An investment by South African investment company, Long4Life is powering the expansion of e-commerce startup DORP‘s (Digital Online Retail Products) first product, the classic South African Veldskoen leather walking shoe, into the UK and Europe market.
Long4Life, which has invested in a number of well-known South African brands including Sportsmans Warehouse, Outdoor Warehouse and the Sorbet beauty chain, has a 49% stake in the e-commerce company.
DORP was founded in 2016 by Nick Dreyer and Ross Zondagh and officially launched in the UK and Europe in May this year.
“We’re excited to bring our South African brands to a global audience. In the short space of time that Veldskoen has been trading in the UK, it has already seen success, and we’re excited to introduce it to the rest of the world,” says Dreyer, CEO and co-founder of Dorp.
“Launching a retail brand in the UK and Europe is a challenge, the fashion retail market is already highly competitive, but we believe that the quality of our products and our ability to tell our brands’ stories will make us competitive,” he adds.
Next for the brand is the US and Australia markets – as well as Africa.
Dreyer told ITWeb Africa they are are also targeting the rest of Africa, beginning with Botswana and Kenya, and that they plan to keep trade online.
