The chaotic traffic and crowded walkways in the Gurd Shola neighbourhood can be difficult to manoeuvre for shoppers. The bustle also makes it tough to get a good look at any of the many shops located in the area. However, a modest women's clothing shop on one street corner is easy to spot because of the brightly dressed mannequins placed on its doorsteps.

The shop itself is filled with colourful fabrics and glittering lights to lure in potential clients. The strategy seems to work, and a steady stream of shoppers walk into the shop looking for particular products or just out of simple curiosity.

Abiy Aseged, the owner of the shop, is always ready to greet his customers. He has seen his fair share of challenges in the five years that he has been operating his establishment. This year, the staggering economic fallout caused by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been his biggest worry. Although dealing in clothing and textiles remains a particularly lucrative business, his trade's familiar pattern has recently begun to shift due to the pandemic and other factors.

Like most small clothing retailers, Abiy is used to buying the majority of his stock from small-scale importers that source the products from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He had many reasons for preferring clothes imported from Dubai for almost four years, and his selection earned him a loyal customer base that kept his trade thriving. However, the profits from the habitual Dubai route have recently slumped and, coupled with the pandemic, have made it increasingly difficult for him to sustain his business.

Since there were many confirmed cases of COVID-19 among people coming from Dubai, traders used to travelling there did not prefer to return.

Many small-scale importers that supply clothing shops like Abiy's have recently taken to looking to Turkey as their primary source for clothing and textiles. Since their businesses are so dependent upon the importers, Abiy and others like him have had to adapt to the change to survive.

For over a decade now, Dubai has been the main destination for those engaged in the small-scale import of clothing and textiles and other products such as electronics. These individuals had many good reasons for choosing the desert city as their primary source of goods.

The most convincing reason for preferring Dubai is its proximity to Ethiopia and the abundance of transportation to and from, with an average of three flights a day flying out of Addis Abeba Bole International Airport. Emirates and Fly Dubai also have daily flights from and to Addis Abeba and Dubai. The relatively reasonable ticket prices were also a plus, with a round-trip costing anywhere between 22,000 Br to 26,000 Br depending on the season.

A simple visa application process which takes about three to five days on average and costs around 5,000 Br, including a recently added health insurance fee brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, is another advantage for the importers.

Additionally, since Dubai is a world-famous shopping destination and a centre of trade, the large variety of clothing, textiles and fabrics available in markets makes it an ideal destination for the importers.

The majority of small-scale importers are also able to afford accommodations in the metropolis comfortably.

"The best option is to pitch money together in groups to afford the hotels or hostels," said Mariamawit Birhanu, a small-scale importer who regularly travels to Dubai.

But recently, due to the economic shake-up caused by the pandemic, small-scale importers were left unsatisfied with the profits and the market resources available to them in Dubai. They say that currently the pricing is not as profitable as it used to be and the varieties of clothing on offer there are narrowing down because of the shuttering of various shops.

Customers in Ethiopia are growing more selective about the quality of clothing they choose to buy, and the cheap products being brought in from Dubai are not cutting it anymore, according to the retailers and the importers.

"As the consumer becomes more aware and sensitive to shopping preferences, quality becomes their priority," said Abiy.

These reasons have also led many small-scale importers to look to Turkey as their primary source for clothing products.

Turkey is one of the leading textile manufacturers globally; its markets offer various products of higher quality than those available in Dubai while costing less. There is also a lot of demand here for the quality of Turkish products, according to Abiy.