One of Drip Footwear stores forced to shut down due to rental delays

Lekau Sehoana ventured into the children’s clothing space and launched Kiddies Republic, and this was after his sneaker company, Drip, had been doing great for two years running.

The managing director of Kiddies Republic, Tshiamo Mathibela, revealed at the time of the launch that the idea for Kiddies Republic came about as a solution to the lack of a children’s clothing offering, where trend meets value for money.

The store at Mall of the North in Polokwane has currently been shut down due to non-payment of rent and three months’ staff salaries have also been missed.

One of the company’s upset staff member opened up about how not having a salary but going to work is frustrating. “We have not been paid our salaries. It’s not fair because we have been working and coming to work.” The other employees working at Kiddies Republic and at Drip Footwear at Mall of the North were told by the Human Resources manager that their store will be closing and that Drip Footwear will no longer fund their salaries, including the store manager.

The staff members stopped working at the store after not being paid salaries for March, April, and May. Reports also say in November 2022 and February 2023 salaries were also paid late. “We have families to take care of. Management made too many promises to us when we applied for jobs last year. We even left our old jobs hoping for greener pastures. But now we are back to square one and have to look for jobs again,” said another employee.

The staff member reportedly protested outside the store but feel their voices fell on deaf ears. One of the employees said: “They threatened us saying they would take legal action if we protested or took this to the media. We just want our money for the time we worked. They can keep their store.”

See the full statement from the Drip Footwear below:

Main Image: News24

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