Whenever holidays come, Daniel Kibru, 28, finds himself waxing lyrical when reminiscing about his excitements as a child. But what mattered then does not have a meaning now.
It took only little to enliven him; getting a ball, new shoes or clothes was what it took to make his day or his entire week. He treasures the old times, on big religious holidays especially Easter, Epiphany and New Year’s Day which were the times he gets to have new outfits and shoes. His father only focused on durability and quality, so his only choice was Anbassa Shoes. For his loyal Anbassa shoes admirer father, it never crossed his mind to buy him shoes that are produced by other producers.
“Every year it was the same style. So I did not want their shoes anymore. Apart from their styles it was heavy, so I wanted more stylish and I preferred sneakers. So whenever the holidays come around I always wish to go with someone else other than my father,” Daniel told The Reporter.
However, after growing up, things changed and there was no one but him who decides in simple matters like what kind of shoes to get. Especially when his brother moved to the US, expensive brand shoes like Nike, New Balance, Rebook, Converse and Timberland were all at his disposal.
Back in high school these brands gave him what he calls “swagger” but after reaching his mid-twenties the young business owner has shifted more into formal footwear
So he started buying well acclaimed shoes like Clarks that have an expensive price tag. But since the last three years he saw change in the local shoes, where he saw one of his friends wearing a pair of local shoes which he assumed were not local.
“I guess my mind was full of memories from my childhood days and when I saw some advertisements I did not know if they will be in good quality like the imported ones,” Daniel says.
Now he started to buy the local products, especially the brand Sheba and he has quite a few collections of the casual shoes.
“These shoes are very comfortable. Previously locally made shoes were not like this. These are comfortable, durable, and the material is pure leather. Plus, the style is nice and what exceeded my expectation was the sole of the shoes. The soles being rubber made a big difference for me,” Daniel states.
With that kind of quality, style and comfort he believes that the price of the shoes is affordable and he believes that the local shoes are replacing the imported ones.
Nowadays, Ethiopian shoes and footwear industry is thriving on a big scale with the coming and expansion of many shoes factories. Some of them are Anbessa, OK Jamaica, Kangaroo and Ramsay.
Utilizing one of the county’s wealth, rawhide, the local brands are attracting customers on a large scale. A couple of years back, many shoe-stores that sell local brands were hankering for customers. Now things have changed and many customers have started visiting these shops trusting local products.
One of the largest shoe factory’s, Peacok’s deputy manager Dawit Birasa, has witnessed the tremendous growth of the market since the factory’s foundation.
This factory started two decades back on a very small scale with only 60 workers around Piazza. Years later, they did the expansion work and planted another factory around Saris. When the factory started it produced up to 200 pairs per day but now it produces 2,000 pairs per day, which are mostly men’s shoes for different age groups.
According to Dawit, Peacock was also the first company to start exporting in 2005 that is dominated by 90 percent men’s footwear. Even if the production is growing tremendously there is a gap when it comes to women shoes.
Parenthetically, the export market also made an impact in replacing the manual production into a technologically advanced one and, according to Dawit, having the exposure also changed the design to make the products competitive internationally.
“What Ethiopia exports might be close to five million pairs but what we are importing is more than 40 million pairs annually. The outflow and inflow are not balanced and still there is a demand for imported shoes. It might be because there is no alternative especially when it comes to women’s shoes and sneakers,” Dawit told The Reporter.
And since the government encourages the industry sectors the businesses are benefiting from tax exemption in imports of materials for the production and export taxes on the ready-made products.
This incentive and also the coming of technology changed the dynamics of the market. Dawit also believes that the government is supporting this industry in infrastructure and manpower development. In the past four or five years, the sale has been increasing. Dawit did not hide the fact even if there is a demand in local products their focus is in export.
“We know we can not meet the demand of the local market because we do not have that capacity,” Dawit says.
The incentive is only for companies who export. He believes the profitable way is selling it locally where they sale it for 15-20 dollars each Internationally.
“When you sell it locally there is tax and if you are based on a local base you are not free from tax when you import raw materials and also when we send the ready-made products but it is obvious it is profitable here,” Dawit believes.
According to Dawit, since this brand is starting to emerge on the international market it still did not manage to penetrate the market. He says that there are other brands which are cheaper in price and have better quality which has made the competition fierce.
Dawit says that they use genuine leather even in the lining and the material they use of making the soles is thermo rubber [a mix of plastic and rubber.] With their production of sole the company has somehow managed to solve the sole problem which was a common complaint by customers.
So far the amount of export is increasing where they sell 300,000 pairs which is worth about USD 2.5 million annually.
The sheep-skins and goat’s-kins represent the bulk of Ethiopian leather production with its clarity, thickness, flexibility, strength and compact texture. But when it comes to the oxskin Dawit says that it is a challenge with flay cuts, putrefaction, animal diseases which are some of the things that decrease the standard of rawhide.
With 390 workers the shoes pass different stages from designing up to the final selection. The huge factory is full of people who are focused on their work. In different sections there are groups of people diligently executing their works. Though most of the shoes pass from machine to machine until the final process, some of them are sewed using hands.
There is also a section which produces for brands in Europe including Wortman and Geox and sell it under the brands name and according to Dawit, many European designers are importing from Ethiopia where they sell it under their name.
Using the incentive of the tax exemption many companies are now focused on export and Tikur Abay Share Company which was founded 60 years ago has also planned to export six million dollars worth of products this year and up to this month they were able to export about two million dollars worth of shoes.
The General Manager of Tikur Abay, Abebe Teklu, also sees the change in the past five years.
Within a couple of years their annual sale which was around 50 million birr grew and last year alone they were able to sell 90 million birr worth of shoes. This year, their target is 140 million birr.
“We know there is a demand for the shoes here but we are working on increasing our export line so we could not sell it locally,” Abebe told The Reporter.
Tikur Abay started by Armenians was known for producing military footwear. Then during the military rule, the factory was nationalized before it was privatized five years ago.
According to Abebe, this factory is the main supplier for armies in different African countries. Apart from that, the company started producing casual shoes that are exported Italy, Spain, and the US and now it produces more than 5,400 pairs particularly after the expansion of the factory with 30 million birr.
Abebe strongly believes more than the design change in the shoes and awareness about local products is what brought the demand. Even if the men’s footwear is now highly demanded, there is a long way to go when it comes to the women shoes which, according to him, is constantly changes style.
“The customer, who used to buy a pair for 50-60 birr now, buys shoes up to 400-500 birr. This is a good change, which is also encouraging,” Abebe says.
Their line of products differs with the style of dressing. Shoes for occasions range from 200-450 birr and casual shoes are from 120-200 birr.
The design and style change might not be noticeable for new customers but for people like Natan Sahleselassie, who has been buying these shoes for a couple of years, the change is visible.
Formerly, his choice was Tikur Abay and had a hard time convincing people that the product was local. The short boot style suited him even if it was a bit heavy.
After that he started buying Peacock, Ramsay and now Sheba’s products are included in his shopping list. Across the years, what he considered to be dull designs eventually changed.
The crowd that is seen in the different shoe stores for him bear witness to how the demand is there. But with their price he has his own reservations and says the price should not be more than 500 birr, which he believes is fair.
With a variety of styles, Sheba was able to attract many people within a short period of time. The collection at Sheba Fashion around Piazza Haileselassie I Street varies from casual to comfort, boots, formal, sports and sandals.
Eden Mehari, a salesperson at Sheba Fashion, has worked for the past year and a half and during her stay she has witnessed how the number of customers is increasing every day. The designs of Sheba shoes have adopted the styles of international brands like Gucci et al.
“Besides its quality, I think people are interested in our shoes because of the design especially the sole and the finishing,” Eden told The Reporter.
The price for men ranges from 200 birr up to 800 birr and for women from 350 birr to 600 birr.
Their flat shoes for women are in high demand. One of the common remarks she hears from the customers is if this shoe is really produced in Ethiopia. It is highly probable that they will replace the imported ones in a few years time.
