Galxboy takes on Africa's richest square mile with new flagship store
What began as a provocative slogan on a T-shirt in 2008 has transformed into a lifestyle brand worn by artists, influencers and fashion-forward youth across the continent and beyond.
Acknowledged by the late AKA in his iconic lyrics for his contribution to the culture, Thatiso Dube has explosively redefined the success of streetwear.
The creative brains behind the powerhouse brand Galxboy have officially opened his 14th store across the country.
In support of the movement, the likes of Focalistic, Priddy Ugly, Lula Odiba, Hope Ramafalo, Juicy Jay and 25k The Plug are just some of the notable names that came out to launch the Sandton City store on Thursday, 15 May – the fashion brand's most prestigious store.
Read more | BEHIND THE BRAND | 'Pitori to the world' - GalxBoy owner speaks about the ups and downs of creating a world-class brand
Unlike the other stores, Thatiso admits that securing this 14th store was harder and it took about three years to close the deal.
'It's tough to get into one of the biggest malls in SA, it's very tough. It's not like we can just make a call. It doesn't matter who you are, you have to wait,' he tells Drum.
'Opening in the financial capital of South Africa is huge for the brand and our journey thus far. We're not just opening another store in another mall, we are creating a cultural destination, a space where fashion, identity and even ambition all collide. Galxboy has always stood for owning your truth, and what better place to embody that than the heart of Joburg's innovation and business scene, Sandton.'
Despite the hassle, he adds that he will not stop pushing more from Africa's richest square mile.
'We're here to play the game; to bring more black people to this mall and make them look good. My aim is to make everyone look good, even though they're on a budget, that's the gap I'm filling. If we perform well, who knows? Maybe Sandton City mall management will tell move us to Diamond Walk.'
There's no stopping Thatiso and his team anytime soon as he still plans to open two more stores in the country and even go beyond the South African borders, into Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and hopefully internationally, in the UK and Dubai.
Read more | 9 stores and he's only just getting started, says GalxBoy founder Thatiso Dube
'We want to dress the whole household, from the baby to the grandfather,' he laughs.
While he climbs the global fashion ladder, he's bringing smaller local fashion brands up with him.
'We have an incubator/online store that's helping smaller brands. We're basically housing smaller brands and helping them produce and distribute their products and school them on the background of running a brand because most brands have good designs and good marketing, but the back office is where they struggle. And if the back office is not good then you will not go far. That's what we're helping the youngsters with.'
Through it all, his biggest highlight of his journey is being able to hire young people, give them hope and empower them.
'We're here to build young people who are serious about life,' he concludes.
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