround yourself with good people.

Grooming The Pandora Team

Charlotte: Nearly all of the senior management had risen from the bottom, I’m the only white person in BoConcept and Pandora. Not only that, all the senior managers are girls that have gone from being sales executives all the way up to top senior management position, training them, sending them to South Africa, Dubai, getting them the exposure to Denmark to see how do they do things there and bringing the experience back to train their peers and the other ones. We just started in Ghana and we are opening our second store.

I need to have a two-year anniversary, celebrating everything. I love my girls, I mean, it’s family. I really enjoy working with them. I like being personal, I like going around and hearing what their experiences are and they all love their job.

So I was asking someone, we had some interviews yesterday, she was applying for a management position and I asked why do you want to work here? She said many things and then she added: “as long as you pay our salary and we never have to wait for our salary”. And I said to myself, you work in a month and you’re grateful that somebody actually pays your salary? Something you are entitled to? I don’t understand it.

I don’t think it is right. It’s so wrong. Why would I be passionate about a job if it doesn’t pay me? Especially if you’re a young person, where you can only hope that they’ll pay you and you don’t have the experience to feel confident/you don’t have the confidence to get another job or you feel maybe this is how it’s done. If that’s your first job how are you supposed to know what you’re entitled to? It was very endearing of course but it was also a little heartbreaking that that’s one of the reasons why you appreciate being here at Pandora because you get your salary on time.

Big Chops Food Truck

Charlotte: As I mentioned to you, for the Food Trucks, I’ve always wanted to do something in food. Why? Because lots of food are wasted here, everybody needs to eat at least twice a day. I think we have so much land that we can grow things on and in the food business you can employ a lot of people – that is another thing that is a centre for what I do, it needs to be scalable… all our businesses, unless they are scalable unless they can grow, I don’t want to be sitting in one store and be happy. I feel if you do business, you need to have the ambition to grow and you should never be satisfied. You should always try to push yourself, and obviously, have an impact on the economy. 

For me, it’s important that it provides income generation for more people. So food was coming back, that was where I felt like – I wouldn’t say an advantage but it’s was something that I wanted to do and growing up in a big agricultural country it’s something I felt was important.

We looked outside Lagos. We did them all. So we said we would do something that relates to where we can build relations with farmers and crop growers and build their capacity to meet the needs and then the food truck idea came up. As a matter of fact, it was kinda like my own people needed to eat as well and there’s nothing, they’re sitting here (in the office) and there was nothing around. They had to trek to get things and in any other part of the world food truck is a valid business. It’s big business but there’s also proximity to people and then trying to build community relations so we are not alienating the boys selling water. It’s important for me we don’t kill their business so we are an asset. What I want is to give good quality food at affordable prices in proximity where people work. We know at least one meal a day is taken on the road if not two. And this is the audience we needed to reach. 

So we did lots of research into who they were and how much they can afford/willing to pay. One of the common concerns especially for women is food safety. The general hygiene/how it’s prepared, that it was not cooked out of a bucket by the roadside, that became very key for us, so we worked our way back just to find what could work. We ended up with a lot of Indomie because that’s for Nigerians. It’s fast and it’s easy to make but also mixing it with some vegetables and other things so we can create a relatively nutritious meal as opposed to just something. It took shape in the middle of 2017 when we started with five trucks. We had like five trucks for all of last year so we got another seven and another 15. So now I think we have about 50. They are not all deployed, we are looking at mainland now where we’d deploy the other half. I just ordered another 30 so hopefully, we’d have 150 by the end of the year. And it doesn’t come without a challenge. We need it to break some experience because that’s clearly why it is. I find it hugely exhilarating, again it’s from the women perspective.

Empowering women

It’s empowering for women, giving them a job in a formal environment where they’re safe and they can do things that they’re really good at and they are honest and understand the importance of being friendly with teachings in customer service and hygiene. Some are taking the opportunity to add on everything we have going on and benefit from that infrastructure. So I’m very excited about it. What we are looking out for next is what other things can we add on. Can this place be where you do cell phone calls? The infrastructure that would be in place would be used to do central community service if you will. But it’s fun, I love it!

Wait! There’s YEDI -Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative

Charlotte: YEDI is driven by wanting to do things and when I see opportunities I have a tendency of trying to pursue them. A lot of things that I do are inspired by work experiences, jobs I’ve been in, seeing things that aren’t working well and things I want to do differently or things that need to be done. I’m very much driven by passion. I’m driven by things that need to be done.

My NGO arrived here in Nigeria before we came back to Nigeria about 6-7 years ago. I was in South Africa with the consultancy where we were doing health-related activities because of the HIV epidemic in South Africa. I did a lot of work with the World Health Organisation. There, I came across this grassroots soccer which uses football to mobilise young people to come in and learn about football, yes, but mainly about the reproductive health, and how they prevent HIV/AIDS. I was invited to one of their camps with the youth and I was just so enthusiastic and I asked myself why in a country like Nigeria every time I visit, I see every space filled with kids playing football and we don’t use that football energy enthusiasm for anything so I thought let us adopt that here even before we came back.

We started the NGO because that is something I’m very passionate about for Nigeria. I feel we need not let this generation slide and for those reasons, I feel every business – because I am a businesswoman first and foremost – have some kind of CSR commitment to the next generation. It’s a very integral part of my philosophy as a business owner and an entrepreneur. I also need to give back to the community. So it can go through an NGO, many people give things away but I decided that I want to make sure that it was done this way and has an impact.

There’s Pandora West Africa, BoConcept, Big Chops, the NGO, YEDI. They are not even similar in any way, so how do you manage these businesses? How do you assume each role without conflict because you have everything well put together? How do you make sure not to arrrgh have everything all screwed up? *Pardon my French

Charlotte: (Laughs) I think I’m super organised so I literally have a list for to-do for every company, I check in with them every day so I know what I need to do. Because I’m very organised, I require all my top people to be very organised. You have to put things in place or invest in putting in place a structure. The truth is if you’re really organised, there are processes – and I think that’s another thing I’ve noticed here, there’s not a lot of structure in companies, yes a lot of hierarchical structure. 

What I mean is, this is what you do every day, every month and this is what you do every six months. Once you’ve put out a direction, most people can actually follow it. So, I think structure and organisation really help businesses and that’s why you can keep adding on and to be truthful, running a successful business one time, the infrastructure you need to put in place to make one business successful is the exact same whether it’s an NGO, a hospital or a  jewellery store. The backbone of a business is the same. Find the right people. Keep the right people and treat them well. Invest in their training and the tools they need to do their job.

How has the reception been because I’m actually shocked to hear that this business is just four years old. It looks like you’ve been around for a while. What is owning a business in Nigeria like?

Charlotte: We are still around and growing so reception is obviously better than I thought. But the truth is Nigerians appreciate nice things and this applies to Pandora as well, we appreciate quality, we appreciate nice things and I think that has very much to do with if you can offer that, then you have an audience. It has very much to do with doing a good job and finding the right things. And some people come in here and say this is not for me. And it’s not for everybody, it is contemporary furniture so it’s not for everybody. And, I’m not trying to cater to everybody but I’m trying to give an option to those that appreciate it. And it’s relatively affordable, it’s at the high-end and as I said I always have other ideas with it and what it can lead to. In any of the businesses, there are always other things you can do like promoting Nigerian artists, another passion of mine. Which is why we are creating the art shows once a year. I guess that’s why it’s also great. I don’t feel like I’m working, I feel like I’m doing all my interests every single day. I get to see passion and joy and looking at great furniture or meeting great people. They are fuelling my own satisfaction for feeling.

What do you love most about being in Nigeria

Charlotte: People! I love the people. I guess I wouldn’t have married a Nigerian if I didn’t love the people, I mean I absolutely do.

What’s your typical day like? 

Charlotte: I don’t have a typical day. But I start my day between 6am/7am and I usually try to close before 11 pm. I used to go way into the night but I need my sleep. I need to rest and my brain needs to rest. So I’d start my day around 6/7, I’d close ideally around 11 and I’d probably work throughout. So, I just get up in the morning, get my coffee and start with my emails to see if anything needs some tending. I spend a lot of time on my computer and my phone because a lot of what I do is the backend of things. I actually don’t like the limelight. It’s not my person. I like putting the people in front and they enjoy it. But also, I do think it helps them to gain confidence. But when you’re representing a company you can’t always or shouldn’t be in everywhere. So I check emails when I get up in the morning. I go to the office, any of the offices and that’s usually the challenge because there’s an office in Gbagada, we have this office here, we have an office in Abuja.

I think organising myself so I can be in the places I’m needed and then would pride in visiting the Pandora stores as much as I can. I feel as a business owner if you’re not in touch with what’s happening – I sit here and this is deliberate. When we started other colleagues said, “no you can’t sit in the store you need to sit in an office”. I don’t want to sit in an office on the side and be the headquarters. I wanted to sit here because here they can reach me when they need me. But also I see a customer and I follow them around see what they talk about, oh somebody wants to meet me and I’m here to be met and I don’t feel top management should be hidden. I’m very much an I-need-to-see-what’s-happening person. If somebody says my chairs are ugly or they broke when he bought them I want to know. Same for Pandora or even more so with Pandora where it’s actually more fun because there I can actually pretend to be a customer (and boy did we have fun doing this for the shoot!), somebody who is just browsing and I’m listening to what is going on and that is very inspiring. And I think the girls appreciate being appreciated and maybe we can’t give them huge salaries yet but you being there, I’ve learned means a lot to them that I just stop by and see how’s it going, I listen to them and I try to spend time on the road as well.

What’s one thing you’ve done over the years that has helped you and your businesses?

Charlotte: There are so many examples. In this country, the lesson I have learnt is always to check with others. Never make a unilateral decision, inform yourself because there are so many nuances to this economy and culture. Just the culture, we are making sure there is a bi-balance of the tribes in our stores because people are already alienated by not meeting somebody or feeling you’re only Yoruba or whatever. I don’t understand because that doesn’t happen where I come from. These are things I did not understand. Warming the milk in the hotel, I was like why do we have warm milk because we drink cold milk. And I was served in Abuja at the hotel and I asked ‘why is there warm milk in this place, it’s always warm, I don’t like warm milk, why would you pour that on your cereal’ and he says ‘Madam, this is a Hausa hotel and most of our businessmen have the milk straight from the cows coming in to be served’. And it made perfect sense of course, so instead of me trying to ‘oh there’s a cold chain here, the milk needs to be cold’, but there’s really no demand for cold milk but there is a demand for warm milk in this setting, so I think that’s one thing I’ve learnt here, to check with the environment. And usually it’s my husband ..he is good with “Have you thought about this?”

You’re a mum…

Charlotte: I have two children. One of them is volunteering, she’s in Haiti for three weeks, I feel it’s important she learns about her heritage. She trains the youth down there.

You do not look anything like you have a teenager

Charlotte: (laughs) Thank you.

As as a woman who wants to be like you when I grow up. Who wants to build a viable business, make an impact, help communities and create opportunities. What advice would you give to me?

Charlotte: It sounds like a Nike ad – just do it. But I think that the fears are most times our main opponent. There’s a fear of jumping out the fear, of not having a safety net. Fear is really your strongest opponent in living your dreams. Start small and get bolder. I just believe that if you really believed in something you will succeed. If you have doubts, you probably shouldn’t do it. But if it’s something you really feel about, you will succeed. I’ve never met anybody in business that failed because they were passionate. If you’re passionate about something, you will succeed. And this maybe the thing, I tend to be passionate about a lot of things which is why I may be able to juggle more but your passion doesn’t have to be four or six or eight different things. Maybe it is just one or two. Those are the things you have focused on and because you are passionate about it, you will invest in the late nights, invest the time, you will find the money that you need to do it. You will recruit the right people because you know that this is the type of people you need. Winning is always a good feeling. If you really feel in your gut that this is right, you will succeed.

What do you do for fun?

Charlotte: I read, I try to spend time with my girls. Family time. This is a little unusual. Most people are usually like oh we are going on vacation, they’d go out, we like to get together. The girls are in boarding school in the UK, both of them now, we like to cook, bake, have fun, watch TV, movies, just being a family, sit and read a book. We spend a lot of time where we discuss a lot. I really love my family. I find peace with my family. Watching my children do sports or going to do mummy things, I like that very much.

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She was the dream muse!

Credits:

Photography: Chinedu Adiele @nedu_adiele

Makeup: Moni Ogunlana @rarevuemakeup

Styling: Tope Adegbite @style_by_ajoke

Creative Direction: Olamide Olarewaju @elemdeeo

Outfits:

Idma-Nof @idmanof

(Available at Temple Muse 21, Amodu Tijani Close, V.I Lagos)

Joketaade @joketaade

(Available at Grey Velvet Stores in Circle Mall & Lekki Lagos)