Executive Summary The Nigerian GDP has reached $509 billion. At its current level, this makes the country’s GDP the 26th largest in the world-leading towards significant regional clout as the richest country in Africa based on GDP alone. As such, the purchasing power of the local population has increased due to positive developments to the local economy as a direct result of the strengthening or creation of numerous industries. This has influenced the rate by which people spend on luxuries instead of primarily on essentials. Recent data regarding Nigeria’s local luxury products industry has revealed that it is currently worth $213 million with a 10 to 15 per cent increase in domestic sales expected over the next five years based on sales forecasts and the fact that the local market is still relatively “untapped” so to speak. Despite this apparent boom, there are still some notable issues in this industry that should be taken into consideration. The main issue that will be discussed in this project focuses on the fact that 90% of local buyers for luxury fashion brands within the country shop abroad for their needs. The reason for this is due to the relative absence of luxury fashion brands within the country which causes the local buyer to either resort to utilising purchasing services or going abroad to buy the brands that they want; it is the latter choice that is often the most prevalent among consumers. The primary question that will be investigated in this study is what practices within Nigeria have had positive or negative impacts on the introduction of luxury fashion brands within the country. This entails determining whether policies related to taxation, current infrastructure (real estate or corporate) have been conducive towards the development of the local luxury industry within the country. The main purpose of this research project is to determine why luxury fashion brands from European fashion houses have little in the way of market penetration within Nigeria despite the high levels of demand within the country. If 90% of the luxury item consumer population within the country has to shop abroad to satisfy their demand for European fashion brands, this is indicative of a considerable market penetration issue. The main assumption of this study is that the necessary structures (i.e. luxury-oriented malls and shopping districts) and partnerships that would be conducive towards the development of the local luxury goods industry are simply not well developed enough or is absent which prevents proper market penetration by international fashion brands into the country. The following analysis of the impact of the luxury market in Nigeria from a customer analysis perspective will be conducted via questionnaire to collect participant data from knowledgeable research subjects who understand how this segment of the economy works and what factors need to be observed given their importance to how they impact the current growth of this industry. Introduction Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Armani, Burberry, Christian Dior, Chanel and Gucci exemplify the concept of wealth, high fashion, extravagance and, of course, the exclusivity of possession which can only be accorded to individuals that are considered to be part of the “upper tier” of present-day societ