Kyallo: Research, understanding market key to success in leather business

Yallo Leather Founder Mercy Kyallo (PHOTO: Courtesy)

NAIROBI, KENYA: Mercy Kyallo first decided to try her hand at business when she was 16.

She was, however, unaware of the rough and tumble ride awaiting her. She was young, inexperienced and still in high school, but wasn’t going to let a fear of the unknown stop her. Mercy wanted to grow broccoli in her family’s farm in Ongata Rongai.

“I had a neighbour coach me in farming. However, the vegetables didn’t turn out to be of the best quality. Still, I managed to get at least Sh12,000, which wasn’t so bad for a school girl. And with this, the seed of entrepreneurship was planted in me,” says Mercy, who’s now 25.

When she got into Daystar University, she carried with her this entrepreneurial attitude and started selling women’s clothing.

The leather story

After graduating, she got a job in an advertising firm where she says the salary was enough to meet her needs, but business still called to her.

She’d always had the desire to deal in leather from when she was young, so she identified a trader in Nairobi’s Kariokor Market to make leather shoes that she started to sell.

The quality, though, put people off – at this point, she had yet to master the art of producing top-quality products.

“Some of my first customers bought the products just to reward my efforts, not because I was giving them quality,” says Mercy.

However, this changed when she met a mentor who took her through the steps of scaling up her budding business by understanding how production works, as well as how to identify a market.

When she felt she’d caught the hang of things, Mercy quit her job to concentrate fully on leather products.

She made numerous trips to tanneries in Thika, Sagana and Athi River to understand the different types of leather, pricing and labour market dynamics. She also read up on the industry and visited other producers.

“There were these two huge documents done by the World Bank Group and Economic and Transformation Group for the Ministry of Industrialisation and Enterprise Development that I had to read,” says Mercy.

“It was a daunting task in the beginning, but everyone going into leather goods manufacturing has to go through such material. There are no shortcuts.”

Reality check

In February 2014, Mercy procured 23 leather bags from a businessman in Thika that she hoped to sell to women in Nairobi’s town centre. She spent Sh50,000.

The returns, however, were disappointing.

“I sold only four bags over a period of two years. In fact, one was returned because it had design defects. This was my reality check. I felt like the leather business was not for me. I even contemplated quitting altogether,” she says.

She had yet to get a handle on market dynamics and find her niche. Mercy still had the idea that manufacturing ladies’ bags was the route to setting up a successful leather brand.

But she was wrong – the market gap was in executive men’s products.

Finding ‘Richard’

Mercy sat down with Kelvin, her mentor, who helped her shift her thinking.

The two came up with an imaginary persona that would represent their client. They would assess his needs and figure out how leather products would meet them.

“We decided to manufacture a leather bag for ‘Richard’ – that director, executive or manager in Nairobi who spends his time going from one business meeting to another. We also had to anticipate Richard’s travel habits and create a product that resonates with him. Richard is a man on the move.”

That persona, created in October 2016, has grown to become Yallo Leather, a corporate brand that manufactures all types of leather bags and accessories for male executives.

From its manufacturing base along the Indian Bazaar in Old Kiambu, Yallo tailor-makes every bag, giving personal attention to what each client wants. It’s all about the details.

“Remember, Richard hates disappointment,” says Mercy.

From selling three to four bags a year, Yallo now has the capacity to produce more than 150 bags a month.

And to make it a truly authentic Kenyan brand, some of the bags are named after areas in Mercy’s native Ukambani, such as Kitui, Migwani, Ngii and Kiluti.

Prices range between Sh11,000 and Sh25,000.

To date, Mercy says she has invested into her workshop at least Sh2 million – money raised from savings and her family’s support.

Mercy attributes the brand’s success to the learning curve her past ventures gave her, and her willingness to listen to counsel from trusted business minds.

“I had to take charge of the process, from leather selection to making sure those I work with in the factory share my vision,” says Mercy.

Why online?

Since ‘Richard’ is a busy executive with no time to hop from one shop to another, Yallo brings the products to him through its online shop, with free deliveries and all-inclusive shipping services.

According to Mercy, there are several advantages to the concept. “First, the customer can shop on the website conveniently from any location and even make a comparative analysis of the products available online. Second, there is better customer relations through instant feedback. Third, online data gathering and analysis informs the business,” she says.

Though the company has been approached to manufacture for the export market, Mercy says Yallo needs to first meet the local market’s needs for quality products before venturing out.

“We want to grow the trust we have gained internally before looking beyond our borders.”

She adds that any entrepreneur intending to succeed in the leather industry cannot bypass two critical steps: understanding the market, and carrying out proper research on material, design and production.