We strive to enhance affordable housing – Royal ceramics boss

The General Manager of West African Ceramics Ltd, foremost manufacturer of the ROYAL brand of tiles, grouts and tile adhesives, Mr. Bhaskar Rao, has stated that the idea behind opening of ultra-modern showrooms across the country known as Royal Exclusive Showroom stocked with the company’s range of products is basically to support affordable housing in Nigeria.

Rao disclosed this at the inauguration of two additional ultra modern exclusive tile showrooms to the network of Royal Exclusive Showrooms in Aba and PortHarCourt recently.

The launch of the showrooms in Port Harcourt and Aba marks respectively the 10th and the 11th showrooms in a roll since the company rolled out the Royal Exclusive Showroom initiative, a strategic manufacturer-dealer partnership framework that has seen the setting up of several showrooms in major commercial cities across the country which includes Kano, Nassarawa, Jos, Osogbo, Enugu, Lagos, Abuja and most recently Port Harcourt and Aba.

According to the General Manager, in Port Harcourt, the company partnered with Marchambers Int’l Co. Ltd., a major building material dealership located along the stretch of East-West Road in Rumuigbo while S. Nnadi Commercial Ent. Nig. Ltd., courted with the company to set up the showroom along Faulks Road in Aba, Abia state.

He revealed that the partnership which aims to support government’s efforts in reviving the manufacturing sector and encourage patronage of locally produced goods, would afford builders, project owners and other professional stakeholders in the housing sector the opportunity to reduce risk, lower the cost of projects and enjoy a one-stop shop experience of tile applications through the showrooms which also serve as experience centres beyond sales outlets.

“The Royal Exclusive Showroom initiative is a response to support government’s efforts in resuscitating local production through effective distribution network to ensure that products are available at the right time, right place, and at the right price.

“It also ensures the delivery of the products in a way that encourages the consumer to cultivate and sustain the ‘Buy Nigeria’ behaviour because they do not just buy the products but the collective experiences of product quality, affordability, reliability, product knowledge and application as well as unmatched customer services, and all the functional attributes of the product”, the GM said.

Speaking further, Rao said that the mega showrooms are designed to enlighten customers about the applications of various designs and types of tiles in a building project and to create an unprecedented shopping experience for customers as obtainable overseas. He added that the showroom is an initiative to strengthen dealer relations and channel management in a way that consumers would experience tile shopping different from the norm but obtainable in developed societies.

Corroborating Rao’s position, the CEO of Marchambers Int’l Co. Ltd., Mr. Ohazulumeh Chamberlain posited that the key focus of the current administration which is to grow the real sector and revive the community of local manufacturers can only be achieved when dealers in the value chain support this drive by pushing locally produced goods and services especially when the quality surpasses imported products.

“The 17 million housing deficit however unverified, holds water and requires the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders in the industry to make affordable housing available and cost-effective. Partnering with Royal, a household name with a formidable mark of quality which surpasses many imported products and brands is a step towards the support of affordable housing provision.

“With Royal, we have tiles and accessories designed and manufactured for the needs of affordable housing. This partnership is well thought out and indeed would position us to fill the gap that may be created by the forex situation deterring importation of several goods and expected rising demand for local building materials particularly in tiles and sanitary wares categories.”

Chamberlain said. In the same vein, CEO of S. Nnadi Commercial Ent. Nig. Ltd., Prince Sunny Nnadi urged the public to support the ‘Buy Nigeria’ campaign. He called on architects, builders, estate developers, project owners and everyone to visit the Royal Exclusive Showroom to experience the various tile applications.

He said that the showroom is equipped with application set up such as bathroom set up, living room set up; kitchen set up and office space set up and a trained customer relationship Manager armed with vast knowledge on tiles to educate and incisively advise customers on types of tiles and designs suitable for applications in their building projects.

Credit: Vanguard News