Kenya: Competition Stiff As Wedding Industry Booms
Wanjiru Waithaka
12 March 2008
Meeting Hope Mwinzi, soon after she launched her bridal magazine - Raspberry Weddings - the question that instantly came to mind was: Do we really need yet another bridal magazine or Expo in Kenya? Can there be that many people getting married to justify all the people falling over themselves to serve this niche?
The answer is a resounding 'Yes!' Ten thousand marriages were registered two years ago and the figure has grown since. Although guest lists are getting smaller, with an average of 150 to 300 people compared to over 500 a few years ago, the amount spent per weddings is increasing as brides try to outdo friends by having the most exclusive and unique wedding.
"In 2002, I started a wedding planning business, but soon closed it down because people were using committees to organise their weddings.
"Nowadays I get clients who say they want what they saw on a TV show or international magazine and they are willing to pay for it," says Ms Mwinzi.
Ms Esther Njuguna, a wedding planner, says she's booked solid till December - with an average of four weddings a week. In less than a decade, the wedding industry has grown from nothing to mainstream and couples have a wide variety of suppliers to choose from, be it wedding planners, florists, caterers, providers of tents, limousine services, venues, even hotels which now have special wedding packages.
Supermarkets have joined the bandwagon with wedding lists where couples can choose which gifts they want to receive from guests.
But like many older industries, which experienced rapid growth in a short period of time, the wedding industry in Kenya is experiencing growing pains as competition stiffens.
Lack of regulation has resulted in some fraudsters riding on the good name of established brands to fleece clients. "The biggest issue is standards because many people are entering the industry jua kali style, with no training and money is their first priority, not good service," says Sue Muriuki of Divine Weddings.
This has become the biggest headache for established brands because most suppliers get new clients from referrals and a company's reputation is its best asset. "People are taking advantage of brides by passing off as well known suppliers and taking money then failing to supply services on the material day," says Ms Catherine Masitsa, founder of Samantha Bridal magazine.
Greedy managers of wedding venues are known to overbook their premises so that couples promised an exclusive venue get a shock when they arrive for their reception only to find two or three other weddings also taking place, constraining parking space for their guests not to mention the nuisance of noise spilling over from the other celebrations.
To tackle these challenges, 100 players in the industry have come together and formed the Wedding Service Providers Association to strategise on how to regulate the industry.
A bride
Among the actions being considered is registering members who meet a certain minimum level of standards and providing them with a logo to distinguish them from other industry players. It would also be a central place where clients can forward complains to if they get bad service, with the association playing the role of arbitrator.
"Members will be bound by a code of conduct and will know someone is watching them. But more than that, it will help to protect brides from unscrupulous companies because if you're messed up on your wedding day you can never get that day back," says Ms Masitsa, the chairperson of the association.
Ms Muriuki, on the other hand, is on a mission to certify wedding planners in East and Central Africa after they undergo a six-month course. She is a member of Weddings and Beautiful, a 52-year-old American wedding training company.
As the industry grows, segmentation is also becoming more visible in the prices charged by industry players. At the low end are wedding planners who charge Sh25,000 to Sh30,000 while at the top end are planners who charge Sh100,000 and over.
While some players base their fees on a percentage of the total costs of the wedding - anywhere from five to 20 per cent - others base their fees on the amount of work involved in planning an event. "If someone asks for black roses that are very hard to get we charge more for this. It also depends on the number of events we'll have to co-ordinate, for instance, some people have more than one cocktail," says Ms Mwinzi.
The huge disparity in the amount couples are spending on weddings also presents opportunities for new entrants as they can tailor their products and services to serve people with different pocket depths.
For instance, one couple can spend Sh300,000 for their entire wedding while another spends the same amount on flowers alone. High end weddings, with all the trimmings, have been known to cost upwards of Sh3 million.
In one such wedding the bride's dress cost Sh400,000, purchased from a top designer in the United Kingdom. This excluded the cost of travelling to the UK for three to four fittings. "Such spending seems irrational when you consider that we have bridal wear suppliers locally, but it's the perceived value that counts for such brides," says Ms Masitsa.
The need to have a unique wedding that rivals anything their friends have had is driving more brides to hire wedding planners and has put a premium on creativity, with brides ready to pay more for good ideas that will help their weddings stand out.
Competition is quite high and you need to be quite creative to succeed. This means keeping up with the latest wedding trends," says Ms Njuguna who recently started a bridal magazine, which is now in its fourth issue. Last month she also launched a bridal expo (Harusi Yetu) to join the three others already in the market.
Copyright © 2008 Business Daily. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
