Events
International Luxury Company, Alter Ego Project Group Launches First of a kind Private Atelier in Africa
L-R Darey Art Alade, Julia D. Lantieri, CEO Alter Ego Project Group and Michael Owolabi at the launch of Alter Ego Private Atelier in Abuja.
On Thursday, December 15th 2016, International Luxury Company, Alter Ego Project Group held an exclusive event in Abuja to launch first-of-a-kind Private Atelier in Africa. The deluxe event took place in the brand new Alter Ego Private Atelier in Gudu district, Abuja and had several distinguished members of Nigeria’s high society in attendance.
Alter Ego Private Atelier held a launch party on Thursday, 15, December 2016 at its brand new office in Gudu District, Abuja. Several members of the high society were in attendance, as one of Italy’s best-known luxury brands opened its flagship store in Africa.
Since its creation in 2003, Alter Ego has specialized in providing bespoke solutions in numerous luxury segments for clients around the world. Having identified Africa as the next frontier, the CEO of Alter Ego Project Group Julia D. Lantieri explained that their mission is now to bring exquisite style and elegance to the daily life of the discerning customer on the emerging continent.
L-R: Julia D. Lantieri, CEO Alter Ego Project Group, Anna Kuzmina, Director Alter Ego Italian Division and Larisa Girenok, Head of Global Communications PR, Alter Ego Project Group
Two of Africa’s capitals of luxury – Lagos and Abuja – are located in Nigeria. Alter Ego is collaborating with Black Pelican Ltd, a private limited liability company in Nigeria, led by Michael Owolabi to take advantage of the country’s strategic importance to the continent and deliver premium services in the marketplace.
The new Atelier will become the focal point of the brand’s operations in Africa. The facility is tastefully furnished with state of the art Alchymia art-deco interior objects and staffed by highly-trained personnel to ensure that customers are offered the same service experience here as they would anywhere else around the world.
Alter Ego is one of the first premium Italian brands to open an official point of presence in Nigeria. Being that Italian luxury labels are very popular around the country, this finding will come as a surprise to many.
The Nigerian upper class is renowned for luxurious living – Italian leather ware and French champagne are just some of the global symbols of success that the super-wealthy indulge in. Nigeria is the largest importer of champagne on the continent, with a reported 1 million bottles consumed in each of the past two years and the potential for increased consumption as the middle class continues to grow.
The potential for growth in the country’s luxury sector is enormous, while French wine companies have taken note and made inroads, Italian brands have largely passed on the opportunity to establish a presence in the country and have been unable to interact directly with their customer base.
The result has been the massive counterfeiting of premium products and the watering down of prestigious Italian brands. Supported by the importation of inferior alternatives and the production of copycat products locally, a black market for knock-off luxury goods has also emerged. The black market is said to be worth several millions of dollars, according to some estimates.
L-R: Julia D. Lantieri, CEO, Alter Ego Project Group, Anna Kuzmina, Director, Alter Ego Italian Division, Larisa Girenok, Head of Global Communications & PR, Alter Ego Project Group and Michael Owolabi, CEO, IL Bagno
Aware of these challenges, Lantieri explained that their aim is to give their loyal customers a direct, firsthand experience with the brand and also to give new customers access to authentic products. At the opening of the Private Atelier, there was an exclusive offer dedicated to Nigerian VIP’s who were granted a rare opportunity to purchase any item from Alter-Ego exposition on site without pre-order.
The Atelier offers two world-famous Italian brands, namely Alchymia art-deco objects of art and ALTEREGO Milano artcases. For the launch, the Atelier was tastefully furnished with Alchymia interior deco items and contained an exposition of readymade, limited edition ALTEREGO Milano artcases. Both brands represent pure patterns of timeless Italian craftsmanship and style-mastering heritage merged with state-of-the-art innovations.
Lantieri enthused, “the best of Italian luxury is now available in Africa. We are very proud and happy to make it happen finally.”
With its launch in Abuja, it is clear that Alter Ego Private Atelier seeks to bring a number of facets of Italian luxury to the discerning customer.
To find out more about the Alter Ego Private Atelier click here
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