A viral TikTok helped save Rich Collection Italia, a shoe store near closure in East London
NEED TO KNOW
- Zineb Lazraq helped save her dad’s struggling shoe store in Shoreditch by creating viral TikTok videos
- The shop, once on the verge of closing, now draws lines of customers seeking trendy Y2K-style shoes
- Lazraq plans to expand the business online while her dad continues to bring in new designs and stock
For her entire life, Zineb Lazraq watched her father pour his time and energy into his small business. So when the Shoreditch-based shoe store, Rich Collection Italia, was at risk of shutting down after 34 years in business, Lazraq stepped in to help.
“When I was younger, the business was doing well, but especially towards my teen years, the business started struggling,” Lazraq, 25, tells PEOPLE. “The main reason was the area was changing due to gentrification.”
“The whole street where my dad’s shoe shop is was full of other shoe shops like his,” she continues. “There were many shops just like his on that street, but over the years, they all started closing down because the rent prices were really high, so they weren’t able to sustain the business.”
Lazraq shares that while her 59-year-old dad, Rachid Lazraq, owns the shop and didn’t want to be driven out by rent prices, he was “very close to closing down.”
Credit: Zineb Lazraq
She explains that, after years of serving a loyal customer base in East London, his regulars stopped coming to the area, which started to become “very trendy,” with chains, coffee shops and shopping.
“It wasn’t his primary customer base, which were older African customers, a lot of them,” Zineb says. “They stopped coming or they just didn’t come as frequently. He thought the business had run its end.”
Then, one video changed everything.
In May, a French TikToker made a video about her dad’s shop, calling it a “hidden gem.” The video went viral, amassing over 300,000 views.
@itszinebxo
Replying to @nico after being made redundant two months ago, I am now working at my dad’s viral Y2K shop in Shoreditch!🥳💗 It’s been surreal seeing the reaction on here after a few tough years of the shop being so quiet, so grateful I can help out and I’m having so much fun💗🥹👠 #richcollection #hiddengem #shoeshopping #shoreditch #y2k
♬ Pink – Lizzo
While Zineb was shocked to see the engagement the video received, she was even more surprised to learn more about the styles of shoes that her dad was selling. When she was growing up, she thought he sold “auntie shoes for older ladies,” but “didn’t realize that his shoes would appeal to people my age.”
“As soon as I found that out, I thought, let me make my own TikTok,” she shares.
Zineb, who has a background in video editing from her job as a journalist, posted a video showing off her dad’s shop and the Y2K sandals he had in stock.
“Then that blew up, and then the lines started forming after that,” she says. “So I continued making more videos, and very quickly I realized, ‘Oh, this is my new job for now.’ “
Credit: Zineb Lazraq
Soon after, an hours-long line formed outside the shop, with customers eager to snag a pair or two of the fun shoes, most of which retail for around $75.
“My dad needs a shop assistant to deal with the lines and the demand,” Zineb tells PEOPLE. “So with zero retail experience, I went straight into the deep end and was just learning as I go.”
Initially, the shop was supposed to close in late June, with Rachid even hanging up a closing sign. However, thanks to the surge in business, he was able to officially take it down on June 10.
While things have slowed down a bit since the initial viral videos, there is still a steady stream of business.
“Now that people know we’re open for the foreseeable, it’s much more of a steady flow. And it’s mostly Saturdays when there’s a big line, but really on weekdays we have quiet times now,” Zineb shares.
@itszinebxo
Replying to @nico together, we’ve all helped save my dad’s shop from falling victim to gentrification!! this has been life changing for our family and it’s just the beginning, thank you❤️ #richcollection #gentrification #y2k #hiddengem #shoreditch
♬ Scott street x i know the end – michà
While it’s unclear what the future holds, Zineb says they are “taking things day by day at the moment.”
“For me, I want to make sure that we establish an online brand. So we’re in the process of setting up a website as we speak,” she shares. “I’ve had messages from all around the world that people would love to buy my dad’s shoes. And I’ve already set up a TikTok shop. I just haven’t had much time to list as many things as I’d want to. There’s the online side of it. I want to continue doing socials for it.”
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With her dad turning 60 next year, they don’t know how many years of stamina he’s got left in him to work in retail, since it’s “not the easiest field.”
“But for now, we’re open for the foreseeable future because my dad’s got an unbelievable amount of stock to sell. He’s got so much. The shop is still packed, and he’s bringing in new designs,” Zineb shares. “This is the first time I think since COVID that he’s bringing in new shoes.”
“We had a new delivery last week and there’s a new delivery coming soon again. Since we’ve got new deliveries coming in, it doesn’t look like we’re closing anytime soon,” she adds.
Zineb says that helping out in the shop and watching it grow in popularity has been “amazing,” but “overwhelming at times.”
“There was a part of me that was like, ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?’ My dad was struggling for years; I could have done this sooner,” she says. “At the end of the day, it happened at the right time. It happened at a time where I was free to step in and help.”
“I’m grateful for the community who showed up. It’s been, overall, a really special chapter of our life, which I feel like we’ll look back on one day and really cherish it,” she adds. “It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve learned a lot.”
The success of the store impacts more than just the Lazraq family, as they were even able to hire a shop assistant named Nawal, who is a local resident. Even other businesses in the area, such as the Japanese restaurant next door, say their sales have also improved thanks to the newfound success of Rich Collection Italia.
Zineb says that her dad “didn’t realize the power of social media or how important it is for a small business to have social media” until the last few months — something he hopes other small businesses will learn much earlier.
“He says that he encourages other people who are struggling with a small business to keep going because it was really hard for him to keep going at times, but he had the hope that it would pick up again,” she tells PEOPLE.
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