Added: 12/18/2005 |
Online And Brick-and-Mortar UK Ethnic ShoppingThe ethnic population in the UK is about 4.6 million people, and half of that number lives in the Great London area. Primarily, they are Asian and Afro-Caribbean, and make up 28.8% of London's population. The main source of income for these minorities is the UK ethnic shops. They greatly contribute to London's economy, and that of the nation, by means of these successful enterprises.
The variety of the UK ethnic shops is extremely extensive - starting with groceries and, then, extending to just about everything else. The range of products offered by these shops is fabulous. Most of them now provide an online ethnic shopping service, too. What do these UK ethnic shopping chains offer, and what are some of the main stores?
First of all - there is the Ethnic Bazaar. This store includes the usual online UK ethnic shopping, but it also has an exotic approach, too. This family run business specializes in the importation and resale of authentic arts and crafts from all over the world, most of it coming directly from Kenya, and other parts of Africa. These special items are of excellent quality, with great variety, and can be purchased at a reasonable price. The owners have formed their supply chain over the years, and have also managed to build a strong relationship with their customers. They believe in the old-fashioned principles of honesty, integrity, respect and trust. The majority of their products are individually hand-crafted, made by master crafters whose skills have been passed down from generation-to-generation. Since these crafts are handmade, it is nearly impossible to have exact duplicates - making them one-of-a-kind. Ethnic Bazaar offers you African batiks, hand-crafted wooden animals, Kikoys from Kenya, etc.
Another one of the ethnic shops is called Ethnic Fashion. This store also gives the opportunity of having a brick-and-mortar store, and online UK ethnic shopping. They offer an extensive range of ethnic clothing for men and women, and a great variety of ethnic jewelry. Much of their ethnic fashion collection has such items as: kaftans, kurtas, shirts, granddad shirts, ethnic jewelry, scarves, blouses, dresses and skirts. These goods have been put together from fair trade sources around the world. Their kaftan collection is available in a wide range of fabrics, designs and color variations, including plain, batik, tie-dyed, floral, patterned, and even a new range of unisex carnival kaftans. In the kurta range, they have plain, tie-dyed, and batik kurta tunics. Ethnic Fashion also has a fabulous range of long and short kaftan tops which includes: beaded tie-dyed, black and white, summer, and even paisley patterned ones. They also carry a wide range of granddad shirts. These are very popular for their comfort, breathability, softness, durability, and easy care. The beautiful lines of ethnic jewelry is part of a recent collection that comes from Africa and India. Each piece is hand-crafted by local artisans, using techniques that were handed-down over the centuries.
Ethnic Spirit is another place to do UK ethnic shopping. This store offers you a variety of products, mostly gifts, that are imported from Africa, India, China, Egypt and Tibet. They also have a web variant of their shop. The prices are moderate and they do offer discounts.
Other ethnic shops sell just about anything you could want. You will find many grocery stores, clothiers, restaurants, hairdressers, cosmetics, media, and catering services, such as Sweetmart (supplier of ethnic foods and spices to the general public and to the restaurant trade), and Curry Sauce (fresh delicious curry sauces for restaurants, pubs and connoisseurs can be ordered from this shop). Other specialty stores worthy of mention (among others) are: Fifth (supplier of the very highest quality Italian foods to top London restaurants and food houses), Chilli Willie (supplier of ingredients for curries and spicy cuisine), Spanish Food Direct (Australian products can be bought directly from this shop), Susman (supplier of a wide range of wines, sweets, boerwor, sosatis and biltong, made by South Africans), Costarica Coffee (a range of the finest original and blended coffees delivered direct to your door).
With such a varied list of stores, and so many interesting products, why are you still reading, and not shopping? At these stores, it sounds like you could find some real treasures from the wonderful worlds of Africa, Asia, India, Egypt and China.
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