Drip founder on relationship with Cassper Nyovest and collaboration with BMW
Drip footwear is not even a two-year-old brand and yet it's already breaking boundaries, with entrepreneur Lekau Sehoana making noteworthy collaborations with celebrities and big brands.
The founder of Drip footwear collaborated with Cassper Nyovest on his sneaker range Drip 990 Roof of Fame after the rapper reached out to him saying that he recognises his work.
“For months we were working on the sneaker. I don't focus on and talk about the negatives because I'm trying to inspire kids. Whatever happens there [on social media] we see it, but that is not our business ... because we are running a business,” Lekau says.
“We have improved the business and don't just want to make quick cash. We want to create a brand South Africans can resonate with,” he says.
Lekau is an entrepreneur who has grown his business from the ground up. It now has more than 120 employees, and Lekau is creatively involved in the brand and has ensured its growth, taking inspiration from international sneaker brands.
“I'm super-creative and so involved, I know what happens at Drip ... I'd look at other international sports brands and see them affiliated with great athletes. SA has a lot of media personalities and musicians, so we aligned the brand with music,” he says.
Drip has been a sponsor of the South African Music Awards and the Channel O Lockdown house parties and many other events happening in the entertainment space - which has been a deliberate strategy for Lekau.
“We've aligned the brand with music, arts and drama.”
Keeping with the strategy of iconic collabos, Lekau recently entered a partnership with BMW.
He told TshisaLIVE that he was shopping for a car at the dealership when he had the idea of working with the brand, saying he loved the idea of both their brands related to his township dream.
“Drip is growing. This is a journey of greatness, I always visual the impossible,” he says.
“Because we stuck to the story of our authenticity and building a township dream, inspiring kids from the Kasi ... me being here for meetings and seeing the staff of BMW recognising me and being inspired by my story tells them that this is a brand they can use as well.”
TshisaLIVE Prince Kaybee ‘defends’ Cassper’s shoe after tweep mocks his ‘Chinese’ design 3 years ago |