Mei Mei Shoe Shop: Competing with Time in 40 years of History

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The curved surface of the sole effectively relieves the pressure of standing for long time.

It is believed that almost every girl dreams about owning a pair of high-heel shoes. “Mei Mei Shoe Shop”, established in 1980, has four branch shops in Macao nowadays. “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” sells different kinds of high-heeled shoes, which are very popular among working women. Its populace owes to the ingenious curved surface of the sole, which effectively relieves the pressure of standing for a long time. The founder, Chan Kam Fai is an experienced shoemaker who has learned this craft since his twenties. He says frankly that the market has been highly competitive in recent year, It is not an overnight thing for local footwear brands to emerge in the international market.

Building reputation with insistence of excellence in quality

It dates back to Macao 40 years ago when Chan Kam Fai grew up. In early 1980s, owning good shoemaking skills, he opened the first “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” at Rua da Alfândega. At first, the shop provided tailored high-heeled shoes service with a ground floor shop and the work shop upstairs. In the early 1990s, he took a long shot to enter the mainland market and set up a factory in Zhongshan which had hundreds of employees. Thanks to the fine craftsmanship, excellent quality, and even free after-sales service, “Mei Shoe Shop” has gradually established a good reputation. In addition to being popular among local working women, it has also received orders from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, France and Russia.

“Mei Mei Shoe Factory” in Zhongshan

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Production line of “Mei Mei Shoe Shop”

For many office ladies, it might take some good luck to find a pair of nice-looking and comfortable high-heeled shoes that can meet professional etiquette on the outside while reducing the damage to the feet after wearing for a long time. According to Chan Kam Fai, it takes about two weeks to make a pair of personalised high-heeled shoes. The price starts from several hundred Macao Patacas. There are many choices of leather while the price-performance ratio is high. He shares that the essential concept of the "Mei Mei Shoe Shop" products is the pursuit of perfection. In addition to referring to the shoemaking technology and experience from France and Italy, he has been actively responded to customers' opinions and needs for products through continuous improvement and innovation over the years, which enable he to have a group of loyal customers.

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Chan Kam Fai builds good reputation with his excellent shoemaking craft

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There are a variety of shoe leather materials for customers to choose.

Actively seeking solutions despite epidemic crisis

Chan Kam Fai points out that Macao's economic development has maintained a good momentum since the opening of gambling market. “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” has also received many orders from gaming enterprises, banks and social associations. In the past, the shop sold about 2,000 pairs of shoes every month in average, and the business went well. However, under the impact of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, the business volume plummeted by 80% to 90%. In order to cope with the rapidly changing environment, “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” is planning to introduce discounts in the future to attract customers. Chan Kam Fai reveals that in recent years, the shoe-making industry has been declining and the market competition is severe, as the cost of shoemaking in Southeast Asian countries is cheaper than that in Mainland China. Therefore, the export orders decreased year by year. The number of employees in the mainland factory has also been reduced from hundreds to less than a hundred. “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” urgently needs to change its strategy.

In order to better promote the brand and explore more business opportunities, “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” started to present their products at “Macao Ideas” – an exhibition centre under the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM). Highlighting the "Macao Brand" label on its products invisibly gives the brand a positive impression to let buyers and agents at home and abroad to know the brand more easily. In 2019, “Mei Mei Shoe Shop” was a high-heeled shoes sponsor in a Macao beauty contest in Macao to further increase the brand exposure. In addition, thanks to the development of e-commerce, "Mei Mei Shoe Shop" has actively advertised on Facebook and Instagram in recent years, and has entered the e-commerce platform in Macao to strengthen its online marketing. In the long run, it will observe closely the city’s economic development and decide whether to open branches and increase market share.

"Inheritance" is often the most critical issue for the continuation of old shops. Chan Kam Fai says with relief that his son is happy to take over the business, but he knows that it is not an easy job to keep the family business running, he will continue supporting his son in the future. Chan Kam Fai tells his son to inherit the spirit of the family-own brand and run the business wholeheartedly.

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