Mr Brian Yesigye Bravo, the proprietor Bravo Shoes. He is looking for people who want to franchise which requires a minimum of $100,000. PHOTO/Charlotte Ninsiima
Six months with no sales during the scourge of Covid-19, Bravo Shoes, a school brand, is optimistic
and still holding onto the grip to stay in business. Bravo Shoes was quick to start its social media journey in 2006 so it has not been at the tail end like other organisations jumping onto the bandwagon now.Brian Yesigye Bravo, the proprietor Bravo Shoes, channelled his efforts as early as possible on social media marketing.
“Enthused to build a brand, I went on social media platforms to market it and feed it with enormous content since I could not afford other advertising rates. I was prompted to put up a website prior before Ugandans considered it as a yardstick to building a business,” Yesigye says.
Like a growing child, it has taken him time to build his business with some effort in putting out content. Being recognised as one of the best performing websites in the country, Google has gone on to pay him for the adverts. However, just like the ride looks blissful now, it has been a bumpy one. Faced with continuous blocks from Facebook, he has been able to withstand cyber bullying and attacks from haters who were bored with his continuous feeds on shoes only.
“Social media is for the tough skinned not faint hearted. You put there an item and somebody writes against it but I insulate myself against such ills by selling good quality shoes and having the capacity to solve my customers’ problems,” Yesigye states.
“I have been positive minded and will never wage war with anyone on social media. I don’t allow my external life to determine my life. Most people have failed social media because there is a lot of bullying and once attacked, that is where they lose it,” Yesigye explains.
In the past 14 years, Bravo Shoes has registered 50,000 and 10,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram, respectively which has permitted him to collaborate with other brands on social media. In the post Covid era, Facebook conditioned all big brands to give back to the community. Bravo Shoes advertised three businesses, who were highly affected by the pandemic, for a month on all its social media accounts. He uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik tok.
Turning point
From hawking clothes to building a shoe brand, Yesigye took a bold move on shoes because they were more lucrative than shirts. He wanted to build a self-sustaining venture where business does not stop when he is away. For shirts, he admits, “customers always wanted me to make their choices and if I wasn’t around, there would not be any sales which became tiresome.”
On top of making shoes out of natural leather, such a venture is very expensive because of many sizes and designs. The brand deals in children’s leather shoes, diabetic footwear, accessories and other associated foot-wear support products like shoe brushes, strings and polish. Prices range from Shs70,000 to Shs300,000.
Having married his third name, he was determined to make things work whether he profited or not. It took him time to make any sales but he felt fulfilled when he created awareness about his brand. He always moved to school visitations and church gatherings to reach out to possible customers before they resorted to social media. His persistence on social media has paid off with the brand’s turnover estimated at $80,000, approximately Shs300 million .
Bravo Shoes employs 12 permanent staff although during the crisis, they recorded no sales being a school brand, hence reducing numbers and opted for work shifts. At the peak seasons during school openings, Yesigye acknowledges, they make Shs20 million a day in sales.
“We are building the capacity to make more to meet the demand during the school days. Currently, we are opening to ensure we sustain the business again,” he explains.
Customer retention
The customer is the king! Yesigye like any successful businessman values every customer at whatever cost. He has a sentimental attachment to the brand as his baby thus cannot risk anything for it.
“If a customer comes in to complain about a bad shoe, I will sort it out or change the shoe. If they need a refund, I will do that. That is the reason I give guarantees to secure the customers’ trust and belief in me,” Yesigye says.
The former school dropout believes businesses that front money after customer retention will always collapse. In a case of failing to refund or exchange a product after a customer’s submission because they think they will incur a loss. Yesigye attributes the growth of his business to referrals. He makes sure his customers are satisfied to create a lasting impression.
Along the way, Yesigye has learnt that if one wants to become a million-dollar rich person, they need to solve one million problems with just one dollar.
“I realised if I decided to solve the footwear problem for children, I could still solve more problems using this specialty in shoes. Having seen many diabetic parents or adults who have money but felt unease to move in slippers. I sat down and consulted with different physicians. They shared with me the challenges and I was convinced I would get the solution after I had seen diabetic footwear, after the visit made to some refugee camp in Germany,” he notes.
This is how he expanded to Bravo podiatry diabetic foot care to provide better services and maintain healthy feet in diabetic footwear to prevent amputation.
Yesigye advises businesses to reinvent so as to hold onto the grip. This is the storm that came and it is only the strong that will survive. If you have a baby (brand) like me, you have to make sure it does not fall out of my hand. Adjust by toning down on expenses as opposed to laying off people. One would rather cut 50 per cent off the salaries, have a decision on this and when business gets better, things get back to normal. Let us go through the transition by changing the tactic; get online and increase your visibility. If one can’t afford rent, they should carry things home and put up deliveries.
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