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The
new and improved Kinam Hotel complex is now home to Haiti’s first Kenneth Cole
Store.
The store officially opened to shoppers on Friday, but Thursday night was a VIP reception held at the Petion-Ville location. Cole himself was on hand to meet and greet, as was Prime Minister Lamothe, other officials and local celebrities.
The store officially opened to shoppers on Friday, but Thursday night was a VIP reception held at the Petion-Ville location. Cole himself was on hand to meet and greet, as was Prime Minister Lamothe, other officials and local celebrities.
How
did Kenneth Cole Store get to be in Haiti?
It’s thanks to the initiative of co-owners Valerie Pompee and Sandrine
Nau.
["Kenneth
Cole is a brand that I represent in my other shops and I could see the
enthusiasm of the public. These are quality products at an affordable
price," explains Valérie Pompée, young entrepreneur, owner of several
clothing stores and accessories in Petion-Ville, who chose to invest in a new
adventure with a partner.]1
The store looks like any other Kenneth Cole in the US, except that in this location Kenneth Cole Productions is trying something new. Proceeds from store sales will go to the Kenneth Cole Haiti Health Center, which will be providing medical care to people in Cite Soleil and the surrounding areas.
Local designer, Gregory Vorbe, created a line of t-shirts in collaboration with Kenneth Cole which will be sold exclusively to benefit the Center. Pompee tells me that the store intends to do such collaborations with other local designers with proceeds again going to the Center.
Fotokazyon
Haiti is one of those countries where a good could just as easily be a bad, and really quick. Meaning yes it’s great that a store of its caliber and quality is in Haiti. Not only does it give access to shopping, which in itself is a luxury, but access to a quality and diversity. The bad, this is access to who and at what cost? How is this affecting the local market? The Haitian designer who are already competing from a limited pool of consumers? I guess time will tell. Till then, a lovely pair of silver espadrilles caught my eye as soon as I walked in the door. Priced at $110USD, it would appear that things are comparable to the US counterpart.
Happy Shopping!!
For purchases made in Haiti, the funds collected will only go to The Kenneth Cole Haiti Health Center (KCHHC) of St. Mary Hospital in Cité Soleil. Note that the KCHHC is part of a collaborative three-tier medical system, which works in partnership with the Saint-Luc Foundation, a Haitian organization employing more than 1,000 people in Haiti that provides education, medical care, and humanitarian awareness through key programs.2
Sources:
1,2: HaitiLibre
Kenneth Cole Fotokazyon
By Mystique
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