Barefoot school days inspire Tuku range

Bruce Ndlovu
MUSIC superstar Oliver Mtukudzia��s only wish for the opening school term is to see every child of school going age with a pair of shoes on their feet, something that he did not have for most of his childhood days.

While he has worked hard to cast off any vestiges of any impoverished past, Tuku still remembers the bad old days at Chipembere Primary School between 1958 and 1964 before the glitz, glamour and red carpets that have characterised his later life.

Back then, he was just another schoolboy whose bare feet treaded well worn paths with other unfortunate youngsters as they tried to escape village life via the books.

As fate would have it, Tukua��s salvation lay in music and having sung and danced his way to success, the music superstar is now eager to ease the path for those that find themselves in similar early life difficulties.

Tuku recently debuted his Haikobo school shoe range, which coincides with a charity drive to donate and distribute shoes to disadvantaged pupils around the country.

His beloved Chipembere was the first beneficiary, after Tuku donated to his former school in November. Having given back to the school that nurtured his talent at its infancy, he is now ready to move on to the rest of the country.

a�?Due to the simple fact that he spent so much of his childhood to early adulthood without shoes, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi holds them as something very dear to him. Shoes are a need and a necessity and as someone who spent so much of his early life struggling to get a pair, he understands this very well,a�? said Haikobo brand manager Ephraim Maisiri.

He added that the decision to add the childrena��s range, after the launch of the womena��s shoe range in September last year, was not a knee-jerk decision inspired by the search for profit but a fruition of years-long planning.

a�?The Haikobo has been in development for seven years. The first five years were spent on the development and planning stage which culminated in the launch of the mena��s range in 2015. This plan is to have a fully fledged fashion apparel line soon and with that being the case the women and childrena��s ranges are always on the horizon,a�? he said.

Maisiri added that the branda��s plan was not to displace market leaders, as their plan in the long term was to partner school shoe manufacturing companies and firms.

a�?We have not come to compete with Bata or any other shoe manufacturer. We are here to complement their work.

Research has shown that while the demand for school shoes is increasing, the manufacturing sector itself is shrinking.

a�?Ideally as we move forward we would love to partner other manufacturers and distributors because we all have the same intention which is to put shoes on the feet of Zimbabwean children,a�? said Maisiri.

The Haikoboa��s men line, although attractive, is a pricey shoe, setting one back as much as $120 for a pair which is beyond the reach of many. Maisiri said they wanted to make the childrena��s shoe range a little more affordable, although the brand was not yet young strong enough to go as low as they wanted.

a�?At the moment we are not moving massive volumes of any of the ranges because wea��re still in the establishment stage. However, we have pegged the shoe at $16 a pair for the youngest ones, $17,50 for those that are a little older and $20 for those at the later stages of their education and need bigger sizes,a�? he said.