Pakistani company offers customised leather jacket at half price of top brands

Markhor is first Pakistani company to be accepted into Y Combinator


Osman Husain November 19, 2015
PHOTO: TECH IN ASIA

The most successful artisanal goods startup to emerge from Pakistan is probably Markhor – after all it is the first company from the country to be accepted into Y Combinator. But there’s plenty more where that came from.

Earlier this year Esbee Cables banked on consumers’ love for leather to run a successful Kickstarter selling handcrafted iPhone charging cables. And now, Mont5, is the latest company to throw its hat in the ring.

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Mont5’s Kickstarter campaign is currently live and has already blown past its fundraising goal of US$18,000. Backers have several options to choose from but the main draw are its five tailormade, customized, premier leather jackets, all under US$400.

The startup draws its inspiration from the five highest mountain peaks in Pakistan and each jacket is named after a region straddling them. It’s not difficult to see why there’s interest in promoting handcrafted leather goods.

The sector contributes more than US$1.1 billion in value-added exports from Pakistan and there’s a large number of skilled craftsmen proficient in hand stitched products.

But the majority of sales in the leather jackets category are business-to-business, meaning consumers get a raw deal in the form of higher prices due to middlemen and taxes. That’s the opportunity Mont5 aims to target.

“Our goal for the Kickstarter campaign was to essentially drum up enough sales to help build a company,” Mont5 creative lead Fahim Akhter tells Tech in Asia. “But the response has been phenomenal and it’s helped us establish a brand outright.”

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Fahim says all craftsmen involved in stitching the jackets receive a fair percentage of the sale. If their company takes off then they’ll look into further incentives – such as providing the craftsmen with health insurance and higher premiums.

But for now the focus is delivering on their commitment – they’ve promised backers to deliver jackets by February 2016 and aim to stick to it.

This article originally appeared on Tech In Asia.

COMMENTS (16)

Danish Ali | 8 years ago | Reply @Adnan I was also going to say the same. I am living in Germany and you (Travis) can come hear and see almost every loves wearing leather jackets. Brands like Napapijri, Louis Vuitton, Gucci,Givency, Boss, Burberry, Prada, Versace, Tom Ford, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors,Burberry, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Tom Rusborg, John Varvatos etc aren't making these leather products especially jackets for no purpose.
MJ | 8 years ago | Reply I have been living in the US for the past 25 years. I have, like other fellow Pakistani's, bought several leather jackets from Pakistan to support local industry as well as get a better price than what is found in US. I am not saying that this new brand is going to be sub-par but Pakistani leather jackets don't stand a chance in the very cold weather that some parts of US have to offer. I have lived in such diverse climate cities as Boston (MA), Madison (WI), Houston (TX) and Irvine (CA) and even the most expensive jackets that I have bought (upwards of Rs. 20,000 more than 6 years ago) are not finished or chemically processed for extreme cold. I also ride motorcycles and none of the made in Pakistan products are of good quality. I can go buy a Chinese, Mexican or Canadian made leather jacket in US, pay less than what I would pay for a made in Pakistan jacket and it would serve me better. Pakistani tanneries need to become competitive with the international market in terms of processing leather. Hopefully this startup is going to provide good quality jackets but at $400 they better be.
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