In today’s economy, few individuals can afford to buy brand new clothes from boutiques. This has forced many Kenyans to turn to 'mitumba'.
Second hand clothes are really common to individuals’ country wide. An increase in these types of clothes has financially benefited many entrepreneurs over the years.
John Mwasaru, a resident of Mwananzia in Likoni, has been in this business for almost two years now.
The 27-year-old old lost his job as a tailor in late 2016 and his efforts of landing another job became futile.
Since he already had vast knowledge about ladies preferences when it came to clothes, he decided to venture into the mitumba selling business early last year focusing on ladies' tops and blouses.
As they say, 'January is a month accompanied by various financial hardships,' John's business did not prosper.
“At the beginning, I could not manage to sell even a maximum of 10 tops in a day. Business was really slow and I thought about quitting,” he said.
His business has however grown. John who is a known ladies' top seller in the streets of Likoni, has managed to expand his cliental in a period of less than two years.
“Many ladies love me because my prices are favourable. One top goes for only ShSh50. This has attracted more customers since it is fair to almost every one,” he narrated.
Since his clients are scattered all around the area, John does not have a shop but instead offers door to door services.
He buys one top at Sh20. This enables him to make Sh30 profit per top. On a good day, he can sell up to 100 tops. Moreover, the entrepreneur manages to sell an average of 75 pieces in a day. After subtracting his daily expenses, John pockets Sh2,000 daily.
"The income I earn in this business is triple of what I used to make at my previous employment. My customers have been pushing me to set up a shop and hopefully by the end of this year I will have one. This will help me increase my variety of merchandise and hopefully attract more people,” he concluded.
The money has enabled him support his single mother in Voi together with his younger sister.
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