Business Daily (Nairobi)
Abyssinia Lati
26 August 2007
Nairobi — For twenty years now, Mahesh Shah, proprietor of Memsaab has been selling exclusive fabrics that some of his customers claim cannot be found anywhere else.
The shop stocks fabric ranging from cotton to silk. "They are ten kinds of silk and we have them all," says Shah.
To him selling fabric is attractive, because the people who come to the shop want look unique. It is believed that designing an outfit and having it made is slightly cheaper than buying one, but that will depend on the fabric.
Memsaab is just one of many shops that sell fabric. At the city centre, there is a building called Nairobi Textile Centre, about three floors dedicated to fabrics. Shah believes that a good shop should attract customers and the layout of his shop does that.
He says it took over a year to get the design right. Instead of the conventional painting with a brush, he opted to spray-paint the custom-made metal shelves.
The result is a smooth to the touch and shiny finish. The colour is white to bring out the colours of the fabrics. It also gives the shop a clean look. The floors are ceramic.
In the middle of the shop is a counter filled tailoring accessories; threads, buttons elastics, ribbons and so on.
He shows that organisation is important; the shelving is according to colour and fabric.
If it is orange satin, it will start from the lightest to the darkest and just below it is green satin in the same colour.
The window display is striking. Mannequins draped in all kinds of fabric in such a way they look like clothes.
Located at the Corner Plaza, Westlands, Memsaab is good location for Shah. He had a shop a shop in Ngara, a popular location for fabric shops, from 1993 to 1997 but made a business decision to move to the current location.
"Here we have sure shoppers not browsers," says Shah. Apart from not making good sales, his customers did not like Ngara. There was no parking and the security was not good.
The ladies, his major customers, wanted a secure and safe place to do their shopping and parking is available.
In this shop, the shopper does his or her buying with an air-conditioned atmosphere. And if it is too cold or hot outside, cold and hot beverages are offered to the customers.
The 57 year-old owner started his fabric career working in garment factory before moving to re-selling fabric before he discovered his passion for fabrics. And now after 20 years of doing it, he is having his first biggest sale; 50 per cent off on all the fabrics.
"The sale to make the customers happy, they will get old stock at half price then get more to choose from with the new stock," says Shah, "It is also a way to make space new stock."
On the weekend, he knows the shop will be filled with multitude of customers but he has plenty of help. His wife and children will be there.
The secret of running a fabric shop is not selling good quality fabrics. "I buy one roll in one design and colour, so that the fabrics are not so common."
To avoid having fabrics like everyone else, he does the shopping himself.
He goes to the Far East, Dubai, Germany, Italy, Turkey and India. Ordering from a catalogue is not an option for him. He fears that such a fabric company might be selling to many other shops in town then the market is floored with similar materials.
The textile industry in the country is ailing because the influx of second-hand clothing and dumping of textiles from East Asia but they are some textiles still woven here.
"I have fabrics from local mills, the kikoys and kangas," he says.
Running a successive fabric ship, Shah says comes from practical experience and a good knowledge of fabrics. At the beginning, a person will bring in fabrics and from there find out what sells and want does not.
He says that coming up with the right collection of fabrics, in terms of type and colour, is tough. "You cannot bring anything and hope to sell."
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