Africa-Press – Kenya. A German shoe line has announced plans to invest Sh350 million in expanding its presence in Kenya in the next two years.
Joseph Seibel is targeting the country’s increasing middle and upper-class consumers with its shoe brands.
According to John Ndung’u, Joseph Seibel Franchisee in Kenya, the Germany firm is eyeing between 12 and 14 shops in Kenya.
“We are bringing to the Kenyan market the same quality, fitting and designs as we have elsewhere in the world. Nairobi is where most middle and upper-class populations live and where we also have big multinational organisations,” said Josef Siebel Africa, Chairman, Carl-August Seibel.
As part of its expansion plan, the company is looking to train more local staff and increase its production capacity from the current 120,000 – 130,000 pairs of shoes annually and broaden its shoe offering range.
In the expansion plan, Nairobi will have 6 stores, one in Nanyuki, Nakuru, Kericho Kisumu, and Mombasa.
Already the firm has opened a Nairobi concept shop to sell Kenyan-made shoes with plans to export to Germany in the pipeline according to Seibel.
“We want to show that good quality shoes can be made and sold in Kenya. The shoes we are doing here are distributed to at least 20 countries in the US, Europe, and Canada. You can be proud as Kenyans that this is possible in a short time.”
The firm’s shoe range has been designed in Germany and made in Kenya.
The move, Seibel said, will help to relieve the company from high import taxes when demand exceeds its local production capacity, currently the
“We are priced in the segment between Ksh 4,000 to Ksh 7,000. In market comparison, we are competitive,” said Seibel.
Ndung’u added that the locally produced shoes can be exported to Germany once local demand is met.
German Ambassador to Kenya, Sebastian Groth termed the investment another big step for Germany and Kenya and adds to the total 120 German companies in the country.
“Germany will in the future look more and more interested towards Africa and Kenya, especially in regards to investment and economic relations. We are ready to open a new chapter in our relations this year to mark our 60th anniversary of Kenya-German relations,” said Groth.
Josef Seibel Group produces up to three million pairs of shoes annually and exports to 40 countries globally.
For More News And Analysis About Kenya Follow Africa-Press
