It can be difficult to sum up the kind of multiple threat that a person such as Deremi Ajidahun poses to the status quo. While to all intents and purposes he appears to approach his passions in the most joyful and relaxed of manners, nontheless this is a man who has made his hobbies his business — literally. Cruising through life from interest to pastime, at each step he has spotted opportunities and grabbed them with both hands. Which makes one wonder if his true passion is one for business — and for creating disruptive ideas that push people and markets forward.
Take, for instance, his role as the creator of luxe retailer Zakaa. Bringing high-end horology to a dynamic and ever-maturing Nigerian and wider African market, it made sense for Deremi to extend his personal love for fine watchmaking into a sphere where he could meet a thirst for haute timepieces from fellow collectors. But more than that, Deremi’s careful gathering of Maisons and curation of their offerings has helped to shape the very market it serves — a niche traditionally filled by the world’s most beloved and long-lived heritage retailers.
How fitting, then, that his influence should go on to extend to the very heart of the industry, as a jury member of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. The much-anticipated prize is a barometer of the industry, signalling trends and developments to the makers, buyers and wearers of fine watches. As part of the prize’s jury, Deremi is now in a position to shape not just his home market, but also the brands that he supplies it with — and such a role couldn’t be in better hands.
A bon vivant and entrepreneur with a new project constantly on the horizon, it’s this endless energy that has got Deremi to where he is, and that will hopefully continue to propel his important point of view to the forefront of the watchmaking community’s awareness.
GMTGCC: For those who are meeting you or hearing about you for the first time, how would you describe yourself?
Deremi: I’d describe myself as someone who is quite introverted despite appearing to be extraverted. I’m quietly confident, friendly but not overly so. I’m quite conservative. I’ve been described as enigmatic and charismatic, too. And I am definitely entrepreneurial.
What was your early life like? Were your parents a big inspiration to you?
Yes they definitely were. My father was a shipping magnate; as a teenager I would accompany him to the ships in the port and work late nights with him. To be honest, I’m not sure about the exact nature of the work that I was doing! However, it started me off on my path. When I came out of university I worked for 3-4 years in banking and then I went straight into running my own business and I’ve run my own businesses ever since.
My late father was my hero. I was just 17 when my father passed, but he achieved so much in the business world. He was a Christian, and my mother, who was an absolute darling, was very Muslim – Nigeria is a country where people live side by side, and I grew up with both these worlds. My mother taught me courage and confidence. She always protected me when I was naughty, as mothers do. She taught me how to be tender, and caring.
Where is home for you now?
It’s 100% Nigeria. I first left Nigeria when I was six years old to go to school in England. My schooling was between England and Switzerland, depending on the where my father was.
You’ve built a number of companies over your career, with great variety between them – can you let us in on that journey?
All my businesses are all about my passions, every single one, and actually none have been directly related to my Master, which was International Affairs. The first company I worked for was an IT company and I ended up winning a design award for the annual report of the year, two years running. So I OK, there’s something there. I started my own design company and from that company went into printing and publishing. My main business after that – Hole 19 – is related to golf. I had a friend who was an ardent golfer who invited me to play. At first, as an ex-football player, I resisted. And then after eight months of watching, I suddenly caught the bug. I bought a golf set from California and I brought it back to Nigeria. I wasn’t a particularly good golfer, but one day I was being watched by some players and one of them insisted on buying my golf clubs, because they weren’t available in Nigeria. And then it happened again, when I had bought a second set back from California. They were Callaway golf brand. And I thought – there’s something here. I took myself off to London. I had no appointment with them but I found the address of Callaway Golf in Leatherhead and knocked on their door. The lady at reception said “Sorry, sir, there is three months waiting for an appointment.” I said: “Please tell the MD that I’ve come all the way from Nigeria. I just need 10 minutes of his time.” It transpired that the MD’s elder brother was in my class at school. Small world! Our ten minutes turned into five hours and dinner. And that’s how Hole 19 started.
From being the importer and distributor for Callaway Golf in Nigeria, the company grew to managing and creating tournaments, managing, maintaining and redesigning golf courses.
The UAE is obviously close to your heart. What is it about the Emirates that you fell in love with?
This country started marketing golf packages to the UK in the 1980s; I think it was something like one week in Rotana Hotel in Deira for £180, including airfare – it got on my radar, and although I bought books about how to set up in the UAE, I never did until many years later when my daughter – I have five children, three girls and two boys – said she wanted to go to school here. She found a school, got the application form and handed it to me. Fait accompli! When I was growing up, I didn’t see my father much as he was working a lot, and I want my daughter to see me in Dubai, so I decided to look for some work. And then my dear friend Brice Chevalier said “Well, why don’t you take over GMT Middle East?” I said “Ok!”.
I just love the people here. I love the local attitude and of course it’s a huge, international place. Very vibrant. It’s got a lot of things. It has its deficiencies like any other city in the world. But I have always fascinated by the Emiratis, their culture that is reserved and polite and kind. There is an attitude of finding solutions, instead of focusing on problems.
You’ve also got a watch business. What got you into that?
It was really my wife who said “you’re spending a lot of time, energy, money at watch fairs as a collector… why not turn it into a business? Initially I didn’t do anything about it but then I thought “That’s an interesting comment..” At my third visit to Basel I tried to present myself as a potential retailer or distributor, and of course the, the response was zero. Nobody was ready to listen to me whatsoever. Nigeria has its recognized retailers and distributors and who was I, just some guy. But then I got one brand and another… and that was the start. We’ve never looked back. My business model works with independent brands who want a voice and some of the bigger players don’t really have the energy or capacity, to take care of some of the small brands who are not major hitters. It’s not a traditional retail model; it is more of an experience and expression.
One of the things you’ve mentioned quite a lot is community and how important that is to you.
Yes, community is very, very important. What I love here is that the community is very strong. The watch community is strong back home too, but it’s more fractured. Here people are very happy to talk about their love of watches. You know, I guess it also comes with a certain amount of security, you know, even in England, I don’t think people want to talk about the huge collections and where they might be located and who they are! I don’t think there’s a place that has more clubs – not just watches, but cars, fashion, whatever it is… per square meter than we have here in the UAE. So yes, Community is very, very important.
You’re the publisher of GMT Africa magazine, and now you’ve launched the brand new GMT GCC for the Middle East. What do you hope that these publications will achieve in their respective markets? What’s your role as publisher?
I remember attending a huge conference in Paris and the CEO of Bulgari was on stage and somebody mentioned Nigeria and he was proud to say how Nigerians were some of his best customers in Paris. And everybody clapped. I stood up and asked him: “Nigerians are your best customers… do you have a boutique in Nigeria?” And the answer was no. I said “You have 17 boutiques in Hong Kong alone. Why don’t you close just one… and open it in Nigeria.” We will get there. The watch industry needs more representation from Africa – it’s still super white and super male! I always like to ask these kind of questions. Maybe it ruffles feathers, but I always ask them.
On my watch
Do you have any early memories of timepieces, or particular moments in your youth or childhood that paved the way for your love of horology?
Back in the 1970s, I remember Steiner was the owner of the Rolex franchise in Nigeria. Every day I’d pass the boutique and stand outside as a young boy, looking in through the window at all these watches. Of course, my father was a watch collector already back then. And one day he took my hand and he said “Get into my car.” I was shaking like a leaf inside the car, I thought “What the hell have I done?” And we parked outside the store, and went in and the next thing I know, he has bought me my first watch – an Oris. So the passion really came from my relationship with my father.
What was your first significant horological purchase? What did it mean to you at the time?
After the Oris, my father bought me a Longines for my 16th birthday. And I wore that happily for the longest time. Just before my 18th birthday, I bought my own watch and it was a Le Roy. And then after that I bought a Cartier Santos. And the most expensive one that I bought after that was a Cartier Santos in rose gold, which I bought in Switzerland, and took me a very, very long time to save up for!
Can you let us in on the highlights of your collection?
My collection is always been about what just takes my fancy. It’s never been about money or price. I only started collecting Rolexes about five years ago; I’ve always been a fan of the Ulysse Nardin Freak. The concept was very nice from day one. The Nautilus is a watch that I enjoyed many years ago. It’s not speaking to me the way it used to, perhaps because everybody wants it… I’ve always wanted to be different. A Patek might not start a conversation the way it used to. A few nights ago I was wearing my Purnell which has the fastest tourbillon in the world. I was with a whole group of guys, many of them wearing Richard Milles, Pateks and so forth. But everybody wanted to know what I was wearing, because they had never seen one in real life before.
The launch of GMT GCC is a milestone in your career – do you plan to reward yourself with a horological gift? Any pieces you have your heart set on?
I turned 60 last year, and I commissioned two very special watches which I hope to receive this year… Put it this way, they are both very ‘difficult’ watches and I had to do a lot of arm twisting… I am hoping to receive them both this year.
