CAIRO: L'oiseau du Nil is a charming European looking boutique located in front of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo's upscale Zamalek neighborhood. The colorful mix of different tastes and products makes it unique and attractive. Including furniture, jewelry, clothes and accessories, it is hard to walk by this boutique without having a look at what is waiting inside. We could not resist its charm either and this week Bikyamasr.com sat down for an exclusive interview with one of its owners, Rasha el-Gammal. Rasha, tell us a bit about your entrepreneurial experience and what did you do before opening this boutique. In addition to my theater background I was in retail for a long time. I used to have a houseboat on the Nile where I used to sell modern furniture with ethnic motifs. My previous studies on Islamic Art and Architecture helped me to appreciate better the different Islamic prints and this knowledge influenced my designs. After that experience, my partner, Mervat Hassan, and me decided to open this store one year and a half ago. What was your early vision for your boutique and how has it evolved over time? The main idea behind the boutique was to do an interesting business without needing to manufacture anything, as it implies such a great effort and a lot of time. At the beginning we contacted suppliers who were interested on selling their products in our store and in turn these suppliers brought more providers from among their contacts and friends. Today we have about fifty-four suppliers, which make it more interesting to the costumer, who can find a large variety of collections. What is the main concept behind L'oiseau du Nil? L'oiseau du Nil in English means “Birds of the Nile” and as its name suggests, we sell mostly Egyptian products; in fact only a few things are imported. As I told you before, we have a large number of Egyptian designers who bring their stuff to our store and we sell it here. L'oiseau du Nil is a very unique store in Egypt. Our goal is to give the opportunity to all our customers to walk out with the product they want. That is why in the boutique you can find a pair of handmade socks for 20 L.E as well as an exquisite dining table for 10,000 L.E. Because they can choose, we believe this is formula is very friendly to the consumer. Do you have a typical customer? Yes, whether Egyptian or foreigner we do have a typical customer. I understand my customer by now and I know when they come in the boutique they do not expect to buy the same items they could find in any other store; they want to find some eccentric, original, different. Moreover, I can tell you that the more normal things among the “crazy” designers sell the best. What is the piece of advice you would give to those who are thinking about opening a boutique? From my experience, I would recommend not to open a store if you are going to be in charge of the manufactures and the retail. It is a very difficult thing to handle and the economic benefit, in my opinion, is not worth it. L'oiseau du Nil 23, Ismail Mohamed St., Zamalek BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vJ6CD Tags: Boutique, L'oiseau du Nil, Shopping, Zamalek Section: Business, Culture, Egypt, Entertainment, Latest News
