1/54: How to Sell Running Shoes in Kenya

Meet Enda, Africa's first performance footwear and sportswear brand.

Photo: Enda/Instagram

We’re kicking off this series 54/54 with Kenyan sportswear brand Enda. The company has been transforming the domestic sneaker market since 2016 when founders Navalayo Osembo and Weldon Kennedy launched the business.

I was first introduced to Enda via a CNN interview during lockdown, and then again when a talented sports journalist introduced me to the new owners last year after Osembo and Kennedy sold the company to NVH Studios — the owner of lifestyle and footwear brands Zeferino and Twins For Peace — marking a new chapter for the Kenyan running brand. Enda sneakers have been worn by several Kenyan athletes, including its brand ambassadors Catherine Ndereba, Mark Otieno, William Nanjero, and Henry Wanyoike.

For this week’s newsletter, I sat down with Elis Clementino, NVH’s head of strategic relationships, and Frank Asante-Kissi, managing director at NVH, to understand how they are selling running shoes in Kenya.

What’s inside:

• A breakdown of Enda’s retail strategy following its store launch in Nairobi, Kenya, last month

• How the right retail location can boost sales, increase brand awareness and strengthen customer acquisition

• Bonus: We also have an update from Boss on why they tapped Burna Boy as a brand ambassador

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Running is all the rage right now. Everywhere I look (or scroll) someone is running, training for a marathon or has just joined a new run club. But what does this trend look like in Kenya?

Well, it’s less of a trend and more of a lifestyle. Enda has been producing and selling running shoes to consumers in Kenya for nearly a decade, branding itself as “Africa's first performance footwear and sportswear brand.” Since its inception, the goal has remained the same: to create technical running shoes that can compete on an international level. Kenya isn’t just home to incredible athletes and runners; it’s time Kenya was seen as a destination for high-performing running shoes, the brand said.

Enda sneakers have been tried and tested by Kenyan athletes, many of whom have gone on to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The brand has quickly become a household name locally, with everyone from athletes to casual sports enthusiasts wearing the brand. But now, Enda has reached a pivotal turning point in its journey.

Choosing the Right Location

Last month, the Kenyan sneaker brand opened its first retail store in Nairobi, as it looks to attract new consumers and increase brand awareness. It’s been a long time coming, but finding the right retail location in a city with a fragmented retail landscape can be a challenge. However, Enda spent months trying to find the perfect location, and it did. Just not in a location you’d expect.

While e-commerce was the main sales channel, with products sold across Kenya, the US (its second biggest market) and Europe, feedback forced Enda to diversify its business model. “People would always complain that there’s no place for them to go and try the shoes,” Clementino said, adding that some customers would come to Enda’s headquarters in Nairobi to test the shoes before they made their final purchase online. Consumers were hungry for a retail store, and after testing different locations and running a series of activations, Enda landed on its first location: inside VMX, one of Kenya’s largest gyms.

“We are not trying to be Nike…We are Africans. We are Kenyans. It’s how we connect with [consumers], showing them that this is a Kenyan brand.” - Elis Clementino, head of strategic relationships at NVH