This is the true story of how David Chukwuma Ojei the face behind the popular Ebeano supermarket grew the business from just a small shop selling groc
This is the true story of how David Chukwuma Ojei the face behind the popular Ebeano supermarket grew the business from just a small shop selling groceries to the chain of supermarkets that it is now.
David, unable to secure a job in any bank after years of searching following his graduation from the university, decided to seek other paths to his success.
From Delta State, the 55-year-old got his business acumen from his mother who was a Tomato and rice seller. Given his early interactions with business by helping out as a child in the markets, he became very good and fast with calculations. Ironically, he struggled with other subjects.
Based on his natural love for mathematics, he chose to study Accountancy at the University of Nigeria and graduated in 1995 with a Second-Class Grade Upper Division and was posted to Jigawa state for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps almost immediately. David had expected to secure a good job with his degree and build a good life from there. But a chance occurrence had him rethinking such a choice. One of the teachers had come to his uncle’s shop where he was helping him to sell things, to buy an item. The teacher couldn’t pay but instead said, “See you on payday”.
With this, David began to reconsider that perhaps earning a monthly salary would not be the route for him. He could not imagine having to wait till payday every month to meet his family’s needs and also began to reason that if his salary finished before the next payday, he could become a debtor like a teacher.
At this point, he started paying a little more attention to his uncle’s business and would sometimes follow him to Oke-Arin market in Lagos Island to purchase goods for retail. Unfortunately, his parents discouraged him since he was a graduate and hoped that he would get at least a banking job. However, fate was determined to play a fast one on him.
Despite writing Aptitude tests with Zenith Bank, GTB and FBN Merchant Bankers, he failed all the tests. When it became clear that the banks were keeping their doors shut on him, David settled for a job with a security company. As a security man, he earned N7,000 monthly. He decided to save up N4,000 every month so that he could pool enough money to start a barber’s shop. This decision came with its sacrifice. For months, he went without getting any new clothes. He also made sure to eat breakfast and dinner in his brother’s house so that he only had to spend money on transport fare.
After six months, he had saved enough money to open a barbing salon at Powerline in Ejigbo area of Lagos without a generator. After three months, he started having problems because of epileptic power supply. At the time, an original Japan-made generator was N35,000 and he could not afford it. One of his brothers loaned him the money. Sales picked up and the salon was fetching him N7,000 monthly, added to his salary, it brought his monthly earnings to N14,000.
David worked a total of 18 months at the security outfit before he resigned. At that point, the barbing business had stabilised enough to give him sufficient income, and he thought he could now try out his hands in other businesses.
First he started by buying garri and Ogbono seed from Edo State and supplying it in Lagos, just as one of his uncles did. The business kicked off well and was going fine until he made the mistake of trusting his supplier with advance payments. He lost over N40,000.
Thankfully, he still had the barber shop on the side providing him some income. He decided then that he would not be in a rush to enter another business. He went instead to spend a three-month apprenticeship with an uncle, Sunday Egede, who owned DePrince Supermarkets. It was a very brief apprenticeship, and after learning as much as he could within the three months, he started Ebeano Supermarket in 1999, with the first outlet at Shomolu, Lagos State. This was not his first time in business, but perhaps, the brief apprenticeship and mentorship made all the difference. The retail business grew really fast for him, and he soon opened another outlet at Gbagada, and another at Ikota. He decided then to close the barber’s shop and focus on retail.
After almost a decade in the retail business, David went into a 50-50 partnership with his uncle and mentor. This partnership brought Egede’s DePrince Supermarkets and Ojei’s Ebeano Supermarkets under one umbrella. And so, in 2009, Prince Ebeano Supermarket came into the scene. As one might expect from a partnership of two strong businessmen, Prince Ebeano Supermarkets became a success overnight.
With the slogan, ‘The Preferred One Stop Retail Store’, the retail stores have a wide inventory that provides practically anything you want to buy. Since 2009, the Prince Ebeano brand has grown to have several outlets across Nigeria, providing direct employment for many, and for others, a platform to get their goods out to the consumers. The brand has earned its reputation for only sourcing quality products, so any product that makes it to the store shelves has already gained market visibility.
