Local shop owners make their mark at Vision City

Story and picture by GYNNIE KERO
ABOUT 25% of clients renting shops and promoting local products at Vision City Mega Mall are nationals, according to mall manager Chris Barraclough. 
He said yesterday that Asians were not dominating the mall as 16 nationals had already set up shop and were making money.
“So far, 16 nationals have shops at the mall –  10 are temporary and six are fulltime tenants,” Barraclough said.
“Vision City is keen on nationals operating outlets and promoting local products rather than concentrating on superficial manufactured goods.”
Gamba Krai Art Shop owner Emmanuel Koima said operating from the mall gave him lots of exposure and was also a safe and convenient place for clients to do transactions.
He said the shop offered a fair representation of fine artworks from several artists and accepted payments through lay-buys, direct sales or rent out.
“Being in here is more convenient as there’s a steady movement of people and I get to sell some of my paintings.”
“The best marketing strategy for convenient and safe shopping is to allow a mixture of groups selling right products in a central location,” Koima said.
The mall leases shops to tenants on temporary and full-time basis depending on the size and location of the business.