Fredeva Market is a popular and renowned ecommerce cosmetics retail giant operating in Ghana. Abrah Siaw Fred, the brain behind the company, has come out to give his teeming customers a peek into his world. In this interview with LynkUPP, Fred laid bare the dynamics of operating one of the largest cosmetics retail companies in Ghana. So strap up, and enjoy the flight.
LynkUPP: Let’s meet you.
Fredeva: My name is Abrah Siaw Fred, the Director of Fredeva Market. I am a Ghanaian, and a happily married family man.
LynkUPP: Can you provide a brief introduction to your brand, the name, and how it came into existence? What’s the inspiration behind your brand?
Fredeva: Fredeva is a brand name comprising of my name (Fred) and my wife’s name (Eva). During our dating time, we decided to start something and I came up with the name Fredeva in 2012. I have a BSc Administration. In 2018, when everything was lost, I applied to do my service because I had also resigned from my work with Beige Bank before the government took over. So my National service money and end-of-year bonus that was given at our service workplace is what we (I and my then girlfriend, who is now my wife) used to start the online market. We used to post images on social media and run ads. When orders come, we get the products, add our profit margin, and deliver. Within Accra, it was payment on delivery, but outside Accra, it was payment before delivery. So the outside Accra orders really helped us.
At a point, customers wanted to come over and meet us face to face to transact business, and we didn’t have money to get a shop, so I converted my single room into a warehouse so that those who wanted to come over to buy could come. Later on, I used my mum’s container as a shop. We started with 1600gh, and within a year, we had made 100k. With that, I bought lands, and it’s been progressive to date. We started with Makeup products and later moved to body splashes and perfumes. Those days we had little competition, so we made a lot during those times.
LynkUPP: What sets your brand apart from other brands in Ghana? What unique qualities or offerings do you bring to the cosmetics scene?
Fredeva: We started Fredeva Market full-time after the investment crisis happened in 2018. We lost 155000gh in GCCH.
And then it occurred to us that people traveled all the way from other regions just to come and purchase items. These people wished they could easily get their products without the accompanying stress and inconvenience, but trust was a big problem with the online markets since they might end up losing their monies to fraudsters. So we decided to make things easier for the buyers by filling in that gap, providing people with what they need and on time.
We built trust and integrity with our customers, and none of our customers have ever received their products after payment, they all make payments before their products are sent to them. On 13th January 2024, Fredeva Market will be 5 years.
To answer the question of what sets us apart from other brands, I would say the most distinguishing aspect of our brand/company is our level of integrity and honesty. It has really set us apart from other players in the marketplace. We give our customers what they want and we never take money from customers without sending them their products on time.
Some of the unique qualities we brought were educating our customers, and being honest with the products we sell. Making sure we give the exact thing being quality.
LynkUPP: Could you describe the types of products that you specialize in? What are some of the signature products that your customers absolutely love?
Fredeva: We deal on perfumes (Designer, fragrance, and Lattafa perfumes), Deodorants, Body splashes (Victoria’s Secret, Bodycology, Body philosophy, bath, and body works, pink in sweet, etc), Body Cream, Body scrubs, facial scrubs, etc.
LynkUPP: How do you source your products? Do you prioritize using local or foreign products? Could you tell us more about your commitment to quality?
Fredeva: We source our products based on relationships with people who bring them and have contacts with people who bring specific products. So based on orders, we pick up the particular product. Most of our products are from outside brands. We deal on quality products and if there are products that are not quality, we inform our customers. And sometimes, because of affordability, some customers prefer to buy the less quality product, and they really do appreciate us telling them the truth.
LynkUPP: In terms of customer satisfaction, what measures do you take to ensure that your customers have a memorable and enjoyable experience?
Fredeva: Due to the mix of our numerous products, it can be very challenging to satisfy all our customers, but we do our very best. We go all out to give our customers a memorable shopping experience. We sometimes have minor issues with some customers when it comes to fragrance mix, but like I said earlier, we always do our best to satisfy them.
LynkUPP: Is there any interesting or memorable customer story or experience that you’d like to share?
Fredeva: Just recently, we delivered an order to one of our good customers in Nsawam. With how our products are, we sometimes run low on some fragrances, and needs to restock. When the stock is low, instead of 8, you might get 4 fragrances. And we will always explain the situation to the customer. In this situation, our customer didn’t understand, even after explaining everything to her. She was very angry, and said she wouldn’t buy from us again because she didn’t get what she needed at that moment. I had no option but to ask her ask her to send back the items, so she can get a refund. Which she did, and I refunded her money. This is a customer we always offer quality service. We go all out for her. But in just one instance where she couldn’t get exactly the quantity of products she wanted, she got angry. This makes me realize that as a business man, you can always do your best, but can never satisfy everybody.
Also, we’ve had numerous customers call to appreciate us for the quality of our products, the timely delivery, and the ease of purchase.
LynkUPP: As the owner of Fredeva Market, what challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them? What lessons have you learned along the way?
Fredeva: A major challenge we faced at the inception of our business was theft from workers and motor riders. No matter how well you treated them, they would still want more. Also, I learnt to be nice to my workers, but never too friendly with them. I overcame this challenge of theft by doing operating fully online. I do full online market and marketing, and it’s less challenging.
LynkUPP: Do you have any plans for expansion or diversification in the future? Are there any new ideas or projects on the horizon for your brand? Tell us about the investment opportunities in your company.
Fredeva: Yes we do have a lot of plans to expand. We have diversified a few times, and we also now give financial assistance to people in the form of loans and investments in lands and other people’s businesses.
LynkUPP: Lastly, how can people find and connect with you? Do you have a website, social media presence?
Fredeva: For now, we are on Facebook and Instagram as Fredeva Market. We are on Facebook, and Instagram only for now. We are building our ultra-modern ecommerce website which will be launched a few weeks from now. Our customers can go there, shop for whatever products they want, and make payment for the items, and we get it delivered. It is going to be entirely automated. That way, anyone can place order and make payment even at midnight, and get the items shipped in the morning.
LynkUPP: Mr Fred, thanks much for making out time to speak with us.
Fredeva: It is a privilege sir.