When a business survives 25 years in Nigeria, across economic cycles, regulatory shifts, supply chain shocks, and changing consumer behaviour, it has earned the right to be respected and studied.
As SKLD Integrated Services Limited marks its silver jubilee, we sat down with its Founder, Mrs. Temilola Adepetun, and long-time Executive Director and incoming CEO, Tayo Osiyemi, to reflect on a journey that began with a simple retail idea and evolved into a multi-division enterprise serving education, corporate, manufacturing, and humanitarian sectors.
What emerges from the conversation is not a story of overnight success, but one of relevance, discipline, and steady execution.
A Practical Bet That Worked
For Mrs. Adepetun, the business began with a simple relevance test.
“Children will always be born, and they will always go to school, which means they’ll always need school supplies,” she said. “That’s why I chose this business. I believe it’s an idea inspired by God.”
But relevance alone was not enough. What followed was the discipline to deliver consistently.
“I see problems as challenges that must be solved. I take time to process them, talk to my mentors, and then rise with solutions. Process it, fix it, move.”
Interestingly, SKLD did not start from youthful experimentation but from preparedness. Before founding the company, then known as School Kits, Mrs. Adepetun had built a career across finance, treasury, HR, and insurance within the oil and gas sector. Those roles demanded structure, documentation, and accountability, values she carried directly into entrepreneurship.
“Excellence was ingrained in me early in my career… You don’t submit what you can’t swear by.”
For business leaders, the lesson is clear: strong operating discipline often matters more than speed.
From Shop to Brand
One decision quietly changed the trajectory of the company: owning the product.
Mrs. Adepetun explained that the idea to create an in-house school uniform brand came from observing persistent gaps in the market.
“I realized many of the uniforms available weren’t designed with Nigerian schools in mind. The fabric was often too thick, the colors weren’t quite right, and the materials didn’t suit our tropical, humid climate.”
That insight led to Marcel Hughes Schoolwear, launched to reflect local realities while delivering premium quality.
“We began producing under our label around 2009. First cartons, then container loads, insisting on the fit and quality.”
Owning quality control made scaling logical rather than risky. Retail expansion followed, first beyond Lagos, then into Abuja, broadening reach while maintaining standards.
A major milestone came in 2019, when SKLD expanded its garment manufacturing capacity and warehousing infrastructure with support from the Bank of Industry.
Mrs. Adepetun described it as a “ten-year dream.”
“It was finally real when I saw the figures in the company’s books.”
Diversification, Without Losing the Core
As SKLD grew, diversification was inevitable and intentional
At its core, the company remained a supply chain business. School supplies naturally expanded into corporate, manufacturing, and humanitarian supplies. In 2017, SKLD subscribed to the United Nations Global Marketplace, opening the door to international NGO supply contracts and a new growth trajectory.
By 2018, SKLD became the official distributor of CASIO calculators in Nigeria, further strengthening its presence in the education ecosystem.
At this point, the name School Kits no longer told the full story.
The company rebranded to SKLD Integrated Services Limited, reflecting a broader, integrated strategy spanning retail, wholesale, manufacturing, humanitarian services, and distributorship. The retail arm became SKIT Store, expanding beyond school supplies into office and lifestyle products.
The SKLD Brand Promise
When asked how she wants customers to experience the brand, Mrs. Adepetun was unequivocal.
“For SKIT, our retail arm, I want parents to say we delivered what we promised, and even more.”
At the group level, the emphasis is on reliability.
“We want to be known as the company that keeps its word.”
In an environment where trust is often fragile, consistency has become SKLD’s differentiator.
Being Human-Centered before Profit-Centered
For Tayo Osiyemi, who has spent over a decade inside the business, translating vision into systems has been central.
His principles are simple: put the customer first, address issues promptly, innovate, and systemise.
“We’re not firstly about the profits but about solving a problem. We believe the money always follows solution providers in proportion to the scale of the problem they are willing to solve.”
That philosophy extends inward. Employee welfare is not a side note but a structural priority.
Asked to describe SKLD’s culture in three words, Mrs. Adepetun responded instantly:
“Audacity, resilience, excellence.”
Mr. Osiyemi added:
“Care and consistency.”
Tough Calls on the Way Here
Growth has not come without difficult decisions.
“Letting go is hard, but necessary when standards aren’t met,” Mrs. Adepetun said. “We even closed a store when the model wasn’t working. You remove emotion, learn, and move.”
Risk, too, was unavoidable.
“My first bank loan came two years in, I was scared. But you can’t build without risk. Sometimes, you just have to silence the fear and move forward.”
For Mr. Osiyemi, the hardest moments often involve people.
“Losing great team members and having to move on. When it comes to customers, if we lose money but keep the relationship, we can rebuild. But if we lose the relationship, then that’s the real loss.”
The Next 5 years: Expanding Capacity, Going Global
Looking ahead, SKLD’s plans are ambitious, but practical.
“We envision establishing a distribution centre in the Middle East and Africa, starting with the UAE,” Mrs. Adepetun explained, “to expand school uniform distribution and serve other African markets.”
The company is also targeting East Africa and Francophone West Africa as humanitarian supply hubs.
Retail expansion continues steadily, with seven stores today and a target of twenty within three years. E-commerce growth is being supported by technology investments focused on customer acquisition and retention.
“Think the durability of a Marks & Spencer, but born here,” Mrs. Adepetun said.
Mr. Osiyemi framed the strategic logic:
“You can’t hinge your entire business on one sector because of market volatility. We’re diversifying into complementary but independent sectors… a lesson we learnt during COVID.”
A Quarter Century of Resilience
Mrs. Adepetun reflects on her journey simply.
“I started at 40. By the second year, I knew. No turning back.”
Impact, for her, goes beyond revenue, measured instead in jobs created across 13 locations, over 300 employees, hundreds of schools served, and thousands of families supported.
“It’s still amazing, and we’re grateful, but we’re not done. We’re building relevance that lasts.”
At SKLD, “Rooted in Legacy, Driven by Impact” is not a slogan, it is a discipline.
