For today's post, I present a brand that many of you probably saw on social medias if you do not already know them.
In addition to the fact that the brand shows how much the Senegalese fashion has potential and especially the fact that our local craftsmen are full of talent, the person behind the structure allows us to know 2 things:
- studies are good but they must not limit our field of vision as to our professional activities
- the attention to detail and the meticulous work can bring us far.
Who is Aly?
"My name is Aly Saleh Ndiaye, 30 years old in 2019. I was born and raised in Dakar where I did all my school studies. Bachelor in Management obtained in 2008, I pursued my studies at the Higher Polytechnic School of Dakar where I had a basic accounting diploma and a degree in accounting and management. It was thereafter that I went to BEM Dakar where I had a Master in Administration and Business Management and another Master in Audit and Management Control in 2014.
Allure by Aly: from idea to creation
Aly created his brand in 2015, after graduation, combining his passion for shoes and the need to assume the burden of the family home. When you start working in Senegal, you do not find often and immediately a post with a fairly substantial remuneration, especially when you have expensive taste (lol, I recognize myself a little here, it was complicated shopping with a base salary).
So he decided to go from consumer to producer and therefore share his passion while supporting his needs.
With a shoemaker friend, who was able to reproduce the models Aly offered him, he started when his friends began to appreciate the result.
The main difficulty at the beginning was to meet the deadlines with the number of orders. Aly is particularly inspired by Italian brands for his shoes with an African touch, often with the loincloth woven to get out of the ordinary.
To be an entrepreneur in Senegal
"The problem is that in Africa it's difficult to sell Hand made. Buyers tend to believe that since products are locally made then prices should be cheaper than other foreign brands. Which is entirely false. "
Many people I spoke to agree on this point. For consumers who do not understand prices all the time, here is an example with shoes:
Basic raw materials (leather) leave here to go to tanneries in Morocco and are then sent to Europe. These leathers then come back to us more expensive and often with a lower quality than foreign brands. Labor is also expensive because we do not have the means available to these major brands that have a large production chain and a workforce that is affordable enough to afford to sell at certain costs. It should be taken into account that these brands produce in large quantities differently from us which usually, mostly work on order.
Goals and future projects
We do not have collaborations yet but we would like that with some brands that I like as Sofatoo (clothing), Atelier Rabbal (leather goods), Remana (leather goods), Master Design (clothing) etc.
Today our main concern is the respect of the time in the processing of orders. There are often factors (beyond our control) that cause orders to be delayed. Therefore, when there are big events, we try to limit the orders to respect those in progress.
And right now we are opening a shop and having a stock that would allow us to meet the demand.
Then in the long term, we want to create all this chain of production here in Senegal, from the collection of skins (leather and others) to the creation of molds, soles etc so that the materials used are manufactured locally. It's a big project that requires a lot of thought and resources. I think that in the coming years, we will be able to implement this project, which is close to my heart.
And to finish…
We have good craftsmen in the country and it's up to us to believe in their talent and respect their work by paying the price. If we want to develop, this sector should help the population to participate in the development of our artisans so that they can invest and improve the quality of their products. I strongly believe in it and in the coming years we will be able to compete with the big brands on the international level.
Contacts
I let you enjoy a few of their beautiful pieces!
