Lessons learned from Kiddies Republic

19/11/2023
Stories

The closing of the Kiddies Republic, the newest venture that was created by Lekau Sehoana, the entrepreneur behind DRIP Footwear, is disappointing but not the big train smash that it was initially made out to be. DRIP is one of the most successful South African footwear brands. It was established in 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and went through a period of rapid growth. Drip success was followed in 2022 by the opening of a new line of business called Kiddies Republic, a high-end children’s clothing store. And so the closing down of this new business was sudden and unexpected, but entrepreneurs do understand that these events do happen. Many also appreciate would appreciate how quickly he was able to make the decision to cut his losses. The timing to pull the trigger is never perfect and there is simply no magic formula that can be used to guide that complex decision-making.

Key lessons

A few things stood out on the matter:

The first store was opened in Polokwane, a smaller city in the North, in July 2022. In under a year he was able to see whether the concept was working or not under the current economic conditions. He was obviously leveraging the DRIP brand and all the lessons learned. He has built the DRIP business from the ground up, so he knows what the key indicators should look like. And that is priceless.
The liquidation was voluntary, in other words it was initiated by shareholders/management and not by creditors and this shows that they probably have been managing the situation reasonably well under the difficulties.
As soon as negative publicity started, he was quick to put out a statement and limit the spreading of the rumours and all the exaggerations associated with this.
His communication was clear and to the point, he was not laying blame on anyone, and it was specific in terms of highlighting that the DRIP Brand is not affected. That is important so that no traction is lost in the existing business.

Failing fast is a great skill

The real issue is not that it did not work, it is only that it did not work this time around. And so next time when the conditions change, the idea may well take off. At that point he will tweak here and there, and maybe take a different launch strategy. In some cases, the decision to liquidate is made on the basis of priority and many entrepreneurs will understand that sometimes a new venture requires a lot more energy and focus than an entrepreneur has available.

Many entrepreneurs have not yet mastered the skill of rapid development, failing fast and failing forward – and through the Kiddies Republic closure, Lekau Sehoana demonstrates his commercial smarts. He gets five stars this projects, just opening the store was already hugely commendable!