Lucky Fibres Nig Ltd

[blanka]

They are the makers of the popular nobel carpets and rugs...planning an IPO and/or a pp for 3rd quater 2008...saw the info in smartproinvesting.com

[tonidol]

Originally Posted by blanka

They are the makers of the popular nobel carpets and rugs...planning an IPO and/or a pp for 3rd quater 2008...saw the info in smartproinvesting.com

Thanks for the information. Do you have the web address for the Coy?

[ovuthethird]

www.nobelafrica,com. they use the website of their main product, Nobel carpets. The Offer might be handled by GT BAnk and Bank Phb, their major financiers over the past years. I hear the documents are already with the NSE, they intend to file with SEC soon.

[tonidol]

Originally Posted by ovuthethird

www.nobelafrica,com. they use the website of their main product, Nobel carpets. The Offer might be handled by GT BAnk and Bank Phb, their major financiers over the past years. I hear the documents are already with the NSE, they intend to file with SEC soon.

Is it an IPO since you said their papers are with SEC already? Please clarify.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by tonidol

Is it an IPO since you said their papers are with SEC already? Please clarify.

According to Newspaper report, it's an IPO

[tonidol]

Originally Posted by Apache

According to Newspaper report, it's an IPO

Thanks Apache. Are we in the right thread to discuss a forthcoming IPO?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by tonidol

Thanks Apache. Are we in the right thread to discuss a forthcoming IPO?

We can continue the discussion here. When they come out with the Offer (Then it is confirmed that it's a PO), I will move the thread out of the PP section.
Hope that's okay

[tonidol]

Anyone with an update on the planned offer by Lucky Fibres? Not seen any publication apart from that revealed by smartproinvesting.com

Guys pls dig further!!!

[solainvest]

The Punch: Lucky Fibres repositions, targets West African market

[Pharoah]

Hey guys, what's the latest on Lucky Fibre Private Placement. I heard it's on. Who's the Issuing House?

[eazikoncepts]

There seems to be no clear cut information on the proposed offer of this coy.
Can somebody in the house give us details of the proposed PP offer of this coy.I'm interested in investing in this coy.

[solainvest]

The Punch: ‘Carpet dealers are frustrated’




Otunba Abdullahi Sofowora is the National President, Nigerian Carpet Dealers Association. In this interview with RASHEED BISIRIYU, he takes a look at the association since inception in 1991, its current face-off with carpet manufacturers and efforts at charting a way forward.

Skip to next paragraph

Rasheed Bisiriyu
Otunba Abdullahi Sofowora

Would you say your association has lived up to the objectives for which it was set up in 1991?

Yes, the association was formed to protect the interest of the carpet dealers. My leadership is working hard to actualise this objective, especially now that many members are crying. Some are dying, some have even died, while some are grappling with terrible ailments all because we have not been united enough to protect our interest. Some have gone to the bank to take facilities, which they are unable to pay back, and some of them are in court with their bankers. Our members are frustrated, but my leadership is trying to salvage the situation and inject a new life into the business again, to deal with the frustrations.

What is the source of their frustrations?

It is the sad development in the manufacturing sector. We are being treated like slaves by carpet manufacturers. They don’t see us as investors; they believe they can just tell us go and we go. They use divide and rule tactics so that we are unable to speak with one voice. Rather than deal with us collectively as a body to further our interest, they would approach some individual members, gratify them and subvert the collective interest of the dealers.

What should be the ideal relationship between the dealers and the manufacturers?

It should not be a master-servant relationship. We should be business partners, because as they are investing, we are also investing. It should be a relationship where we do things together, we promote their names and image, and then we sell for them and make our own returns like it used to be before a certain manufacturing company took over and began to turn things upside down.

Which manufacturer?

I don’t want to mention names.

What was the situation before the coming of the said manufacturer?

I have been in this business for 33 years. In the past, before the manufacturers introduced any carpet, they would seek our opinion. When they produced the carpet, they brought them to us, because we were the ones dealing with the public. We would have a look at the carpets, give them to our customers to get their reactions before the manufacturers would produce them massively. By the time the carpets were produced, we could sell them easily. Then, we could at the end of the day make expected profit.

Obviously, you once had a mutually beneficial relationship with the manufacturers.

Yes, that’s exactly what we are asking for now

How did this good relationship go sour?

The problem started because somebody somewhere had a hidden plan to take over or to monopolise carpet business in the country. Like I said earlier, they put in place a mechanism that destroyed more than 19 Nigerian carpet manufacturers. Now they have killed more than 1,000 Nigerian carpet dealers. They want to take over both the manufacturing and distribution of carpets in the country. This is where we said no, it is not possible. If you want to remain a carpet manufacturer, remain a carpet manufacturer and remain in your warehouse and the factory. We will do the selling and the contracting. You don’t have to come out and start contracting, laying and selling carpets.

You alleged that the coming of one particular company killed some Nigerian companies. Can you substantiate this claim?

Yes. Out of the 23 manufacturing companies, only two are surviving. The company in question came to Nigeria as a carpet yarn manufacturer. It was to produce only yarn. But instead of concentrating on the production of yarn, it went into the production of finished carpets, thereby competing with the other carpet manufacturers who do not have a spinning factory. They went to the Federal Government to claim that they were capable of supplying all the needed yarn to the carpet industries in the country. They asked government to ban the importation of yarn. With that, Nigerian manufacturers cannot get raw materials, except from their competitor who could frustrate them. Some of them died untimely.

You also alleged that the same company is behind the current travails of the dealers?

Yes, the company has set up contract departments, which are now doing the work of the dealers by selling directly to the final users. They operate right from the factory. They trained their own layers too. So, they sell and lay the carpet for you. This is our business; it’s not a manufacturer’s business. So, they have taken over all the business and we are now left with little or nothing. The company has opened sales outlets in Lagos and Abuja.

How are you addressing the situation?

We wrote to the management of the company that we want to meet with them. We hope to reach a solution through dialogue.

And if dialogue fails?

We will stop patronising them. We will stop buying from them until they call us for a meeting and agree to all our conditions and save our business from total collapse. We are Nigerians and we have no other place to go. I cannot go to India or Indonesia to start selling carpets; the law there may not allow me. If it does, there would be a limit to which I can go. But we want to remain in this country. If they refuse, we will tell the public and the government their ugly side and their diabolical activities. That will make the government listen to us and lift the ban on importation of carpets.

Has the company responded to your letter?

Yes. They visited the association. Initially, they adopted divide and rule. They went to individual dealers to win them over to their side. But when they realised that it did not work, they came to us and we are now talking.

Beyond the fears of losing your job, what else do you find wrong with the monopoly of the foreign company?

It is not good for the country. Whether you like it or not, you have to buy from them except you don’t want to use carpets. The government should protect Nigerians. Nigerians are affected, because in the past, we had 23 industries to choose products from. Now we are all dealing with one or two industries. So, when you go to the market in Lagos, you find same products from the same brand, with same colour and price. Go to the East, it is the same thing. Nigerians no longer have a choice, unlike in the past when you bought a curtain and looked for a matching carpet to go with it.

Have you approached the relevant government agencies on this matter?

No, we don’t want to do that for now. Let us wait and see if they are ready to talk with us and correct the wrongs.

[hispy99]

Lucky Fibres unveils N1.6b factory

IN order to ensure the production of world class carpets in Nigeria, Lucky Fibres Plc has already commenced production at its N1.6 billion state-of-the-art printed carpet factory in Ikorodu, Lagos State, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who commissioned the factory, commended the management and staff of Lucky Fibres Plc for positive contribution towards the development of the Nigerian economy.

Fashola said the government would continue to engage in rewarding partnership with private sector operatives like Lucky Fibres to drive entrepreneurship and to fight poverty. He extolled the dexterity of the Aswanis, owners of the company, which has propelled the company and placed it among the top 50 most profitable carpet manufacturing companies in the world.

"If a company that does not have regular power supply can be among the top 50 most profitable carpet companies in the world, what will happen if it now has uninterrupted power supply? It means it can be among the top 10," he added.

The governor stressed that Lagos State and Nigeria will continue to offer business return of between 15 per cent and 30 per cent to investors because "the market is here, the profitability is real and the transparency of the economy is there... there is a huge market that is under provided for in every term, whether it be housing, luxury goods, furniture and household equipment."

In his welcome address, Mr. Haresh Aswani, managing director, Lucky Fibres Plc said the company has indeed come of age since it was incorporated in 1986. It, however, started manufacturing activities in 1990 as a producer of raw materials for carpets manufacturing in Nigeria that is yarn, and gradually evolved as a dominant player in the carpet industry in Nigeria.

Aswani said "the company is presently engaged in manufacturing of bulk continuous filament yarn (Pp yarn) and tufted carpet," which has become the toast of consumers.

He noted that the company's biggest strength lies in its state-of-the-art technology, which earned her the first textile manufacturer in Nigeria to get ISO 9001:1994 accreditation from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) an to win the Best Kept Industrial Premises Competition back to back by the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN).

The commissioning of the new N1.6 billion facility marked a turning point in carpet manufacturing in the country. Prior to this, the company was utilising the tufting technology to churn out carpets to meet domestic requirements. The tufting technology has its limitations in terms of number of colours and designs, the designs being offered consumers were only geometric designs.

With this development the company now produces world class printed carpets and rugs called D'Ziner Collection.

Those present at the commissioning ceremony include Chief Alex Akinyele, former minister of Information, Dr. Jide Mike, DG, MAN, Oba Oyefusi, the Ayogbure of Ikorodu and a host of other guests.