The London Evening Standard‘s feature on Simi
Osomo, a 25 year-old Nigerian who makes six
trips to London spending a total of £30,000
(N7,622,220) got my attention this morning.
According to the report, she spends about two
weeks during each trip and goes shopping
everyday of her trip.
Speaking about Nigerians and their shopping
habits, she told the Standard “When it comes to
shopping and Nigerians, I can tell you it’s just
what we have to do.”
During every trip, she spends about £5,000
(N1,270,370). She tells the Standard that aside
from the fact that goods are cheaper in London, it
gives her a chance to have a holiday. “You can
get lots of things in Lagos but they are cheaper
here and you get to take a holiday and relax a bit.
It’s only six hours away.”
Although she likes the variety of London, Marks &
Spencer is one of Osomo’s favourite shops. “I love
their fajitas. You can’t get them in Nigeria. I also
buy soy sauce and Thai green curry paste, which
is good because it lasts for a long time. Oh, and
Crunchy Nut cereal, Skittles, Maltesers and tea.
There’s nothing like a British cuppa. I get Lipton,
PG and green tea. I love Zara, H&M, Topshop. But
if I want something more high end, there’s Sloane
Street.”
When it comes to getting her haul of hopping
back to Lagos, she says it is costly. “All I pack
when I come over is one pair of jeans and three
tops. I bring two big suitcases but I always have
to get another one and pay for excess baggage. I
never learn.” British Airways has increased its
excess baggage charge on flights from London to
Lagos from £40 to £97 per suitcase in the past
year. “They must have realised we always put an
extra bag in and thought they’d try to make
money out of it,” she told the Standard.
During her chat with Standard, she wore a green
top from Zara, blue skinny jeans and new
Christian Louboutin shoes. She also planned to
buy an iPhone 5 later in the day for her sister.
She said Zara which opened an outlet store in
Lagos six months ago is affordable.
”Zara is affordable because it’s an outlet but
what I find is that things are a bit last season.
Nigeria’s hot all the time so there are always maxi
dresses and swimwear but the colours are boring
and we lack variety. Customer service is not great
and some shops can get really crowded, which is
challenging.”
According to Osomo, it is not just rich Nigerians
who come over to shop in the UK. “Middle-class
people can afford to come and spend £600 on
shopping in a week here. What I like about the UK
is that it doesn’t discriminate. As long as you’re
able to prove you have an income,
accommodation in London and a return ticket,
the authorities are more than willing to give you a
visa. It’s closer than America and the customer
service here is phenomenal.”
She loves to shop in summer which is the height
of the shopping season, and also comes back for
the January sales too. Her mother, a lawyer, and
father, a businessman, often join her. She has just
finished a law degree and is about to start a job in
fashion journalism, which she hopes will give her
enough holidays for trips to London.
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