Indeed, this saying is very true, there would always be business opportunities coming our way, and taking advantage of them with courage is one movie that would take us into the future, and that is what Demi Samande, CEO Majeurs Chesterfield has done. Born in Nigeria, she left for England at a very early age with her family, and so, she has little or no memories of Nigeria. However, she never forgot her roots and when it was time for her to relocate, she made a bold move and returned to her birth country, Nigeria.
Demi was born in 1986 but has spent the past 30 years in England, where she grew up and also studied. A graduate of architecture from London Metropolitan University, it took a while for Demi to get a job because the jobs were not forthcoming. While at home, her love for antique things blew up and she started fixing broken and worn-out furniture to keep busy. She got a job much later and spent the next few years planning and designing buildings for many UK clients.
Then the recession hit and the big architectural jobs stopped coming Knowing the huge love the UK people have for antique furniture, Demi went back to her first love, which was, buying damaged furniture and refixing them. She sold her first few makes for good money, and so noting that this was a good business opportunity, she took the plunge.
Majeurs Chesterfield was first set up in England and has made a remarkable impact there before Demi set up the Nigerian arm of the furniture company. Majeurs Chesterfield has played host to Prince Charles of England, and Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, who visited the London company. This was a big deal for Demi, for her brand to have attracted such notable personalities. Majeurs Chesterfield not only fixed old furniture, but they also made new ones. Their module is to blend old things with new things and create something unique.
She began making a success story, right? So why return to Africa after 30 years? “I felt an emptiness, a void, a strong urge to return to Nigeria. I needed to connect to my roots and my ancestral land” she told Wonde Maya, in a Youtube interview. “When I returned to Nigeria after 30 years, I fell in love with the people, not that I am blind to the chaos in the country, but I saw what we lacked and also saw huge potentials. So, I took my time and made the very first sample in my furniture product, the results went beautiful, sold it and here we are today”
Today, Majeurs Chesterfield, not only fixes old furniture but also makes Nigerian-made furniture, to satisfy the Nigerian consumer appetite for new things. Demi is convinced that there are more opportunities and potentials in Nigeria that can be tapped into.
“Though the furniture business has blown in the United Kingdom, I decided to come to Nigeria to make more impacts in the furniture business space. When I came here in 2016, I fell in love with Nigerians. They are people of strong hope and passion. I always marveled at their positive faith in life. She revealed.
“I took my time and made the very first sample in the local made and the results went beautiful, sold it and here we are today’’, she said.
Majeurs Chesterfield is set up in a space in Surulere, Lagos, where Demi has been serving her clientele good furniture. Demi stressed that they are building an empire of homemade furniture outfits in Nigeria, to serve the entire whole African market, by Nigerians for Africans. Interestingly, Majeurs Chesterfield uses local materials for her furniture, such as the woods, foams, and some of the fabrics.
‘’It saddens me to see that Nigerians do not use their locally made items either for furniture or any other works. We can achieve great products in the Nigerian market, everybody is skeptical until they see what we do. We have the resources and people, I’m proud of Nigeria even though I didn’t grow up here”
Demi’s joy is in taking raw materials and transforming them into beautiful products, for people to use and enjoy. And she has decided to extend this passion, by training and retraining people on furniture making through her furniture academy, which she is opening for Nigerians to expand and grow.
Majeurs Chesterfield signature look
Their specialty is authentic English furniture designs, so all their furniture has buttons that pierce through them. These distinctive buttons are British upholstery making style. That is the look Demi has adopted, due to her love for antique and British background.
Regrets?
Demi has no regrets about coming back to Nigeria, despite the huge challenges associated with business startups.
“I’m here to stay, even with the fact that my parents are still in England. I have been doing fine and making an impact in Nigeria”, she explained. So, the change in environment has not affected her in any way.
Challenges
Lack of funds and government support Lack of access to advance and training and technology The federal government ban on importation Government support in the area of skills and technology development, for the entrepreneurial industry Despite lack of funds being a major challenge for Nigerian businesses, Demi is optimistic about the business environment and calls on Nigerians to patronize Nigeria-made products, as that is the only way they could grow. She also called on Nigerians in the diaspora, to discard all prejudices and wrong beliefs instilled in them about Nigeria, and return home. She used herself as an example, stressing that she grew up her entire life in England and had no experience of Africa. And today, she is making a positive impact in her business in Nigeria, with plans of expanding it beyond.
“There is no place in the world where there are no challenges. There are different challenges everywhere we go. Charity they say begins at home, they should come and do the charity at home by investing their money at home”
Other activities
Demi Samande has quite a busy balanced life, she worked as a volunteer for Children with Cancer in the UK. She also owns a podcast channel, SUSU, where she inspires entrepreneurs to create meaningful businesses, pursue their passions, whilst making a social & economic impact. She also owns a Youtube channel, where she documents her business journey, and many subscribers to the channel have attested to her journey as their inspiration to own their businesses.
