Prominent South African designer, Thula Sindi is launching the second Africa Rise Concept store in Marshalltown, Johannesburg.
The first Africa Rise store opened in October 2019 in Sandton City, and with this new one, Sindi hopes to attract more tourists.
“The second Africa Rise is a tourist attraction store, where people from outside the country and people in the city can interact with African-made garments and fine arts,” he said.
This store will feature established designers such as David Tlale, Ephymol, Rubicon, Maria McCloy, and Imprint. It will also give space to emerging designers such as Ezekhetho, Nguni Brand, and Siyavuya Roqoza, to name a few.
Posting a video of the new store on Instagram, Sindi captioned it: “Sneak peek inside the new Africarise store in the heart of Joburg city... Opening on the 7th of August (66 Anderson Street, Marshalltown)“.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, items sold at both stores will also be available online.
Sindi said: “It is important to grab as much market share as possible right now. But this has to be done in a cautious but intentional way.
“Every time there is a disturbance in economic activity, black businesses suffer the most, and we are often relegated to obscurity.”
He added: "We have already figured out the impossible part - which is creating coveted items that have market relevance within an extremely crowded and hostile market.
“Now we must have direct access to the market. Domestic distribution is very important. We can survive any financial storm with the correct structural support, strategic nous, planning and extreme agility.”
The second Africa Rise concept store will open on August 7.