MARKETABILTY OF MADE IN NIGERIA TEXTILE

ABSTRACT
It was in recognition of the fact that a favourable attitude towards locally manufactured textiles in needed for the Nigeria textile industry to survive the present intense competition with foreign textile, that this research work was born. The work is a study of the Marketability of made-in-Nigeria Textile.
The research is aimed at analyzing various factors that influence consumer response to made in Nigeria Textile. It was also aimed at finding the consumer perception of quality, price, colour and design of made in Nigeria textile.
The study was expected to help the locally textile industry identify areas in their production and marketing activities that need to be reviewed and improved upon. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and interview guides from consumers. Secondary data were collected from journals, publications and related works.
A sample size of 384 respondents was used for the study and the chi-square statistical tool was used in the analysis of primary data at 5% level of significance.
The study revealed that consumers still perceive made-in-Nigeria textile as being of relative lower quality and price than that of foreign textiles.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE    INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study……………………………………………...
1.2 Statement of the problem………………………………………………
1.3 The Objectives of the Study……………………………………………
1.4 Research Questions…………………………………………………..
1.5 Research Hypotheses……………………………………………….
1.6 Significance of the Study………………………………………..
1.7 Limitations and Scope of Study………………………………
References.
CHAPTER TWO    LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction………………………………………………
2.2 Concept  of Consumer  Behaviour…………………………
2.3 Factors influencing  Consumer Response to a product…………
2.4The Concept of Made-in-Nigeria Goods…………………………
2.5 Factors that influence Consumer Purchase of Made in Nigeria Textiles…
2.6 General Review of the state and size of the Nigerian Textile Industry… Summary…………………………………………………
References……………………………………………………
CHAPTER THREE    RESEARCH  DESIGN    AND  METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………
3.2 Scope  of    Research  and  Area of Coverage…………………………
3.3 Source of  Data……………………………………………………
3.4 Selection and Construction of  Data collection Instrument…………
3.5 Sampling Procedure…………………………………………………
3.6 Method of Data  Analysis………………………………………
References………………………………………………………
CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.
4.0 Introduction………………………………………………
4.1 Presentation and Analysis of  Data collected…………..
4.2 Research Questions Findings……………………………
4.3 Test  of Hypothesis…………………………………………
References…………………………………………………..
CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
5.1 Summary of Findings……………………………………..
5.2 Conclusions………………………………………………..
5.3 Recommendations…………………………………………………
Bibliography…………………………………………………………
Appendix…………………………………………………………
LIST    OF TABLES
Tables        Description.    
4.1    Presentation of Data collected.
4.2    Ages  and Sex of the Respondents.
4.3    Educational  Attainment of Respondents.
4.4    Types of Made in Nigerian Textiles Purchased.
4.5    Consumer Rating of the quality of Made in Nigerian Textiles.
4.6    Consumer  Rating of the quality of Made in Nigerian Textile in
    relation to that of foreign textiles.
4.7    Influence of the consumer’s perception of the relative quality of
    made in Nigerian textiles.
4.8    Consumer Rating of the price of Made in Nigerian Textiles.
4.9    Consumer  Rating of the price of Made in Nigerian Textile in
    relation to that of foreign textiles.
4.10    Influence of the consumer’s perception of the relative price of
    made in Nigerian textiles.
4.11    Consumer’s opinion on the performance of the quality of made in
    Nigeria textiles.
4.12    Consumer Rating of the colour and design of Made in Nigerian Textiles.
4.13    Consumer rating of the colour and design of Made in Nigerian Textile in relation to that of foreign textiles.
4.14    Effect of the colour and design of made in Nigeria textile in relation to that of foreign textiles on consumer response to made in Nigeria textiles.
4.15    Influence of the current fashion on response to made in Nigeria textiles.
4.16    Relative influence of the various factors on consumer patronage of foreign and made in Nigeria textiles.
4.17    Other factors influencing consumer purchase of made in Nigeria textiles.
4.18    Textile preference of respondents.
4.19    Trend of consumer patronage of made in Nigeria textiles.
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
Nigeria is the largest country in black Africa with a population forecast of 150 million people broken into 36 states with Abuja as the capital. With this population and clothing being a basic need of life, it is evidently clear that Nigeria constitutes a very large market for clothing items – Textile Materials.
The local textile needs is presently being met by locally manufactured textiles, cheap textiles dumped in the country as well as high quality textiles entering through unofficial trade.
In 1990, there were 175 textile factories operating in Nigeria but today we have 42 epileptic operators. Only 12 of these can boast of operating at 30% capacity. Among these, 4 textile factories produce embroidery lace materials as part of their product brands. This further establishes the inadequacy of the local supply of textile products in Nigeria.
For instance, over $760 million worth of embroidered lace materials/textiles exported from South-East Asian countries to sub-Saharan Africa annually, atleast 75% of this export is consumed in Nigeria. In other words, Nigeria imports over $540 million worth of lace fabrics yearly. The Nigerian embroidery lace Co. Ltd. AF print Group Ltd., Bhojsons, Empec Industries Ltd and Kaduna Textile Mills, which are the major local producers of these products cannot meet the demand, with an average annual output of $281 million, when Nigeria annual demand estimate for embroidery lace alone totals $821.5 million. Textile Watch(2004).
In 1990,the Nigeria textile industry was the largest in Africa after Egypt and South Africa. The industry which currently accounts for less than 25% of manufacturing value has gone through various phases of growth. In 1960s, the investment and savings policies induced steady growth which gave rise to an average of 12.5% growth rate in the 1970s. The recession of the early to mid 1980 dealt with the industry and took its toll. The cumulative Textile Production (1972 – 2000) declined from 4271 to 171.1 in 1984 and 112.8 in 2003. The industry recovered in the late 1980’s achieving an annual growth rate of about 67% between 1985 and 1991, with the embroidery lace alone accounting for about 20% of the recorded growth.
The industry was the largest employee of labour in the manufacturing sector within these periods. Capacity utilization integration programme embarked upon by many firms in the industry in compliance with the government policy issued on that in the mid 1980’s was a positive contributing factor. Thus the level of domestic sourcing of raw materials witnessed a steady improvement from 52% in 1987, 57% in 1998 to 64% in 1991.
However, this improved performance was not universal among the firms in the industry. The embroidered lace Fabrics or textile had the reverse experiences. The few producers of lace textiles who were producing less than 20% of the total textile output in 1980 dropped to 12% in 1994 and less than 8% in 2003. This decline could be traced to the quality and quantity of the type of cotton used. For other types of textile production the level of local raw materials usage increased because they can be obtained locally while that of the lace material can only be imported.
As at May 29th 2003, the 42 Textile firms in Nigeria were operating 1,020345 spindles and 57,451 yarns. This marginal output can only meet 32.5% of the annual domestic demand which still confirms that there is a large market for textile products in Nigeria. The textile exports constitutes less than 17 of Nigeria total exports despite the fact that Nigeria has a cotton based textile industry.
According to Funsho(2002),Local textile needs presently is being met by local industry,cheap textiles dumped in the country as well as high quality fabrics entering the country through unofficial trade Uk Holland, Austria,Japan,China,Spain etc.
This situation worsened in 1994 when the Abacha regime liberalized the textile industry and subsequently in 1997 when the Federal government in a bid to comply with the world trade Organisation agreement to which it was a signatory lifted the ban on importation of textiles materials literally turning the country into a dumping ground.
The Obasanjo regime in a bid to revive the textile industry in October 2002 placed a 4 year ban on importation of textiles. This move was aimed at controlling the intense competition with imported textiles.
Despite the fact, that Nigeria has favourable trade agreements, its exports declined whilst imports increased dramatically leading to a situation that the Nigerian textile industry had a market share study of about 34% in the home market, a market share of only 34.2% of the domestic market, it is evidently clear that Nigeria textile product market constitutes a promising potential market. However, it is imperative to identity these factors that are responsible for the low acceptance of locally or domestic manufactured textile products.
Definitely, Nigeria has many of the prerequisites, needed for developing a successful textile and clothing industry. It has a huge growing domestic demand, availability of well priced raw material, huge population of young and relatively skilled labour force and a well established tradition in textiles.
The nagging question comes up, why is the textile industry not receiving enough patronage despite its huge potentials?According to Assael (1994),It is the customer who actually determines what a business is and his willingness to buy goods and services converts economic resources into wealth.
As our society under goes rapid changes and becomes more affluent, newer social forces make consumers spend a greater part of their income in ways remarkably different from what took place in the past. Consumers want the advantage of affluent and the latest services that technology and business can offer. Achumba(1998 ).
It becomes imperative that the Nigeria textile industry realize that customers of today are more informed, they know what they want and can no longer afford to waste their hard earned money on any fabric. Hence players in the textile industry should study the market properly to ensure that their products gain enough patronage in the Nigerian market.
Having this in mind it is pertinent to appreciate the fact that survival depends very much on the textile industry seeking ways to improve so as to gain better patronage from the Nigerian market. Hence a favourable consumer attitude must be won to survive the present competition.
It therefore becomes necessary to understand consumer’s attitudes, internal and external factors that inform their response to made in Nigeria textiles as well other factors that militate against the growth of the Nigerian textile industry.
It is against this background that this research on marketability of Made in Nigeria textiles was born to investigate on the factors that led to the locally manufactured textiles not having enough patronage from the Nigerian market.
The research is therefore aimed at investigating the factors that influence consumer response to made in Nigeria textiles. Such knowledge could assist the local textile industry to make necessary adjustments so as to gain better patronage in the Nigerian market.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Over the years, the local textile industry have continued to witness the closure of one textile factory after another while the few existing ones operated below capacity .
For instance the closure of Kano textile factory in Gwammaja Kano and the Kaduna textile mill KTL which were established in 1949 by the then Sardauna of Sokoto Alhaji Ahmadu Bello.
These were established as a result of his vision to industrialize the region. The target was that the textile mills would use the abundant cotton produced by farmers in the region. Kano as a result became a textile-marketing city and Kaduna also developed into a textile city as other factories and support services such as spinning and weaving industries blossomed. Marketers of Kaduna Made Textiles mainly African prints also carved a niche for themselves selling these products locally and exporting to neighbouring countries.
Sadly in the past decade, we watched with concern as one textile factory after the other closed shop. The latest factory that closed last year was the United Nigeria Textile UNTL which used to produce fine wax that was a good match for any imported brand. The closure of textile factories was not limited to Kaduna, but was repeated in Funtua, the headquarters of cotton production belt, Kano the commercial center of Northern states and Lagos the nation’s business capital.
The question lingers what were the causes of these closures? Records show that between 1992 and 2006, out of 170 Textile companies about 149 were reported to have shut down.
Over the years, the Nigerian consumer have developed a taste for foreign textiles, going to the market places one cannot fail to notice how consumers regard foreign products as having a better quality than locally manufactured ones. With the trade liberalization policy, the country have experienced unrestrained imports of all kinds of textile materials. This has led to a very strong competition by both foreign and local textile products, each seeking to gain a higher patronage from the Nigerian consumer.
How can Made in Nigeria textiles gain a better patronage? What are the problems leading to these closures and how can they be addressed to prevent further closures, revive the existing ones and encourage investment in local textile production.
The research is therefore aimed at addressing the above mentioned points, it is believed that such knowledge will assist the local textile industry in gaining a better patronage from the consumers.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.
This research therefore aims at;
    Identifying the factors that are responsible for low patronage of Made in Nigeria textiles.
    Identifying the factors militating against the growth of the local textile industry.
    Identify the factors that influence consumer response to Made in Nigerian textiles.
    Proffer solutions on how to solve the problems militating against Made in Nigeria Textiles.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
The prevailing situation as narrated above raises some crucial questions:
    What is the consumer‘s perception of the quality of made in Nigerian textiles in relation to that of foreign textiles.
    What is the consumer‘s perception of the price of made in Nigeria
textiles as compared to that of foreign textiles.
    Which is the most influential / critical factor in consumers patronage of textile materials.
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS;
he following hypothesis were postulated to guide the research, Ho1:Consumer’s perception of the relative quality of made in Nigeria textiles has no impact on their patronage of made in Nigeria textiles.
Ho2; :Consumer’s perception of the relative price of made in Nigeria textiles has no impact on their patronage of made in Nigeria textiles
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .
In view of the foregoing aspirations, this work seeks to examine consumer attitudes towards “made-in-Nigeria” goods. An attempt will be made to determine the image of “made-in-Nigeria” goods as seen by consumers and to explain the factors contributing to that image.
It is hoped that the result of the study will contribute in no small way to an understanding of the influences affecting “Made-in-Nigeria” goods in the market. Such an understanding should conceivably help all who are involved in Textile Industry development to make better decisions.
It is hoped that the findings of this study would give manufacturers of locally manufactured textile the knowledge of how to make local textiles more marketable through winning a favourable consumer response to its products.
1.7 LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY.
This work is an attempt to research into the problems and prospects of marketing made in Nigeria goods with particular reference to textiles products. The study will be based on relevant data gathered within Enugu and Lagos metropolis.
Internal and External factors impair marketing local products. This study will be however, limited to marketing mix elements, product, price, promotion and place. Time posed a serious problem to the researcher as the reseacher have very busy work schedule to attend to.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS.
CONSUMERS; These are final users of goods and services. They may or not be the buyer of the goods and services.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR; Engel et al described consumer behaviour as consisting of those acts of individuals directly involved in obtaining using economic goods and services including the decision processes that proceed and determine these acts.
CONSUMER RESPONSE;This is the mental or physical activity a consumer makes to a stimulus situation.
DEMANDS; Human needs backed by buying  power.
MARKETS;These are individuals and organization who are the actual and potential buyers of the product or service.
TEXTILE; Woven materials mainly used as clothing.
TEXTILE INDUSTRY; Industries manufacturing woven materials mainly used as clothing.
REFERENCES
Achumba I. C. (1998) The Challenges of Service Marketing and Human Resources Development, Unilag Journal of Business, Vol. 1, No. 2 Assael Henry (1984)Consumer behaviour and marketing action.2nd edition,Boston Masssachsetts:Kent publishing company.
Kalegha, E (2003). “Attitudes of Nigerians towards Made in Nigeria Goods”.
Dept of Bus. Admin. University of Lagos.(Unpublished MBA Project).
Funsho. A (2002) Importation; Bane of textile industry. This Day Lagos November 26 2002.