The Leather Mall

You can find us at the Oberoi Shopping Centre, right across from the Bhaktawar Building. We’re in shop number 9 on Venku Sahuji Lane in Nariman Point. The area is usually full of tourists and office workers from the big buildings nearby. Inside The Leather Mall, it always smells like leather polish and new hide. We have shelves full of bags, wallets, and belts. It’s a small shop but we pack a lot into the space. We spend a lot of time cleaning the glass cases and rearranging the displays. We aren't part of a big chain. It’s just a local shop where we know where everything is kept. Some of the stock has been on the shelves for a while and we have to dust it off. We don't have a fancy computer system. Most things are written down in a big ledger. When the sea breeze comes in, it feels nice, but the salt can be tough on the leather if we aren't careful. We talk to all sorts of people who wander in after seeing the sights. It’s a slow-paced kind of business. We don't do big marketing campaigns. We just sit here and wait for customers to walk through the door. Sometimes we spend the afternoon fixing a strap or a buckle for someone. It’s a quiet life in a very busy part of Mumbai. We’ve been doing this for a long time and the shop hasn't changed much over the many years.