SoleRebels opens first store in Asia - footwearbiz: Leading site for g

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SoleRebels opens first store in Asia

08/11/2012
A brand borne out of a desire to help women in Ethiopia earn a wage and create a better life for their families has opened its first store in Asia and is aiming to add $15 million to $20 million in revenues by 2015.

SoleRebels’ shop in Kaoshiung, Taiwan, is the first of four planned this year with the company aiming to open 30 in the country in the next three years.

The company was founded 2004 and bills itself as the world’s only World Fair Trade Organisation-certified footwear company. Artisans handcraft the sandals, which sell for between $50 and $95, in a workshop in Addis Ababa.

Its managing director, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Alemu, said: “We are extremely excited by this store opening. Taiwan is an incredible market and the stores we are opening here give us a fantastic platform to showcase our incredible products and our innovative brand in an equally dynamic and fantastic market. This is the perfect place for soleRebels to anchor our Asia wide roll-out of soleRebels stores – truly historic strides for soleRebels.”

Ms Alemu Alemu has been named by US publication Forbes this year as ‘one to watch’ in terms of the world’s most powerful women. She was named Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in 2011 and has been asked to speak at numerous trade and economic forums, including the the World Bank’s annual meeting.



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