By Elizabeth Osayande

As an undergraduate at the University of Lagos, UNILAG having experienced frustrations in getting quality fashion products in major Nigerian markets, Olawale Ismail is revolutionising the fashion industry through the launch of Dexstitches Fashion Hub,  an e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of fashion products, categorized and subcategorized for easy navigation.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard,  Mr Ismail shares his story of building and supporting brands both in Nigeria and in the diaspora. 

Please introduce yourself

My name is Olawale Ismail Dex. I am a Technical Product Manager and a Business Development Specialist.  I am from Ogun state, Nigeria. I am the founder of DexStitches, one of the biggest e-commerce platforms for shopping everything fashion. And we believe we are the most reliable fashion shopping website in Nigeria.  I am also the founder of Branda, which we like to say is the best and most seamless way to brand businesses.

 Who are your clients?

Our clients are primarily individuals seeking to shop for a diverse range of premium varieties of fashionwear on one platform. They consistently have the opportunity to revisit, check prices, or compare them with other products. Most importantly, they enjoy purchasing a wide array of products at the best prices available in comparison to any outlet, whether online or offline.

Another important aspect of our products is that we sell at a fair rate compared to similar products abroad, due to our affiliations and connections. This discovery makes people about to ‘Japa’ visit our platform to shop in bulk, as opposed to buying when they get to their destination.

The final type of our clients are individuals who want convenience and privacy while shopping for fashion.

Again, we are also launching a free rebranding opportunity for a few fashion-designing brands in collaboration with Branda Nigeria, where we uplift their brand image and communicate what their audience expects for free. Most fashion designers often encounter a common challenge: their products, although remarkable, lack effective branding. This oversight can lead to underpricing and, consequently, a lack of patronage. As a result, numerous talents and brands experience frustration in their business endeavours.

What inspired you to fashion?

During my days at the University of Lagos, my passion for fashion was evident. However, acquiring my desired wear was often challenging, either due to limited availability or the need to compromise on my fashion preferences. But what inspired me to venture into fashion stems from two situations. The first one was a bitter experience I had while I was trying to change my wardrobe as a new student. I wanted to get the Ray-Ban glasses in colours and styles, but I ended up buying a fake.

The second one was during a social event in school, and I needed to get jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. With my first experience and my desire not to be associated with a guy who wears fake things, I was conscious of my next step. So, getting sneakers was my problem then.

My options at that time were to order from Amazon or get it from ASOS. I discovered the delivery time was way too long, most items were expensive, and there was no option to pay from Nigeria. So, my friend suggested we go to Yaba, which was not far from UNILAG. On getting to Yaba, we saw so many funny sneakers of different designs. I couldn’t get anyone there due to their quality. Then, another friend suggested I visit Lagos Island. I went there; however, Lagos Island was like three times the size of Yaba market. Again, there were many terrible quality sneakers there as well. After several searches, I met a guy who claimed to sell original sneakers, and I bought them.

Guess what? On the day of the event, the sole of my new sneakers fell off, after all the money I spent and the troubles I faced.

This brought me the realization that at least about 10 percent of Nigerians experience the same challenges I had in shopping. I did some research, and from my random estimations, this equates to 20 million to 25 million Nigerians’ quest to get quality fashion products.

So, this problem created in me the passion to solve this fashion challenge. That is how DexStitches started as a fashion brand, and we did a couple of fashion shows. Eventually, we discovered that there are no e-commerce dedicated websites for the fashion industry for shoppers or credible fashion designers in Nigeria.

This led to the transformation from solely a fashion design brand to addressing major issues faced by fashion enthusiasts and shoppers in Nigeria. We eventually launched an inclusive e-commerce platform that showcases a variety of fashion products, extending beyond traditional attire like kaftans to encompass sneakers and a diverse array of fashion items.

 Who are your prospects?

Everybody looking to get the best deal online and enjoy a wide range of shopping fashion products and swift delivery will find our website invaluable.

We have built our platform in such a way that it is quite easy to identify what you want, as against just going on a website and having several lists of distractions. On our website, we categorized and subcategorized some niched products.

We also curated special categories like corporate wears, sneakers, fabrics, perfumes, sportswear, native wears, and religious wares. Soon, we are launching the made-in-Nigeria category for the best and vetted fashion designers out of Nigeria.

Our current focus is streamlining the shopping experience, and we’ve already begun implementing new features to achieve this goal. For example, if you want to shop for workwear as a man, you can have a category to click on. The same goes for a lady.

So, whatever you want has a category. The website makes it easy for you to identify needs without wasting time.

Is the government doing enough to support the creative industry, especially fashion?

I will say, based on my research, the Nigerian government has taken a couple of steps to support the creative industry in general, fashion primarily by launching initiatives like Creative Industry Finance. From the previous administration to the current administration, they promoted lots of made-in-Nigeria products via various campaigns. I can say the government has been instrumental in supporting the creative sector. However, they can do more. 

 What next for the brand?

Picture the largest online fashion platform offering everything from men’s wear to specialise categories like perfumes, fabrics,  native wear, Women’s, sportswear, religious wear, and everything you can think of specifically that you can shop to wear frequently or to make a statement as an individual.

Picture us as the largest inventory online for shopping fashion, not just the largest inventory. With one of the most unbelievably swift deliveries nationwide and worldwide.

Our goal is to simplify the whole fashion shopping experience to make it easier. For instance, the check-out process on most fashion shopping websites is very stressful, sometimes, people will shop on websites for like 50 minutes and then check out for the next 15mins this gets them pissed off and they avoid shopping online afterwards.

This is why Dexstitches fashion shopping website offers an instant checkout in just 30 seconds, this feature gives shoppers the capability of a 20-second checkout for swift users.

In addition, by the end of 2024, we aim to showcase over 50 thousand fashion products across diverse varieties and categories.

Also, exploring collaborations is part of our strategy to lower product costs and enhance service delivery. We are committed to improving the overall user experience, ensuring seamless shopping from the homepage to product selection, order placement, and home delivery.