Centre shoes tunisia is a shopping centre on the north-western outskirts of Tunis that specialises in a range of second-hand footwear. In the shop, a selection of shoe models can be purchased alongside handbags and accessories that are also for sale.
Besides shoes, the shops also sell clothing and accessories from international fashion brands. It is a great place to find an outfit for any occasion, especially if you are on a budget.
The store’s main attraction is its dazzling collection of vintage-styled second-hand footwear, which includes sneakers and dress shoes from both French and Italian manufacturers, but also boots, sandals and other styles that are popular among Tunisian youth.
Like all imported « fripe » merchandise, fripe shoes are not officially permitted to circulate on the domestic market (Journal Officiel 1995), yet they have become a sought-after commodity in Tunisian marketplaces, both as consumer goods and for investment purposes.
As such, the circulation of fripe shoes from Rades port to various specialised markets, boutiques and warehouses across present-day Tunis requires sophisticated negotiations between diverse state actors and the specialized transporters who operate with « hamel » (white pick-up trucks) as intermediaries.
Hassan, who was born in Zahrouni and works as a “hamel”, explains how his specialised work depends on close collaboration between wholesalers and his own network of routinised transport partners. During his daily trips with shkair from backstreet warehouses to markets, he continually mitigates risks of stoppage, confiscation and fines by evading police patrols along long detours or through collaboration with other transporters who operate with handcarts, which enable him to enter markets like Bab El-Falla through narrow back alleys.
In Zahrouni, he is able to negotiate his way around tighter police control and move with greater ease through the city, often following bi-weekly rhythms of delivery among other vendors. This arrangement enables him to minimise the risk of stoppage and interruption, which in turn helps to generate the profits he needs to support his family.
His extensive network of contacts also enables him to access the specialised’sneaker street’ in Bab El-Falla, where he can buy new sneakers for less than half their price in the main street.
Shoe vendors in Bab El-Falla are specialised in a wide variety of types of second-hand footwear, from worn-out hotel slippers and broken high heels to sports shoes and trainers. The wares of this shoe-selling street are regularly sold at prices that reflect their collective value and the fact that they are still being made in Tunisia.
These specialised shoe-selling streets can be found all over the capital, but they are most vibrant in Bab El-Falla. They are a popular destination for tourists and locals alike and attract thousands of visitors every day.
The specialised street in Bab El-Falla is only one of many specialised shoe-selling streets that can be found throughout the capital, and in some cases extend to other neighborhoods in the capital.
As such, the circulation of fripe shoes in the capital is a complex, multi-layered affair that involves not only specialised and routinised processes of value extraction, but also multiple trajectories of valuation that extend beyond the final point of sale. This article explores three distinct urban sites that are illustrative of the complex and intertwined processes of reattributing value to fripe shoes in present-day Tunis.