City jeans maker sews a new style of fashion success

One thing that strikes you when you get into Jericho market, Nairobi, is the increasing number of jeans designers.

However, in the hustle and bustle that is gripping this zone, one shop stands out, Blacjack Jeans Company, a startup owned by entrepreneur Andrew Kio.

At 33, he has already established himself as a top jeans designer in the area using his seven-year-old company.

His products range from jeans trousers, skirts to handbags, with men’s trousers leading in terms of demand.

In a day, his team is able to make between 12 and 20 pieces of jean trousers, translating to a gross profit of about Sh10,000 a day.

His average net profits ranges from Sh40,000 a month, but this also hinges on the time of the year.

“In a good quarter, say between September and December, the demand is high meaning that the sales also increase thus pushing up the profits,” he says.

But in difficult times, especially at the start of the year, the returns can be disappointing.

It is at this moment that he is sometimes forced to dig deeper into his pockets to keep the business afloat.

But that has not deterred his quest to succeed considering that currently, he has employed five people on piecework basis, a model of job that ensures that everyone benefits.

“If I hire on permanent terms it means that I will suffer during the difficult times while they’ll lose a lot during the high seasons,” he notes.

According to him, this style of payment ensures that the employees work harder, with each earning Sh1,000 a day on average.

Just recently, he had been working on an order of 35 jeans trousers from one of the branches of fast food giant, KFC.

VIRTUAL MARKETING

At the moment, he relies on word of mouth, as well as the social media as his primary marketing platforms, a strategy that has seen him hire a skilled person to drive his virtual marketing arm.

Like any emerging company, Blacjack Jeans is facing its fair share of challenges, with Mr Kio’s main concern being the cost of production.

For instance, nearly all of the materials used are imported, meaning the market price becomes very high. It is a fact that pushes up the cost of production.

“For example, my cost of making a single piece can amount to Sh900. This forces me to raise my price, this makes it nearly impossible to compete, considering that one can get the same pair of jeans in Eastleigh for as little as my cost of production,” he notes.

In an attempt to face the challenge, he has invested in heavy load machines, apart from getting updates on new designs, as means of improving the quality of his products.

However, this again raises another issue given that the high cost of machines is proving to be quite a challenge.

“At the moment, I have managed to get some machines that are able to increase production, but I still need some latest ones which are too costly, with some ranging from Sh250,000,” he says.

Mr Kio’s dream began in 2007 where he ventured into the industry just as a hobby.

During the time, he says, the brand new jeans demand in the country wasn’t high compared to the second hand ones especially in terms of quality.

Also during that time, he says, he did not own even a single machine and had to rely mostly on friends for their equipment as well as storage of his wares.

But that now is in the past, as this father-of-one and a business manager by training, seeks to put his company’s name in the same league as other jeans manufacturing greats such as Levi Strauss.

“However, I have to be realistic in terms of storming the world market at the moment. The demand of these products in the country is very high, yet we have not been able to satisfy the consumer needs. We have to do that before thinking of going overseas,” he says.