The rise and rise of Veldskoen as it seeks to double turnover

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – When they started, in 2016, they had no footwear background at all. By last year, they were responsible for between 13% and 18% of SA’s footwear exports by pairs, and probably at least as much by value.
Anyone who knows much about SA’s footwear exports will know the reference is to Veldskoen (Pty) Ltd – the company, not the shoe.

Founders Nick Dreyer and Ross Zondagh are adamant Veldskoen’s success is “all about the product”, but Veldskoen’s marketing and business vision are what have taken a South African staple and an internationally cyclically popular construction to a different level.
The story behind the founding of the business is approaching mythological status and is, along with a lot of other interesting and entertaining content, on their very professional website.

The short version is that they settled on the stitchdown veldskoen as the quintessential South African shoe to take to the world, but which needed something to lift it from its pastoral origins to street fashion. A Louboutin moment: different colour soles and laces. Oh. And a VERY cheeky touch: registering ‘Veldskoen’ as their own brand. How they managed that, when to the footwear industry ‘veldskoen’ is a generic name, other manufacturers are still pondering. While they were at it, they registered Plakkies (flip flops) as well. Sometimes if you don’t know it’s a ridiculous idea, it isn’t.

The heart of the process…the stitchdown construction.

They opted not to try to start their own factory. Instead, their research led them to link up with Hopewell Footwear and EVA Industries in Durban to make the stitchdowns and flip flops respectively, partnerships they describe as “like family”.
Beginning with an online store based in Cape Town (which still serves SA consumers), they selected 3 markets – the USA, the UK, and continental Europe, in that order. In some areas, they operate through distributors, in others they have their own warehouses and staff, and they supply retailers and consumers from those warehouses.
To feel their way into the Far East, they’ve developed a customer base in Taiwan, a sizeable, often overlooked market. Other countries will follow.
All these markets are exacting and unforgiving, and would-be suppliers must learn to accept setbacks. Multiple pair, multiple colour orders from individuals may not be what they seem, for example, if the consumer is using mail order as he/she would a shop – trying on many shoes, picking a pair (hopefully) and returning the rest at the supplier’s expense. Those are costs that must be factored into the price.

The USA is the biggest market, and Veldskoen has restructured to grow it. In the last couple of months, it’s been decided that Dreyer will head up the operation there, and Veldskoen’s own warehouse has been moved to Georgia, which has both direct flights from Cape Town, and “a market for which our product is tailor-made”. In South Africa, Driekie Zondagh, moves up from COO to CEO in Veldskoen.

Veldskoen has also pioneered the concept of collaboration developments, a first for the SA footwear industry. So far, it has partnerships with school shoe marketing company Softer, and safety footwear manufacturer Neptun Boot. They say more are in the pipeline.
The Veldskoen/Softer collab shoes are made by Angel Footwear for Softer, using a mixture of Veldskoen’s and Softer’s manufacturing IP. “South Africa imports millions of pairs of school shoes,” they said. “We hope this will take away some of those imports.” Initially, they’re being aimed at the South African market, but they will also investigate the UK and Europe as potential markets.
The Veldskoen/Neptun collab is new. The intention is to grow Neptun’s non-industrial business with comfortable gumboots targeting women.
They’re also involved with a project – separated from Veldskoen – to resurrect the Wupperthal Skoen Fabriek, a Moravian church project aimed at saving jobs in the Western Cape village. It’s currently making 5 to 7 pairs/day.

The shoe…From Veldskoen’s Heritage range. This is the J-Bay, named for SA’s top surfing destination.

Footwear has hitherto not been a stellar export performer for South Africa. A handful of companies are regular exporters, but South Africa as a country is not a recognised source of footwear – or much else in the apparel sector.
Last year, Veldskoen saw a substantial rise in exports, with their numbers reaching well into the hundreds of thousands of pairs and it says its turnover is growing 30% to 50% a year. Its goal is to speed that up, “because when we talk to people in the USA, we realise how small our business is”. They say the key is “talking to a lot of people – there’s no magic formula”. Lots of hard work, lots of inspiration.
On top of everything else, they’ve done it on their own.
“I believe South Africa is a sleeping giant,” Ross Zondagh says. “I believe it could be a major footwear supplier.”
Not many people would agree, but Veldskoen has shown what can be done.

A series on successful South African footwear and leather goods exporters. Sponsored by the SA Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC).