ATTITUDE OF CONSUMERS TOWARDS MADE IN NIGERIA PRODUCTS.

ABSTRACT

This study examines one of the most controversial issues in marketing in the   developing   countries.   “Attitude   of   consumers   to   locally   made products”.   This paper attempts to review arguments and empirical evidence on both sides of the issue, as well as offers the results of test findings.  The study emphasizes the perspective of three diverse groups, the economists, the business persons, and the ultimate consumers.  The present study is an attempt to assess the attitude of consumers to made in Nigeria products, an analysis of footwear products in the Lagos metropolis.  The tools used in this study were the questionnaire method and the interview method.  The study has revealed that most made in Nigeria products are considered inferior in quality and are expensive despite their poor quality and unless these are improved upon the trend will not change.  Generally, it  can  be  seen  that  factors  such  as  quality,  price,  availability  and awareness of made in Nigeria products contribute to negative attitude to home made products by consumers.  The study also revealed the need for government to create a conducive environment for business to achieve their corporate goals of producing products to satisfy the consumers expectations by removing barriers to access of high quality raw materials.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria is facing economic recession which became noticeable in the early eighties.  This is aggravated by the global economic recession caused by the famous oil glut.  The pangs of the recession have continued to be felt in all economic activities internal and external.  Its dimension has reached a zenith resistant to some of the known antidotes for an economy under stress (Financial Punch, 1983: 32).   Since the beginning of this period, Successive governments have introduced stringent economic measures aimed at ameliorating economic imbalance.  These include the Economic Stabilisation Act of 1982, which empowered the president to apply harsh economic policies to control foreign exchange transactions.  The Structural Adjustment Programme (S.A.P) and others, were built on the 1982 Act. These policies seek to boost local production of goods and services and to make Nigeria as economically self reliant as possible.   They have nevertheless,   produced   some   unpleasant   consequences   to   business activities in the country.

Meeting the needs of society through appropriate products or service is the basic function of business organizations.   Business organizations are distinguished   by  their  objective  of  realizing  profit  or  a  return  on investment.   Profits serve many functions such as pay dividends to shareholders and serve as source of funds for further investment or expansion  of  business  and  for supporting innovative  activities  such as research and development (Kotler, 1990: 246).  The success of a business organization is contingent upon its ability to provide a product or service that meets consumers’ satisfaction.  If the list of firms registered in Nigeria some ten years ago is investigated today, it will be seen that many have fickle away.   Some have survived but very much at the level they were

founded while others have grown and prospered to a height not imagined by their founders.

A  company  meets  its  basic  responsibility  to  the  society  through  the medium of its product or service.  The consumers’ wants and satisfaction are the economic and social justification for a firm’s existence.  Unless a firm accomplishes this, it will cease to exist because the competitive environment will force it out.   Consumers have needs and wants which they desire to satisfy through the products they buy.  The extent to which they will accept a product is dependent on the satisfaction they derive from the consumption of the product.  Consumers are rational beings and want to get the best out of the least spending.  They want the best value for their money.  Consumers buying behaviour is influenced by social, psychology and a host of other environmental dynamics (Kotler, 1990: 159).

However, some basic factors exist which exert considerable influence on consumers buying decision.   These factors include: the products quality, price and availability.  It is generally believed that most Nigerians prefer foreign made products to locally manufactured goods.  They are willing to produce them at any price.  This attitude is a source of concern to both the economic planners and local manufacturers.   This is because inadequate demand for home made products has adverse consequences on the pace of the country industrialization efforts and the Gross National Product (GNP). Smuggling of foreign made goods has grown and is now developing to high  dimensions.    This  is a  big  problem  of  obtaining  inputs for  their manufacturing  processes.    Although,  government  economic  regulations aim at protecting and boosting local production, they have nevertheless, failed to achieve this because local sourcing of inputs is not easy.  Many industries cannot easily obtain their raw materials for productions. Consequently,  most  firms  find  it  difficult  to  sustain  a  profitable  sales

volume.    The  result  is  increased  unemployment,  as  firms continue  on rationalization in order to remain afloat (Catelogue of Nigeria Consumer & Industrial Good Trade Fair, 1980: 76).  All business aim at the consumers. The  consumers’ attitude  towards the  product determines its success or failure.  As stated earlier, it is widely acknowledged that most Nigerians prefer foreign made products.  This has a very serious implication on the economy.   However, a lot is being done in recent years to arouse the interest of Nigerian consumers in locally produced goods and services.  In November,  1981,  the  first  Made-in-Nigeria  Goods  Trade  Fair  was organized by the Federal Ministry of Commerce. In 1983, the Financial Punch, launched campaign tagged “Think Nigeria as you buy”.  The aim is to  seek favourable  attitude of  consumers to  Nigeria made products. Since then, many more made-in-Nigeria goods trade fairs have been staged at Federal and the State levels.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

It is a common event to hear Nigerians say that a product is “locally made”, “made in Aba and fabricated in Onitsha”.  This has even pushed local manufacturers to adopt foreign logo and names for their locally made goods.  There is indeed some disdain and inferiority complex for made-in- Nigeria goods.  The problem of this research is the type of snobbism and non-acceptance that exists for the footwear products in Lagos Metropolis.

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims at the following objectives:

a.       To identify how consumers in Lagos feel about made-in-Nigeria footwear.

b.       To  find  out  whether  they  have  a  feeling  of  snobbism  or acceptance.

c.       To  find  out  the  factors  responsible  for consumers  attitude  of snobbism and non-acceptance.

d.       To  trace  the  attitude  of  made-in-Nigeria  footwear  to  income distribution.

1.4     RELEVANT RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions would be the focus of this project:

1.       Are made-in-Nigeria footwear products quality of low standard to the foreign imported ones?

2.       Can  the  price  of  made-in-Nigeria  footwear  products  compare favourably with imported ones?

3.       Are   made-in-Nigeria   footwear   products   easily  available   to consumers?

1.5     FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESES

According to  Onwe O.J.  (1988: 24), hypothesis is an  intelligent guess about the state of the universe under study.   The following hypotheses were formulated for this study:

Ho:    Consumers will prefer made-in-Nigeria footwear products to foreign made ones even if quality is improved.

Ho:    Consumers will patronize made-in-Nigeria footwear products even if prices are low.

Ho:    Advertising  and  sales  promotion  will  increase  awareness  and patronage of made-in-Nigeria footwear products.

1.6     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study deals with attitude of consumers to made-in-Nigeria footwear. The study is based on consumers of footwear in Lagos metropolis.   It is therefore neither a national nor a regional study.   This means that the

findings  will  be  interpreted  only  within  the  context  of  consumers  in metropolitan city of Lagos.

1.7     LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study was hindered by both time finance and dearth of literature.

1.8     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will find solution to why consumers in the Lagos metropolis snob made-in-Nigeria footwear products.  It will help the manufacturers in the footwear industry to be quality conscious in their production process.

This study will be able to encourage government to create a conducive environment for businesses to achieve their corporate goals of producing products to satisfy the consumers’ expectations by removing barriers to access to high quality raw materials.   It will also remove the negative attitude to home made footwear products by consumers if manufacturers take cognizance of the following factors such as: quality of the products, the price and availability of the products and the awareness of the products to enable consumers patronize them.

1.9     DEFINITION OF TERMS

The use of certain words or terms can create some ambiguity in the minds of  readers.    To  avoid  this affair,  there  is  need  for  clarification.    The following words will carry the meanings given to them in this study: CONSUMER:       One  who  buys  a  product  for  personal  use  or  for

members of his household.

PRODUCT:           A set of tangible or intangible attributes that can be used to satisfy a need or want

STRATEGY:        A master plan that delineates critical courses of action towards the  attainment  of  company objectives and  a blue print that defines the means of deploying resources to      exploit   present   and   future   opportunities   and counteract future threats.

MADE IN NIGERIA PRODUCTS: Products manufactured in Nigeria. NEED:                   The   condition   of   lacking   or   wanting   something

necessary;  necessity  for  presence  or  possession  of something.

BUYING DECISION:    The  process   somewhat  sequential  consumers undergo when making purchasing decision.

ATTITUDE:          A person’s enduring favourable cognitive evaluation, emotional feelings or action tendency towards some object or idea.

PERCEPTION:     The meaning attributed to stimuli received through the five sensory organs on the basis of past experience.

REFERENCES

Catelogue of first made in Nigeria Consumer and Industrial Good Trade

Fair, Nov. 1981.

Financial Punch, (1983): “Think Nigeria as you buy”, April 27th.

Kotler,   P.   (1990):   Marketing   Management-Analysis,   Planning   and

Control; New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.

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