Africa in the lap of luxury

The title of this post - "Africa in the lap of luxury" intertwines contradictions. For centuries the image of Africa has been disease and starvation.

In February this year my eyes were locked by the title of this magazine.

Prestige magazine

It read 'Africa _The Next Luxury Frontier'... I remember being annoyed to the point that I didn't pick it up to read it however I took a pic of it and tweeted "This reminds me of Capitalist Nigger - consumerism vs producer-ism *sigh*". In hindsight my reaction was pure naivety, it was an opportunity for me to delve into the writer's content and learn something new about Africa's consumer trends. Perhaps the bellowing irony was that I was at a hotel that charges a minimum rate of $390 (ZAR3900) per night (which is a monthly wage for some in Africa).

Since February a lot has happened, I've met many Africans who are vivre dans le luxe - living in the lap of luxury. Some have worked hard to afford such, some not. If there is one important tool that inspired this post, the credit has to go to Instagram. Although one has been exposed to this bourgeoisie market, following some of Africa's entertainment and business darlings on Instagram propelled my inquisitiveness about the consumption culture of luxury brands in our continent.

In July South Africa's media entrepreneur Khanyi Dhlomo was swept into controversy as her company was funded $3,39 million (ZAR34 million) by the NEF for a luxury boutique called Luminance. NEF is an acronym for National Empowerment Fund, a government agency in South Africa. When I first saw the news I swiftly took out my modern weapon and tweeted 'WTF??? #KhanyiDhlomo no ways!!!'. I was absolutely shocked that Khanyi would be embroiled in government corruption or benefit from it at the expense of other citizens who are trying to get their businesses off the ground and are not well connected as her.

One wondered why she didn't get funding from private entities than request funds from a government organ in a country where the manufacturing sector has been crippled due to retailers like Luminance, the importers. The NEF was already making headlines for heading towards bankruptcy and requiring recapitalization from the state, from tax payers.

Khanyi at the Luminance launch

Luminance store

Guests at the launch

You see...If I had taken the time to read that Prestige magazine article it might have given me some insights of this growing 'luxury living' market...a market that's quite legit, not based on individuals who have made their riches from blood diamonds or 419 scams but business owners, executives, educated and informed professionals who covet luxurious brands. It's simply business. There is a demand, you supply.

The Rupert's of this world (owners of Cartier, Montblanc, Dunhill, Baume & Mercier, etc) have dominated this market with absolutely no major black business contenders in South Africa after 19 years of the current political dispensation. We have to acknowledge that it's not cheap to enter this luxury market, it's capital intensive so if the NEF did not come on-board to loan Khanyi the millions required, the industry would remain exclusive to the white elite (no transformation or inclusion).

When I discovered that one of my favourite boutiques in Cape Town, Merchants On Long is owned by Rupert's daughter, Hanneli Rupert I thought how lucky she was. She comes from one of the most wealthiest families in the world (tick the financier box), surrounded by vast business experts (tick the business consultation box) and most importantly, access to retail expertise in the luxury market.

During an interview with Mail & Guardian (2 Aug. '13) Khanyi Dhlomo was asked if she had any regrets amid the NEF debacle and the public outcry on the matter, she said "Absolutely not. I think we need to open up our notion and expectation about what are the opportunities for business for black people in this country. It isn't just building roads in rural areas or building an RDP house in areas that don't have housing. That is important and we must continue to do that but we can't all participate in only that aspect of the economy. We've got to start going into places that are for markets outside of our own that are in unexpected places and be agents of transformation, empowerment and economic inclusiveness everywhere.
Just because you're not doing the expected thing doesn't mean you're doing the wrong thing."

I have the utmost respect for Khanyi and/or Ndalo Luxury Ventures for opting to start this business from scratch and not shopping around for an established business who's asking price has been escalated because the owners want to invest and retire in Europe. A scenario we see too often with farms bought by South Africa's government at ballooned prices to redistribute to the very people it was forcefully taken from.

All Khanyi did was to efficiently use the tools available to her and ticked all the boxes - it was purely business.

Khanyi & Carolina Herrera de Baez outside Luminance

Khanyi's busines partner - Dr Judy Dlamini & hubby Sizwe Nxasana

Luminance is in Hyde Park - Shop 45, Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg

...On a lighter note...

Shout out to Temple Muse in Nigeria who wasted no time and catered for this market - offering local and international luxury products since 2008.

Temple Muse store

Temple Muse can be found at No 21 Amodu Tijani VI, Lagos.

In the words of the poised and beautiful Khanyi Dhlomo..."I'm beginning to realise the more information people get, the more they understand". (Mail & Guardian, 2 Aug. '13)


Sources: Mail & Guardian. Khanyi Dhlomo: More heat than luminance (2 Aug. '13 by Verashni Pillay); African Business. Luxury Brands - Destination Africa (October '13); www.luminceonline.com; www.nefcorp.co.za

Images: Luminance & Temple Muse facebook pages