A sales person reports to a remote outpost in Africa to sell shoes and reports that it is an impossible assignment because nobody there wears shoes.
His replacement reports it’s a great assignment because the market is wide open…because nobody has any shoes.
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Or . . . is the glass half full or half empty? A couple of things come to mind: My husband and I have been to South Africa many times because my daughter lives there with her husband and children. Knowing how poor most native Africans are (and those are probably the ones in the outpost of your story), probably the first salesman was the wiser. They wouldn’t have money to buy the shoes even if they wanted them. Which brings me to my second thought. My daughter is married to a person of English descent. They’re fortunate to afford to send their children to an upscale school. At this school the children are allowed to go barefoot at almost any time! And they do! As my son-in-law says — only in Africa. :O)