Tema-Ghana, Dec. 17, CDA Consult – A footwear turf war is gradually emerging in scores of markets in Tema as dealers in local shoes pitched camp against those who deal in imported ones with each group projecting their wares as better than the other.
Mr. Isaac Bony dealer in local shoes mainly from Kumasi revealed that the battle is a mind game as some Ghanaians still habours the perception that foreign products are better than locally made ones sometimes without any evidence.
Mr. Bony told newsmen that the era where some made-in-Ghana products were classified as inferior to foreign ones is far gone.
He said, “today we have made in Ghana goods and products which are far better than foreign ones, we should be proud of our products, we have goods which compete in the international market with favourable sales results”.
Mr. Bony explained that some customers out of ignorant and old-time perceptions tend to question the quality of even the leather used in producing local footwear and the design of the shoe, but would not do the same for foreign ones.
He noted that made-in-Ghana shoes are the best in the market, “let us begin to patronize the local products to empower local business,” revealing that sometimes some traders just changed the label from made in Ghana to other countries and you see the demand going high, to me, it’s not about the quality but our perception which must change”.
He noted that the negative consumers’ perception of the made-in-Ghana shoes has affected the local business to the extent that they cannot compete with the imported dealers, “we are losing the turf war, so we then need the media to support and promote local products”.
Mr. Kwabena Nkansah who deals in second-hand shoes emphasizes that most people prefer even used imported shoes over new shoes made here in Ghana.
Mr. Nkansah noted that most of these customers are not worried about the fact that the shoes had been used before, all that they looked out for was the durability of the shoe hence their decision to purchase second-hand shoes over made-in-Ghana shoes.
He admitted that even though the price of some second-hand shoes may be the same as new shoes made in Ghana, people will still buy second-hand ones “this has a great negative impact on the local business”.
Mr. Nana Yaw Frimpong another shoe dealer explained that a normal female shoe would be sold for GHC45.00 depending on the customer’s bargaining power.
Mr. Frimpong stated that some customers used the price to adjudge the quality of the shoe, some customers think that expensive things are of high quality, and “sometimes we play along to price the goods higher to make sales.
“If the shoe is expensive people would buy but if it’s not they would leave you and go to others who are selling at a higher price even if it’s not of the best quality,” he said.
There are two main types of shoes in the market imported from the United Kingdom, Italy, and China tagged as “Stock” and made in Ghana shoes.
The stocks are mostly designer shoes and have a higher price than made-in-Ghana shoes.
