25 Mar 2019

The Gaborone Bus Rank is always a beehive of activity with close to 10 000 travellers to various destinations across the country and within the city passing there every day.

There are different business entities, but those that can never be missed are the various shoe stands, where colourful sneakers are always displayed throughout the year.

The business caught the interest of this reporter who hooked up with two traders for an interview on this seemingly booming business.

First was Ms Itumeleng Bogatsu who said she quit her job to start her business in 2010 selling sweets, airtime and fruits before she ventured into selling shoes.

She said after getting married, her husband thought it was best if they opened a business so that they did not depend on employment for their livelihood.

It was then that she quit her job as an operator and used her benefits as capital for her sneaker shoes business, which she started three years later.

She said another reason for changing businesses was that the airtime business was risky.

She said selling shoes challenged one to know which ones were trending, adding that even though her customers advised her on which shoes to order, sometimes she used her fashion sense.

“I have a busy schedule hence I hardly have time for television to try and keep up with trends,” she said.

Ms Bogatsu said the business does well in December and slowed down during the holidays, as people tended to spend more on travelling. She said men were her biggest customers.

Since January this year, the Molepolole-born entrepreneur said she added clothes to diversify her business.

She said being self-employed was a blessing as she has flexible working hours and attends social commitments without seeking leave from an employer.

Ms Bogatsu advised those who wanted to follow in her footsteps to persevere as running a business required patience.

Her greatest achievement includes buying a car and building a two-bedroomed house for her family through proceeds from her business.

Her plan includes buying directly from manufacturers and having her own shop.

Another sneakers stall that was visited is a family business trading as D’Mafia wear.

One of the two brothers who run the D’Mafia wear, Mr Isaac Kgodumo said they started the business in 2008, selling both shoes and clothes, but they then realised they had less space hence they resorted to selling only sneakers as they seemed to be a good bet at the time considering their demand.

Mr Kgodumo said he loves to watch television, especially music channels, to get ideas of what was trending, particularly footwear by musicians, which also helped him to know the target audience when going for stock.

The business sells all kinds of sneakers including classics. He said machesa were a challenge as they were seasonal.

The entrepreneur dreams of opening his own shop and having branches.

He also aspires to order from Zambia and China to attract a lot of clientele.

He lamented that most of the sneakers traders bought from Johannesburg hence they sold the same things and their prices ranged from P300 upwards.

Mr Kgodumo explained that the shoes business was good as they were needed throughout the year. He, however, said at the moment demand was low on training shoes, but that it would pick after winter as people would want to keep in shape.

Before pricing, the entrepreneur said he considered quality and the stock price so that he could be fair to clients and not run at a loss. Just like Ms Bogatsu, he said his greatest clients were men.

He said trading at the bus rank was tricky as sometimes he recieved no clients on Fridays and more on Sundays when he least expected.

He said they marketed their business through music, social media and announcements via speakers tha were in the stall. ENDS