Aurora store offers shoes, apparel at low prices

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Artan “Tony” Ibraimi’s discount shoe and apparel store, $5 Shoes & More, might be a bit out of the way. But if you make the effort to find it, the bargains might keep you coming back.

The store’s obscure location at 2175 Rochester Road, Unit B, in a nondescript industrial park just west of Orchard Road between Aucutt and Jericho roads, makes some customers a little wary at first.

“Everyone thinks we’re a thrift store or something that’s maybe a little shady,” Ibraimi says. But he assures doubters that his business is legitimate and all items are new.

The 3,500-square-foot basement store is packed with dozens of styles of new shoes, boots, slippers and apparel items, ranging from $5 to $15, marked at a fraction of most other discount retailers’ prices.

The highest priced items in his shop are dresses and adult coats for $15 and children’s coats for $10. All women’s and children’s shoes are $5 to $6 with men’s shoes priced at $7 to $10. Children’s apparel items are $3.

“Most people just don’t believe almost everything is just $5 or $6,” Ibraimi says. “It’s ridiculous the markup these retail stores have.”

In addition to checking out the selection of shoes and boots, shoppers can browse through racks of pants, jeans, skirts, dresses, blouses and lined wool blazers.

A round table features a neat display of men’s ties, priced at 3 for $10. Jewelry and accessories fill an entire wall of the store. Other assorted items include scarves, gloves and a few children’s toys. About 80 percent of Ibraimi’s inventory is for women, 15 percent for girls and 5 percent for men and boys.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Aurora resident and regular customer Lynelle Escamilla came into the store to shop for shoes with her 9-year-old daughter, Abigail. Although she usually buys shoes, Escamilla says she has also purchased dresses at a fraction of what she would pay for the same dress at a discount retailer.

“You just can’t beat the prices,” she says. “I have three kids, so it really helps.”

Ibraimi has established a strong base of repeat customers. He finds new ones by posting signs around the West Side of town, handing out business cards to area stores and restaurants and through word-of-mouth recommendations.

“I have a lot of friends and family here,” Ibraimi says. “A lot of their moms like me, so they spread the word around.”

Ibraimi, 32, opened his store about 2½ years ago after finding success selling shoes in bulk online to wholesalers, retailers and exporters through his website, www.mybulklots.com.

Store inventory changes daily. “What I offer here is my leftover items that I don’t sell from the Internet,” he explains.

He imports many of his shoes from China and Korea and sells shoes overseas to countries including Costa Rica, Greece and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also acquires merchandise locally from retailers at auction, by the pallet or by the truckload.

Ibraimi, who makes a full-time living with his discount shoe and apparel business, never received any formal education in international trade but learned “just by doing it.” He recalls how nervous he was the first time he hopped on a plane and headed to China in 2006.

“I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he admits with a laugh. Now he has returned twice more to China and has traveled to Costa Rica and Mexico for his business.

During his first week in business at his Rochester Road location a little more than two years ago, Ibraimi sold about 300 pairs of shoes and gave away another 100 pairs. Now, he reports that he sells between 2,000 to 10,000 pairs of shoes each month on the Internet and another 2,000 a month at his store, including pairs that he gives away.

Ibraimi, who was born and raised in Aurora, says the store is more about giving back to the community than making money. Church groups often come in looking for donations, as he’s known for giving away items just because he can sense when someone is in need.

“Sometimes I can just tell when people don’t have too much,” he says. “Especially during the Christmas season I try to do as much as I can to help out the community.”

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.