Prime
Branding Uganda through online clothing line
One of the jackets that Blick sells. Blick turned a disappointment into a business opportunity, hatching the idea of starting his own clothing line by investing about Shs50 million. Courtesy Photo.
What you need to know:
The fashion house - Atrode Clothing, makes sports and leisure wear in bulk for companies and individuals in search of a unique style and good quality.
A few years ago, Sula Blick set out for the Kampala shopping malls to buy some clothes but he failed to get the quality and standard that he wanted.
Instead, he incurred extra costs to order clothes from the United Kingdom (UK). From that experience, Blick hatched a business idea to set up a clothing line that would see Ugandans get quality clothes with a unique Ugandan brand.
After researching and the attaining vital contacts, Blick has been able to make his vision come true.
With more than Shs50 million as initial investment under the label Atrode Clothing, Mr Blick started production a few months ago.
The products
Atrode Clothing is a UK-based fashion house dedicated to making sports and leisure wear in bulk for both companies and individuals looking to have a definitive unique style with the highest quality.
“I started the business to create clothing which relates to Uganda that I personally sought for but failed to acquire,” Blick shares.
“Over the years, I thought of how I could start a company from scratch without the knowledge of fashion and manufacturing,” he adds.
Made from exquisite fabrics, Atrode Clothing aims at enriching the product while keeping costs low.
Blick says that every design is created upon the belief that in order to feel good, you have to look good.
“Not only do we have our own product range, we also make bulk orders for both individuals and organisations looking to make attires associated to their cause,” Blick adds.
According to Mr Blick, Atrode Clothing’s product range does not fall short of leisure, sports and office wear from jackets, T-shirts, shorts, football or sports shirts, caps, trousers, flags and bags.
Portraying his attachment to his roots, his products are tailored for men, women and children with inscribed text and logo depicting Uganda.
“There’s always that time when national pride takes its toll on you. In such cases, we show our reverence by wearing what represents our heritage and all our products are designed that way,” Blick shares.
Production area
Their area of production and operation lies in China, Pakistan and the UK.
Coming into a market which is biased about products made in China, Blick says: “All big brands in the UK and US clothing are made in Asia and to be precise China and Indonesia, but they are quality and that is what Atrode Clothing is going to be.”
“I have received overwhelming responses and demand for the wear and that has enabled me to push ahead with this venture,” he says.
At the moment, he uses contracted workforce but his eventual goal is to employ Ugandan designers and have a factory in Uganda making the clothing.
“I use about 10 professionals who in turn employ about 100 other people in total to help make a product from the design stage on the table to the factory where we start off from one thread to the finished piece,” Blick adds.
Right now, Blick sells his products on-line to Ugandans in the UK among other countries. Most buyers order for the products in bulk where each piece costs an average of 25 pounds per jacket depending on the number of orders.
Expansion
Currently, he manufactures the clothes from China and Turkey but he plans to transfer the technology and production back home. This, he hopes, will boost the country’s clothing industry but also create jobs for Ugandans.
Blick also plans to open up outlets in Kampala at the beginning of the next year.
Blick’s advice to Ugandans is to follow their dreams and start small but mind a lot about quality.
