Narrow dusty paths in between iron sheet stalls lead inside the clothes section of the Gikomba market.
Large heaps of clothes are piled together on top of wooden stands with traders next to them chanting hilarious rhythms to attract the passers-by.
In the messy heaps, shoppers can get big brands like Levi's jeans, a Nike Jersey or a Zara dress for a fraction of the price in the main stores in New York or London.
But the clothes are second-hand, some too old to survive a few washes while others are in mint condition, that an original price tag is still attached.
Though the prices are predetermined, as a shopper approaches a stall, the seller looks at them and decides how much they can pay for an item.
Victoria Wahu, a Mitumba dress vendor told the Star how a shopper is dressed, the language they speak and the questions they ask all inform the price.
“One look at a client and I know how much they can pay. If you come to Gikomba looking expensive then you’ll buy everything at a higher price. Sometimes up to triple the price,” she says.
Sheng speakers get the fairest prices, Swahili speakers get moderate prices while English speakers will always be given a higher price.
“You might come and speak to me in Swahili, but I already heard you speak to your partner in English so I know that we don’t speak English in the ghetto. You have money,” she says.
“There are local dialects associated with affluence too, we use that to determine the price while well-dressed shoppers who get fair prices are probably regular shoppers or resellers.”
The general behaviour and questions they ask usually get them the best deals.
“A reseller will not try clothes on, they will not spend five minutes scrutinising one cloth. They travel from far, so they are mostly well-dressed. They will rarely ask for prices before checking out the clothes,” she says.
Since they buy in bulk, the resellers get the items very cheaply. The traders are often careful not to scare them away as they are their target clients.
The Gikomba market is divided into sections depending on the items being sold. From children’s, men’s and women’s clothing to shoes, food and other items.
Wahu says the best time to shop at Gikomba market is early in the morning from 6 am because by then, the resellers have not picked all the nice clothes.
Most traders open new bales from Monday to Thursday because as the weekend approaches, most resellers don't shop. Sunday is generally a rest day for many Gikomba traders.
However, the price at the time may not be affordable as the traders who have just launched the new bales are striving to return their capital and maximise their profits.
“The traders are busiest in the morning, so they do not have to negotiate with single item buyers. The focus is on the bulk buyers,” Wahu says.
At 6 am, just when the traders open their bales, there is an order of priority on who gets to pick clothes first.
The very first batch of clothes selected from a bale is referred to as camera.
A select bulk reseller, known to the Gikomba trader gets to look at all the clothes in a bale and select the ones they desire to buy. This batch is the most expensive.
“I have a team of resellers who gets camera on a rotational basis. When I buy a new bale, I call the camera buyer who pays the deposit beforehand. A bale cannot be opened until the camera buyer arrives,” Wahu says.
A second buyer referred to as set, then gets a chance to pick clothes after the camera buyer. Sometimes, there could be more than one set, picking clothes at the same time.
“What is left after the set has picked the best items is then sold to ordinary shoppers at a slightly lower price. The prices go lower as time unfolds, but so does the quality of clothes,” she says.
After a day of opening a new bale, the traders sell off what is left at a throwaway price. ‘Fagilia’, they call it. Such pieces are sold at as low as Sh15 to bulk buyers and Sh50 for regular buyers.
“When you are lucky to get a reseller to buy the ‘fagilisha’, they take every cloth at an agreed price. Dresses at Sh50-100 and tops at Sh15-25,” Wahu says.
As the discussion on Mitumba banning took centre stage in the country, the traders shared varying opinions about the topic.
Four out of the five traders The Star spoke to supported the banning of poor-quality Mitumba importation.
Alice Waithera, explained her frustrations making losses from buying the poor quality mitumba bales, most of which she said are stacked with items you cannot sell.
“We call that poor quality bales China. They are the most popular in the market currently. I bought a bale of blouses two weeks ago and found it stacked with four old and torn bedsheets,” Waithera says.
“One bedsheet takes up so much space in a bale, so if there are four, I’ve more than 20 blouses. Worse is the bedsheets are old to be sold so I could only count my losses.”
Waithera says while she went to complain to the person she bought the bale from, all she got was an apology and Sh1,000.
“What would Sh1,000 do when you have lost almost Sh10, 000?” she posed.
Lawrence Musyoki, a Mitumba dresses trader, says the China bale now costs Sh8500 from Sh5500 two years ago.
“Getting ex-UK bale is very difficult. Money is not the issue because if the items are great, then you will find buyers. However, if you find old, pieces of clothes, who will buy them from you?” Musyoki questioned.
“Money is not the issue,” Millicent Auma, another trader says.
“If your bale that is marked dresses has some clothes that are too short for work dresses but too long for tops, how do you price such? And for whom to buy?”
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
