Testimony of Olivier Fages, Pernod-Ricard in Nigeria

Pernod-Ricard entered Nigeria in December 2012, at the same time as Angola and Kenya. For several years now, Nigeria has been emerging as the region's most promising market, thanks to its strong economy and demographics. A new generation of affluent consumers is emerging. A young, educated, urbanised and connected population with a real appetite for consumption because it is a means of recognising their success. Hence a clear preference for strong brands, those that allow them to anchor themselves emotionally and culturally in the 'global' world.

For us, but also for other sectors such as entertainment and telecommunications, there are real opportunities to be seized. Especially as there are currently only around twenty French companies operating in Nigeria, three times fewer than the British and four times fewer than the Chinese. But obviously, insecurity generates much higher operating costs than in other emerging or more established countries.

The mistake not to make is to standardise Africa as a monolithic cultural entity and to consider a single 'African consumer'. Given the cultural disparities that can exist within a single country, we need to adopt a city-by-city strategy rather than one for an entire country. In Nigeria, Lagos deserves particular attention.