“I’ve told myself that I’ll never work for a black-owned company again.” These are the sentiments of a former Drip Footwear employee who is among many staffers left in the lurch after news of the company’s liquidation.
Drip last week Monday announced its liquidation after apparently taking “every measure” to avoid the process.
Wideopen Platform, a company that specialises in large, high-impact advertising, was successful in its liquidation application in September over Drip’s unpaid R20m debt.
Staff members, however, confirmed that they were told about the liquidation only on October 2.
The popular sneaker brand was established by Lekau Sehoana in 2019 and became widely recognised through its extensive advertising campaigns. It had 14 stores across South Africa at the time of the liquidation.
Former staffers have opened up on the impact its downfall has had on them.
In text messages TimesLIVE Premium has seen, one employee spoke of the “psychological damage” the process has had, especially due to management’s poor communication. “It comes across as inconsiderate and borderline disrespectful,” the worker said.
Another, pleading for clarity on when salary payments would be made, spoke of how it had affected her ability to pay rent. Siphiwe Nkosi*, who was with Drip when it opened its first store in Newtown, Johannesburg, also spoke of the impact Drip’s sudden liquidation has had on him.
Nkosi started as a sales consultant but worked his way up to a managerial position during his four years with the company. “I started with the company from its inception, during Covid-19 in 2020. I was there from day one and the store was the first one opened,” he said.
While Nkosi said there were signs of financial trouble in the past three to four months, as stores closed down monthly, it was shocking to see the company imploding, seemingly overnight.
“I was surprised that the entire thing is being shut down [so suddenly]. Because during the past three, four months all we were doing was closing down stores, so you could get a sense that eventually, the company is going to shut down, but one didn’t expect it to happen overnight,” he said.
I’m not well [given] how things have unfolded. He [Sehoana] should’ve given us enough notice to ensure that everyone can find alternative employment
“I’m not well [given] how things have unfolded. He [Sehoana] should have given us enough notice to ensure everyone can find alternative employment.”
Nkosi was among those employees who were paid their September salary on Friday.
Veronica Morake*, who has been with the company since 2020, found out about the liquidation as it happened. She, however, had known about the company’s financial issues since 2022.
“When we started it was good, even though we were underpaid, but it was exciting joining a company that was moving very fast. We knew we had financial issues — he would say that — but there was a promise everything was [under control], and that there were people willing to invest in the company,” she said.
Morake also got her final salary last Friday “after a long fight” with Sehoana’s sister, who helped with the company’s payroll. At that point, Morake was struggling and could not pay her children’s school transport.
This experience — and the “heartless” attitude towards her predicament — left a sour taste in Morake’s mouth. “I don’t want to lie, I’ve told myself that I’ll never work for a black-owned company again. I felt like [they] make it all about themselves and not the people,” she said.
Drip’s former employees met with Tutor Trust, one of the appointed liquidators, on Monday to discuss the next step in the process.
“They [told us they are] in the process of recovering everything and that we need to submit our documentation as soon as possible,” another former employee explained.
Former staffers were also told they would be prioritised for payments once the process to acquire and sell the company’s assets had been completed. Only those owed money, either as part of their severance package or accumulated leave days, would be paid.
* Not their real names.
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