The CEO of one of Nigeria’s most sought after jewellery brands, Delphi Metals, Awe Olutayo has proven that it is not always bed of roses to successful run a jewelry business in Nigeria.

Awe Olutayo who has within a short period piloted Delphi Metals brand to greater heights in an interview with Vanguard News listed some of his early days challenges.

“One major challenges we faced when we started the business was winning the trust of the market. We started as an online jewellery store. We used to get several calls and enquiries from prospective customers asking for (the location of) our store and as soon as we mentioned that we did not have a physical store, many of them would end the call or stop communication immediately. I guess their fear at the time was attributable to the high number of fraudsters who pose as legitimate online businesses only to defraud people.”

He also mentioned other challenges faced by his jewelry brand before it became a household name.

He revealed further, “other challenge Delphi Metals faced was convincing customers that the company could deliver the designs requested, particularly the very complicated ones. The average Nigeria, at the time, believed that high quality jewellery could only be sourced from foreign jewellery stores. However, we have been able to combat these challenges by keeping to our service promise of delivering value and quality. Now, people believe in our brand, the products we offer and the superiority of our craft, as it matches and even surpasses what they get abroad.

The challenges we have now are more of infrastructural in terms of stable power supply to power production machines and high tariffs charged on the importation of machine.”

Speaking of his long-term dream for Delphi Metals, Awe Olutayo said: “I know the importance of daring to dream, but in my own case, I dared to dream big. And concerning Delphi Metals, I dream of nurturing it to become a top brand beyond the shores of Africa over the next five years. And of course, the way to get there is to keep our clients happy and satisfied for as long as we remain in business.”

With a background in computer programming, Awe Olutayo, whose favourite International business brands include Harry Winston, Tiffany and Cartier, said he has no misgivings for the decisions he took in the past.  “I am proud of every decision and mistake I have made which has moulded me into who I am today. I honestly wouldn’t do anything differently,” he affirmed.