BATHU: With You Every Step of the Way

In townships across South Africa, the word ‘bathu’ can be heard in use daily to describe a shoe. Bathu the brand, meanwhile, was established in 2015 in a local township – Alexandra -and has since grown exponentially to now number 32 stores nationwide – soon to be 35 – and a staff complement of over 300 employees, predominantly youth.

“It’s a story of walking your journey, and this is Bathu’s tagline,” summarises MD Cedrick Diphoko of the company’s meteoric rise. “We are more than just a sneaker business, but a beacon of hope that each person has valid and attainable dreams regardless of background and unfavourable personal circumstances,” he details,

“Our motto is centred around our mission statement of reigniting hope and creating sustainable employment. We believe everyone is on a journey; it is our mission to equip, ignite and enable that journey.”

AFRICAN HEART

Bathu opened its first physical store in 2018 in Newtown Junction Mall, Johannesburg, the same year in which its first delivery vehicle was purchased. Two years later, one of founder and group CEO Theo Baloyi’s starting pillars for Bathu, to create 100 meaningful jobs, was achieved. “Then in 2021, Bathu was ranked ninth in Africa’s most recognisable brands,” Diphoko interjects on this startlingly rapid rise to stardom. “This was an achievement in our mission towards being a truly African brand and one that validated all the hard work,” he assesses.

Rejected by 13 different shoe factories at the outset, before finally succeeding in bringing to life his Mesh Edition Sneaker, Baloyi has had to entirely embody the core Bathu principles of hope and perseverance; just a few years on, and it is plain that constant and marked progress is now the order of the day. “The business is constantly growing, and this growth is linked to different needs in each of the different diverse markets in which we trade,” says Diphoko.

“Strategically, we definitely want to scale and expand, and we are aiming to grow the business into Pan-Africa – or, more specifically, SADC. We are aware that two things are required of us in order to succeed in these aims: a compelling product, and the right human capital – a workforce positioned to carry out our mandate everywhere we want to be.

“From a proposition point of view,” Diphoko furthers, “we say that we are a South African sneaker brand that all Africans can proudly affiliate with – the same needs to be said, constantly, of our service offering and our delivery, and we therefore need the very best representation of our product throughout all parts of the continent.”

Next in Bathu’s expansion sights is one of its nearest neighbours, Namibia. “We should have a fully operational retail store there on November 1st this year, and we are, furthermore, exploring the opportunities Nigeria and Kenya could hold for us.” These locations have, themselves, been strategically selected, with Bathu’s roots and ethos at the heart of the reasoning. “Our intent is to have fulfilled our goals within Africa via these places, before then going into other major segments like New York, London and Dubai,” Diphoko explains.

“Being a proudly premium South African local brand, our affiliation needs to lie squarely with Africa, and it should be at the epicentre of the experience and of the product first, before it then goes out to the world.

“Our core business model is based bricks and mortar, and in retailers is where we continue to witness the biggest levels of growth and conversion, from a financial standpoint,” comments Diphoko, with A Mall of Africa store having just opened to be joined imminently by a site in one of South Africa’s largest shopping centres, Menlyn Park. Naturally, Diphoko stresses, there is increasingly more territory to be explored beyond the physical, and Bathu is well ahead in this regard too, he reveals.

“I firmly believe that our e-commerce platform is an especially compelling one; it leaves no-one behind, and essentially means that we have a global store, operating 24/7, so that anyone, wherever they are in the world, can trade with us and purchase our products. This model is showing us significant growth, too, and digitisation of the business is a central focus for us – between April this year and last, we witnessed a 98% increase in digital sales.

“We are constantly seeking ways to strengthen our digital portfolio.”

FIRST MOVER

The South African footwear market continues to show extremely positive signs, Diphoko informs; in 2024, it is projected to grow by 84%, and by 86% and 89% for the two years thereafter. “I believe that there is a big enough pie here that we are all able to enjoy a slice,” he says. “The truth is, though, that we are fortunate to have a first-to-market advantage, too: from a sneaker company perspective we were the first to do it, and the first to do it right.

“All it takes from us is to ensure that we always have a compelling strategy and designs that fit the market, for a long time a great competitive edge for us, and to remain confident in the business and understanding our objectives,” he adds.

“Understanding the buying power of the shopper, and answering to where the retail confidence is really high, is also key, and these are our three most important differentiators.” Bathu’s ambitious growth strategy, translating to a continual 22% year-on-year improvement in all aspects, immediately become infinitely attainable on hearing Diphoko’s assessment of what sets the company apart in a packed market.

“I absolutely envisage Bathu being a global business that can stand the test of time, be internationally-benchmarked and be a case study of how to do business within the African context, with a fair representation of our products in every single part of the world,” Diphoko responds when asked what the coming years will hold for the company. “These are the things that I wake up and live for – opening a Bathu store in London’s Oxford Street, for instance, where people come, touch our wares and experience this beautiful continent, rich in culture, minerals, style and flair.

“We will strive to realise our vision, our mission and our strategic intent, and live to our promise as a business to be impactful and be a proud partner to Africa – it has been a great journey so far, and a promise than we are more than living up to.”