No one can deny the fact that Ethiopia is blessed with more than eighty Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. More to the point, they are known for their attention-grabbing culture, tradition, history, clothing and many related things that can entice the attention of all and sundry within the shortest period. They live time after time in peace, harmony, and love.
Every so often, the dressing styles of Ethiopians show peculiarity in the midst of the various Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples of Ethiopia. On various occasions, people from all walks of life all over the country adorn themselves head-to-foot with attention-grabbing traditional Ethiopian costumes that win the hearts and minds of everyone in a jiffy.
By the same token, it is crystal clear that quite a lot of people get themselves engaged in putting up for sale a wide spectrum of traditional costumes in the left, right and center of Addis Ababa and other parts of the country.
The Ethiopian Herald had a short stay with Getahun Sisay who has been earning a living by selling traditional costumes in Shiromeda for twenty-five years. He has touched upon a wide spectrum of issues revolving around his personal and professional life. Excerpts are below:
What inspired you to involve yourself in the business?
As my father used to sell traditional costumes for quite a lot of years for our daily bread, I followed suit. As a matter of fact, as selling traditional costumes necessarily does not require going to school, I inherited it from my dad. As time progressed, when I reached the age of twenty-two, I set in motion partaking myself in selling traditional costumes at Merkato with the startup capital from my dad.
Though the startup capital was not that adequate to play a part in the business, I did not give up hope.
While on the subject, my first shop was found at Merkato. But as I did not want to distance myself from the area where I was born and raised, I embarked on selling traditional clothes at Shiromeda area. As there were several weavers, I did not fail to meet the demand of my customers over and over again.
Wherever our customers come from, they have access to the traditional costumes of the different Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. To the surprise of everyone, we provide them with attention-grabbing traditional costumes in the twinkling of an eye.
Do all Ethiopians have access to buy traditional clothes?
Yes, they do. Wherever they come from, our customers can find the traditional clothes of Gamo, Oromo, Amhara, Tigray and what have you with no trouble at the drop of a hat. Everything is at our disposal. If you go around, you can come across the traditional clothes of the different Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples of Ethiopia designed in eye-catching way. At this point, all and sundry from all walks of life come here to buy traditional clothes.
Similarly, the number of women customers coming to Shiromeda is on the rise time after time on the grounds that they love decorating themselves with the different eye-catching traditional clothes of the various Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. As we know the inside out of our customers’ interest, we make an effort to shower traditional clothes with different sizes. Hence, our customers do not face a problem in selecting and picking their choices.
Which is the busiest month to put up for sale traditional clothes?
If truth be told, we put up for sale traditional clothes in all the months of the years. More often than not as wedding ceremony takes place in January, we put up for sale quite a lot of clothes. Currently, I have got a lot of customers who come from different parts of the country and abroad. Just to mention a few, our customers come from Kenya, Djibouti, Yemen, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia. Diplomats as well come to my shop.
As the saying goes, “The customer is always king.” They are the lifeline of my business. Usually for the business continuity and other related aspects, I make an effort to make my customers happy by lowering the price, having a cup of coffee with them and whatnot.
How do you deal with the competition in the business?
The only thing which helps to stay alive in the competition is to provide customers with quality merchandises time and time again. I have been making a good profit out of the business. At this instant, I have constructed a five-story building known as Atse Commercial Center. What is more, I have got shops here and there. I have created job opportunities for more than fifty people.
By the same token, I am proud of my brothers’ success given that their bread is buttered well. They all have been landed on their feet.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 7 February 2020
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
