December 2022
What was once a factory producing heels and soles for the Middle East, quickly shifted to a local label offering an impressively wide collection of handcrafted shoes for women, men and kids. At the birth of this label, are two Lebanese-Armenian brothers, Joe and Hratch, who decided to take this step, to help Lebanon gain back its glory in the shoe production industry.
For decades, Lebanon has been a fashion hub in the region, but with international commercial brands filling up the market place, local products began to be overshadowed. That’s when the idea came along to create a startup, offering shoes on par with global fashion trends, with equal, if not better, quality of production, at a competitive retail price. And so what started five years ago modestly at the factory basement, with a collection of barely 15 shoes, caught the attention of trendy fashion shoppers, and in no time demand exponentially grew, and so too did the collection.
When asked “How did your experience in manufacturing shoe components help with creating an actual shoe label?” Joe replied “We’ve always been supplying shoe components to factories and guiding them on fashion trends, but we were ‘behind the scenes’… now we can actually show our creativity.”
Furthermore, Hratch added “We travel to fairs in Europe and have close relations with European suppliers; this helps us keep in line with the best techniques and materials to use… and we know the Lebanese woman has sophisticated taste, so we need to always cater to that.”
Using all their knowhow and much determination to revive this industry, the brothers built a team of professional artisans in the factory, and in the forefront, a trendy showroom showcasing their items. What added to the growth of this local shoe brand is the online shopping movement. Seaside Avenue created a big buzz on social media, with many consumer interactions, website visits, and a flood of WhatsApp messages. Shoes were being delivered to all corners of Lebanon, at the tap of a button.
Today, Seaside Avenue prides itself in becoming the go-to local shoe brand for shoppers looking for fashion and comfort at an affordable price. Shoes can be shopped online, in their boutiques in Dora and Batroun, at all ABC Mall department stores, and at Beirut Rafik Hariri Airport Duty Free.