Freedom of Movement: Aiming for a globally recognised South African lifestyle brand

From the outset we had a one liner that defined our brand identity, our purpose and our vision -> "To build a globally recognised, proudly South African lifestyle brand."

 

We do stock one or two larger retailers in South Africa, but our model is predominantly direct to consumers through our own online platforms and retail stores in South Africa.

 

We would consider it if we found the right brand fit. Authenticity is a critical element that we need to protect so the in-store merchandising and shop fitting space allocated would need to communicate our brand story and aesthetics.

 

I would not say that we are dependent on the tourist trade but we do have a definite spike in revenue from tourists in certain months, especially in our Western Cape stores. 

 

We do have our own small factory in our warehouse where we manufacture smaller leather goods, do personalisation, etc. We then source our other products (bags and shoes) from other local factories. We manufacture our leather shoes (Vellies) and some of our leather bags locally, but we also import products in certain categories. It is our first prize to manufacture locally, but with the vision to build a premium brand we have a commitment to product quality and would import products if the quality cannot be matched locally. 

 

Production consistency and limited components makes it a challenge to maintain a competitive advantage locally. 

 

We've been fortunate to have built up a solid business from the ground up over the past 9 years. If there is a solid value proposition with investment required to scale this business quicker (especially abroad) we are definitely open to explore. 

 

 

FOM Clothing and Accessories (Pty) Ltd

 

2013

 

No background. Qualified chartered accountant.

 

We sell roughly 4500 pairs of shoes per month.

 

Most definitely. There is still a lot of scope to grow this online, and we are planning to open up 5+ more stores in 2022.