28 Jul 2020

Today when sustainability has become the buzz word for many small to medium enterprises (SMEs), premium underwear and accessory brand HUPISA is confident of making it big in the Brand Apparel sector.

Co-owner of the upcoming brand, Mr Thato Bogopi said their brand, which debuted in 2017, was fast becoming noticeable as it had even received interest from markets in Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Speaking in an interview recently, Mr Bogopi noted that the men and women’s underwear brand was lucrative, having sold out consignment in a day of releasing its premium nylon ladies underwear, with continued order purchases from clients.

He said the brand, which consists of two product lines, being the men’s and ladies underwear and baseball caps, is strategically positioned to be among the leading brands in Africa.
Despite the apparel industry suffering from operational inefficiencies and lack of competitiveness, Mr Bogopi noted that they could carve their own niche in the Botswana market.

He noted that their interest in the underwear sector resulted from a lack of locally grown brands, which presented entry opportunities for them.

He said the bestselling point of their underwear was that they sketched design their own underwear and manufactured them in China.

Mr Bogopi noted that although they had not yet been able to find a quality and affordable manufacturer to mass produce their products locally, they were actively looking for one so that they could be a 100 per cent indigenous brand.

He said they were currently engaged in discussions with department stores in the country where they could maximise their distribution activities and ramp up sales, adding that they currently sold their products online.

Mr Bogopi noted that part of their success comes from prudent financial management skills, which he said was a requirement for SMEs.

“A mistake most people make is that they think profit is their salary,” he said.

He narrated that it was not until they managed to make significant changes in their business spending habits that they finally started seeing growth in their business.

HUPISA, brand is a fully fledged business, which has its own brand packaging labelling that makes it a unique selling proposition to their customers.

However, Mr Bogopi noted that they were currently facing operational deficiencies since the company owners were spread across the world in different study institutions.  ENDS