LAHORE: Julkè is part of Leathertex Group that has a strong ability of making fashion leathers in vibrant colours which ultimately led them to the brand. They wanted to produce something for the local market. And that’s from where the idea of Julké came up. They started julkeonline in beginning of 2016 and went global by October 2016. Right now they are delivering to 29 countries. The brand is competing on an international level and that’s the reason they have competitive pricing. After entering the online market, Julké decided to launch a store as they believed it was important for the brand to have presence in the local market and the brand grandly launched its first store on March 2, 2017 with A-listers in attendance. Julké is the name of the village where Leathertex factories stand. And when the owners decided to launch a retail brand in Pakistan they thought it’s time to give something back to the community and named it Julké. I asked their market head Farhan Naeem a few questions to understand the philosophy and what they were offering at Julké. He told me how Leathertex Group felt the need for a retail leather brand that’s vibrant and colourful with a touch of youth. They felt if they’re producing something for the Pakistani market it should be colourful, as for that’s how our culture is; rich with colours and life. The brands already available are a bit old fashioned and not trendy. “At Julke, close attention is paid to every handcrafted masterpiece to minute details. Also in managing to keep the price comparative, the average price of a Julke bag is Rs 10,000, which in comparison to other brands available in market is much less, though the quality Julke offers is the best,” he said. It was nice to know that the brand appreciates competition and they want to empower other brands. Their aim is to bring Pakistani leather good at the fourth front of the world leather market. “It’ll be good to see the market expand as this would bring more knowledge and learning from each other. The only reason why Pakistan is still behind in leather goods is due to lack of vision. But fortunately, the owners of Julké want the brand to have an image that claims something,” Farhan Naeem said. “Right now the brand wants to take it slow and first make a name for themselves in the minds of the potential clients. We want Julke to be the brand that comes to every woman’s mind when footwear or bags come up. We will grow but keeping in mind our vision,” he said, while talking exclusively to Daily Times. The brand is happy with the experience of entering the retail market. Although they feel as being the pioneers in what they are offering, it’ll take time to establish and make people believe in this new venture. If we talk about the launch, they felt the response was remarkable. People gave them a positive feedback and they said they couldn’t be happier. The bags at Julké are all made in-house, from leather to stitching. Although while talking to Naeem, we discovered the problems that come with their shoe range. “We tried a few places in Pakistan to provide us with high quality finished footwear but unfortunately we weren’t satisfied. Due to which we had to get the shoe manufacturing done from Turkey, but the leather used is ours. We’re still looking forward to find someone who can give us the quality of work we’re looking for.” Team Julke believes they’re the only leather brand in Pakistan providing matching shoes and bag and plan on eventually expanding its product profile into Julké Home, Men, Women and Small leather goods. The brand is working on its weaknesses and trying to make sure they give a stronger collection each time. We wish the brand best of luck, and can’t wait for their upcoming Eid collection.