During the late 90s, Jonathan Katz, founder of EarthChild, was selling the company’s clothing range from a spare room at home, but demand from customers grew so big that the business needed to take its first leap into getting retail space.
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The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town was the perfect position. Despite the location being perfect, it wasn’t accessible. With only 100 stores available and 900 applicants, among them some of the big name international fashion brands, EarthChild’s chance of securing a spot were very slim.
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Nonetheless, this didn’t deter Katz. Despite being unknown and without any proof of concept, he still wanted that store, and he set about getting it through pure perseverance.
“I called the gentleman in charge of leasing and I just about harassed him into seeing me. I said to him, ‘Just give me ten minutes’ and eventually he caved and gave me a meeting slot three weeks down the line,”
EarthChild’s first flagship store opened in 1997, and others followed as the years went by.
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