Surviving A Niche Market Business

LEATHER MANUFACTURING & RETAILING

Who is Paula Mazvita Marowa ?

Paula Mazvita is a 26year old girl who was born in a family of three girls. She is the founder and Executive Director of Rukanda Pride, a leather products manufacturing and retailing company and she has a diploma in business administration so far on educational qualifications. We took time to interview her and this is what she had to share with us…

IM: What was the inspiration behind the name Rukanda Pride?

PM : Rukanda means leather (Ganda) and people from Masvingo province call it Rukanda. So, I needed a name that resonates with the product itself., in a nutshell it is the pride we take in the African leather.

IM : Ok from sole trader to CEO of Rukanda Pride, tell us about the journey?

PM : Before becoming an entrepreneur, I worked in Victoria Falls for a year as an administrator. I came back to Harare and worked for a company called Vision Consultancy Africa (VCA) as a call agent.

Took money out of my savings and started my entrepreneurial journey by going to South Africa to get baby wear and sell from Kwame mall, which was a very busy marketplace for small businesses in buying and selling.

I saved enough and grew out of Kwame mall and found opportunities in the leather industry.

IM; Manufacturing leather falls under a niche market business? How did you get to choose it as your main material used in production?

PM : If you noticed ,leather products most people buy it when they travel outside of the country as they come back home, so I saw the gap and opportunity and simply went for it as my target market and main material used in production.

My other decision was also research based and it showed me that luxurious leather products are often viewed as a style statement and status symbol meaning our customers are willing to spend more money to achieve that.

Our target market is the middle to high income earners with a taste for bespoke products.

The global leather goods market size was valued at USD 394.12 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2021 to 2028.

The market is mainly driven by rising consumer disposable income, improved living standards, changing fashion trends, and growing domestic and international tourism.

The rising demand for comfortable, trendy, and fancy leather apparel, footwear, and accessories, is expected to have a positive impact on the market.

The rising demand for contemporary designs offered by prominent international brands, such as Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, is driving the demand for various leather goods, including apparel, footwear, and accessories, This highly influenced my choice of leather production.

IM : Which piece would you say is the bestseller from the Rukanda Pride collection ?

PM : I would say wallets and bags, and wallets mainly customers are man and women usually come in for bags. Our collection includes also shoes jackets, hats and suitcases. Categories include for smart casual and formal attires.

IM : I understand all your products are designed and sewn by hand.

PM : Approximately 7-8 hours of non-interrupted production, from patterning to assembling.

We are a team of eight including myself as the executive director.

We got three in production and one each in the finance, sales, marketing and creative designing.

IM: What are the processes involved In the creation of your pieces?

• Designing (Creating Master Patterns)

• Cutting

• Assembling

• Stitching

• Quality Control

IM : And are you also dealing with the regional & international markets?

PM : Definitely! For now we take in individual orders from those across the boarders and we seek to grow, expand and be innovative enough to deliver remarkable real leather products to satisfy today’s customer within the boarders of Africa and beyond..

Our aim is to tap into the export market through trade fairs and occupy a bigger share of the local market.

IM: What challenges have you faced in an industry that has been largely dominated by men ?

• First, breaking out in the market because most of our local people are very skeptical about local brands.

• The need to be extremely principled to avoid being taken advantage of.

• The need to prove yourself that you can do it.

• Dealing with male subordinates that are older than you. You find that you’d need to grow a thick skin,

IM: What advice would you give to women entrepreneurs with inspirations to become niche market business owners.

P M : You need to grow a thick skin especially if you’re a female in a male dominated industry and never be afraid to take risks.

Maintain quality, some products like leather have a lifetime guarantee so you’d need to give your clients a lifetime experience of great quality.

They should be able to enjoy your products even after so many years.

Never give up, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Continuously learn and apply innovation

Travelling bag and a shoe by Rukanda Pride