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29 March 2024

Five questions to…Manu Jaswani

Manu Jaswani (SUPPLIED)

Published
By David Tusing

The UAE's own footwear retailer, Shoe Mart, turned 20 recently. Starting with a single store in Dubai in 1990, the brand, owned by the Landmark Group, now operates 27 stores in the city and 88 others spread across the GCC, India and Egypt, with an outlet soon to open in Syria. CEO Manu Jaswani spoke to Emirates Business about the brand's history, trends in the regional footwear market and how his brand plans to stay relevant.

 

Do you think there's recently been renewed vigor among more affordable and mid-range priced brands in general vis-a-vis high-end labels?

There is only a small portion of the market that can afford high-end luxury brands. Compared to this, there is a huge market that buys mid-priced brands as most sell high fashion looks and trends at a price much lower. It enables a fashion-conscious person to buy more styles and spot more trends due to the affordable prices. Also it's very common to find runway rip offs in most high street fashion stores, hence a customer gets luxurious fashion looks at less price.

How important is the image of the Shoe Mart brand and its perception by consumers?

As we are the largest retailer in shoes in the region, we are very happy that the mid-market gap has been filled with our presence and that we are so successful today with the completion of two decades and 88 stores. Our reputation can be judged by this growth and success that speaks for itself.

What is unique about the footwear market in the region?

Dubai is a very fashion-conscious place, making it easy to sell trends and styles. Even someone with a regular salary package wants to wear the latest trends. Dubai recognises this very well and you will always find a brand/outlet that sells fashion footwear to every class of the society. People in this region understand that footwear completes one's looks, hence they consider footwear as an important investment.

How have you seen the footwear market change over the years?

Footwear earlier was a bare necessity, but it's no longer the same, as people started becoming more fashion conscious. Shoes are no longer confined to black, brown and white and have started becoming available in different colours, heel sizes and styles. Men's footwear has also come a long way.

With fast-changing trends, how does one make a brand relevant after 20 years?

Maintaining the significance of a brand depends on a lot of factors. It's a team effort and there's been a lot of hard work involved. We started off with a very simple store format that sold shoes for the mid-lower-end market and gradually evolved into a more fashionable footwear store. We improved every aspect of the brand by having better products, more variety, a pleasing store atmosphere and improved marketing and advertising.