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Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
WHEN the second edition of the Bulawayo Sneaker Expo rolls into high guy at The Barn on Saturday afternoon, Davison “Diva” Feliate, one of the organisers of the gig, says the major focus should be on the shoes on offer.
This is despite the fact that during the course of last week, organisers of the expo rolled out an exciting line-up of artistes that are set to provide the soundtrack for Bulawayo’s sneaker lovers as they feast on the best “kicks” that the city has to offer.
Msiz’kay, Ryan Synth, Stok Swit, Slimzar, Kapitol, Deeper and Brintz are some of the performers set to provide entertain during an event that set a high benchmark in its first edition.
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Sneakers Expo
However, Diva was at pains to point out that while the entertainment line-up was formidable, featuring some of the city’s most revered young performers, the focus would not stray from the business of the day — sneakers.
“We expect good numbers but despite the entertainment that we are going to be bringing at the event, we expect this to be an event bringing together sneaker lovers. The whole reason for us coming together is because of shoes but we hang around for the food and music but we want to make sure that everyone knows that the sneakers are the focus. You’re going to come there because you want to see shoes that you’ve never seen and we are going to make sure of that as a group and as a team,” he said.
Diva said excitement for the event seemed to be at an all time high, vindicating their decision to host another edition of the expo.
“What we learnt from the first edition is that people love nice things, point blank. That’s what we want as organisers because we would love to see people with good pairs of shoes. So, the response we got last time is what made us come up with another edition because we saw that there’s a need for us and the services and exposure that we are trying to bring to people. This is either by people who know a lot about shoes or people who are just laymen. We have been received by warm hearts and warm pockets as well because people are buying shoes and coming up to this edition, I personally, together with my partners, have had a lot of people making enquiries because they want to come looking the part,” he said.
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Sneakers
After a sojourn to another similar expo in South Africa this year, Diva said that they were envious of the corporate backing their Mzansi counterparts seemed to receive. However, he added that more companies had come on board to partner with them this year.
“We went to one sneaker expo in SA earlier this year and it’s a different setup altogether. I think the main reason is that South Africa has many retail outlets that sell shoes at very affordable prices so the guy on the streets who’s working a regular job can afford himself a nice pair of shoes and he has many options. We also learnt that in SA their sneaker industry is big and they have the corporate world to thank unlike here where we are trying to tap in and incorporate the corporates but it’s been a very toll order if you ask us.
“We have approached a lot of people, companies growing and big, but the response we got was that ugh this is just about shoes. So that’s the difference, we have had to walk the long walk by ourselves. However, this time we are thankful for the companies that have come on board and trusted us with their brands and finances but we hope that going forward we can engage the corporate world even more. It’s about engaging and conscientising people about the culture of footwear,” he said. Fellow organiser Mlamuli Moyo said they were excited by the high interest in the event, with a lot of stalls already taken up.
“The first edition I think we had okay numbers because of Covid-19. At that time, they didn’t want to be in crowded spaces and even the stall orders didn’t come because they thought they would be arrested and stuff. This time, we have a huge number of stall holders and even the interest is at all-time high, so we are really looking forward to hosting a larger number of people.
“Last time we were allowed to have a maximum of 100 or so people but this time around, we can even ask a thousand people to be there and no one will have a problem. The most important thing I would like people to know about the expo is that it is not really a party. It’s not a Kalawa kind of thing but it’s more of a marketplace and it will bring chilled vibes that we are trying to promote. Bring your picnic mat, bring your camp chair and see sneakers and people wearing nice sneakers,” he said.
Moyo said emphasised on the need to forge partnerships with some of the country’s major shoe manufacturers. “I think in terms of growth we would love maybe to partner a company like Bata because they have sneakers but they don’t have people pushing for them. If we partner a company like that, we would do a lot to expose people to their history and their products like North Stars because there’s a huge gap for original, reasonably priced sneakers that Bata makes,” he said.