Shoe Brand Awareness In Dubai

Posted on by Umm Ziyaad

UAE is a growing and developing nation in varying sectors including the fashion and footwear sectors.

I noticed that after attending many fashion events or expos here that there was always a small amount of footwear vendors scattered about in the event space which didn’t draw that much attention from the visitors.

The well known APLF leather exhibition https://www.aplf.com/2023/03/30/aplf-24-to-return-to-hong-kong-home-base/
hosted their yearly trade fair here in Dubai in March for the first time but will return to it’s home in Hong Kong for it’s regular scheduled events

I would suggest any new footwear brand trying to break into the UAE industry must do serious ground work to let the local community get to know you because the lack of multi brand footwear shops and vendors makes it difficult to gain accounts in this region if you are a new brand unless you secure an account with the known chain department stores.

Otherwise you have to make a pretty big name for yourself in order to gain interest in your brand and get locals to buy from you due to brand awareness and not simply on the basis of your design, style and diversity.

I believe that the UAE and Mena area in general will eventually develop an actual footwear industry where local talent will be recognised, and more multi brand footwear shops will open with growing knowledge of shoes, industry, diversity etc by the local market.

There is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs who have a love of shoes to create businesses that sell exclusive footwear from individual brands in their shops, but what must be present from the local market is interest, knowledge,  sense of diverse style, awareness of international talent apart from luxury or mainstream brands etc.

There are challenges for every market that you enter, but when trying to break into a developing nation who’s local market are not familiar nor accustomed to buying a brand just for it’s style and talent nor is there a multitude of local multi brand vendors willing to house them then that presents a huge disadvantage for the new designer brand trying to get discovered.

These are pictures from footwear trading in the west, where shoe shop owners come out to find new designers to house in their boutiques, department stores, atliers etc…

The designers typically set up their stalls, and gain accounts with vendors from all over the world who want to carry their shoes and introduce the brand to their customer base.

Unreliable Manufacturers And Production Challenges

Posted on by Umm Ziyaad

I really hate to dump on some manufacturers in the footwear industry but I have to say it, many Pakistani and Indian Manufacturers will lie and cheat, over promise and never deliver on the agreement.

The amount of money I spent in the early years on trying out different manufacturers in these countries and the money I lost along with the samples I just had to chalk up as a loss and just resell them as a one off is too much to renumerate. When you are alone with no help or guidance or connections to manufacturers trying to start a shoe brand then it is a trial and error experience and can get quite expensive quickly.

I searched and tried different craftsman in these countries and I got a few samples done right that I liked, but it was not because they were skilled and honest it just turned out for the good on my end which I am truly grateful for.

However the problem I ran into after the design for the Peshwari sandals and Shargiy sandals were completed and ready for production upon acquiring wholesale accounts from shoe vendors, I learned that the shoe maker could not replica the samples or source the leathers that the shoes were created in. Which put me back to square one because what is the point of marketing samples that cannot be reproduced? No use.

In the craftsman’s reasoning which was lead by greed and deceit just to get my money, was that I show the samples take orders for them and deliver whatever leather they have available at the local market which is absolutely absurd.

Quite frankly when you are dealing with crooks and people hungry for money they lie and don’t tell you the truth for fear of missing the sale, when in reality they lose potential long-term business relationships by lying and not delivering on their manufacturing abilities and promises.

I learned my lesson quickly and decided to keep my samples and resell them as one offs since they could not be produced in the color ways they were created in which was sad and a waste of time in my opinion.

These are only a few pictures that I managed to keep of the collection and it still saddens me that I could not launch them at the time of their creation but everything happens for a reason and when it’s supposed to.

To be continued………

XoXo- Style Diversity

Starting My Style Blog And Where I Am Now

Posted on by Umm Ziyaad

So let me start by thanking all of you who have subscribed to the blog and followed us all of these years.

I am from the United States and started this blog in 2013 while working as an English instructor in Saudi Arabia just before ending my contract at the school I was working at in Riyadh. At the time I was creating my new journey and path towards getting settled in the middle east through establishing my own business which brings me to my current position.

Teaching Saudi Students

If you’ve been here from the beginning then you’ll know that I mentioned that my love of shoes brought me to start this blog in the first place, and my determination to find unique footwear brands from around the globe to showcase them here on Style Diversity.

You will also remember that I would periodically post shoes for sale that linked to an online boutique that I owned called Sole Shoe Boutique that I started in 2006 which is now dissolved since 2019.

I also announced the making of my own shoe brand that I created called Thaqafah Shoes (Google me) that I periodically posted designs from on the blog. This was happening while I was suffering from an autoimmune disease for 17 years, raising my children, moving from country to country, starting a new life in the UAE and trying to expand the business here to finally getting settled making the UAE our final destination to build our lives in.

Thaqafah Shoes Images On Google

I had absolutely no help at all despite being married. But I’m a fighter , very goal driven and came a very long way under almost impossible circumstances.

I kept my businesses online and mobile because of my semi nomad lifestyle which worked well for me and what I was trying to do.

I’m now in a position where I got rid of dead weight (if you know what I mean) am settled and ready to take my career to new heights.

I haven’t posted much here over the past couple of years because of everything I just mentioned above however I was consistent with posting pics on our social media page @Stylediversity_Khaleej and we managed to gain over 20,000 followers on the page.

Style Diversity Instagram Page

I plan to share more of my journey with you all on the blog along with news about Thaqafah and the progress and challenges that come along with entering a new market, since most of my customers are based in the USA , Canada and Europe.

So stay tuned for more style posts, fashion news , and more from the middle eastern designers and talent from the local area.

XoXo- Style Diversity

My shoe love affair

Posted on by Umm Ziyaad

It all began when I was  a young teenage girl at the age of about 13 years and my mother gave me about $300 to go and buy myself  a few pairs of shoes from this high end boutique in center city located in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania my home town. I know what your thinking , who gives a thirteen year old $300 for shoes but i was really mature for my age and showed a strong interest in fashion at that age, imitating my tailored dressed mother and grandmother .

So the store that made me into a shoe monster is called headstart shoes and the store is still live and kicking business is certainly business because their shoe collections are just that awesome . If you ever visit Philly then be sure to check them out , they sell all European brands of high quality and design so you won’t be disappointed .Image