On Thursday June 20, seasoned media personality and publisher, The Luxury Reporter, Funke Osae-Brown, celebrated the fifth anniversary of her magazine with a well-attended event by luminaries in the luxury sector. It was held at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos. The exclusive event afforded attendees a glimpse into the activities of the magazine since it was founded on May 24, 2014.
Speaking at the event, Osae-Brown said the idea for the magazine came to her at a point in her career when she knew she wanted to embark on a new adventure.
According to her, the magazine kicked off five years ago in digital format before she began its print edition three years later. “We ran the website for more than a year before we migrated to www.luxuryreporter.ng. We later introduced the digital edition of the magazine which we did for two full years with 24 digital editions. Along the line, we identified a market for print. Hotels, private jets operators, airlines, automobile companies, retail stores need print editions for their clients. In January 2018, we announced our first print edition which had on the cover emerging brands and a buyer, Abela, TPS Luxury, Pere Lei, Okiki Marinho, Scentify, and Ndidi Obioha,” she said. Besides, Osae-Brown explained that the print edition paved the way for an exclusive partnership with PrivateJets Nigeria as advertisers in The Luxury Reporter print edition with 30 seconds clips of their advert placed in the in-flight entertainment screen of all the aircraft of Private Jets.
With vision to report the African Luxury by projecting Nigerian brands, Osae-Brown’s TLR is constantly in search of indigenous luxury brands that will compete with international brands.
Osae-Brown, former editor with Nigeria’s Business Day, also said the magazine has been deliberate in its approach to reporting on luxury lifestyle by featuring top players in the industry some of whom are quiet players in the local luxury sector. She also hopes to bridge the divide between African Luxury brands and their counterparts abroad. In a bid to kickstart this, Osae-Brown attended the 2019 edition of the Baselworld in Switzerland where she interacted with CEOs of renowned luxury brands in the watch and jewellery sector.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary, Mrs Modupe Ogunlesi, CEO, Adam and Eve Homeware delivered a keynote address titled: Luxury Retail In Nigeria: The Opportunities, Challenges and Policy Options. Ogunlesi’s keynote address was followed by a panel discussion where issues affecting the growth and development of the Nigerian luxury sector were discussed. On the panel were Mrs. Ini Abimbola, CEO, Thistle Praxis; Mr Omotade Lepe, Chief Operating Officer, PrivateJets Nigeria; Ms. Funmi Onajide; and Abiona Babarinde, Group General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group. At the event, the latest edition of The Luxury Reporter magazine was unveiled just as the panel discussion signaled the commencement of TLR annual International Luxury Conference.