Groundcover has always been a small business, and we intend to keep it that way. Our focus has never been on becoming the biggest, but rather on staying true to our craft — making honest, durable products and building meaningful relationships with the people around us.
That said, for many years we have been curious about whether our shoes might find a home beyond South Africa. We often have tourists in our local stores commenting on how well our products would do in Germany, the UK, and elsewhere. The idea of entering an international market is something we have spoken about often, but always approached cautiously.
As it turns out, the opportunity came about in a very Groundcover way — through people.
Last year Ernest Ndlovu, our longest-standing employee, represented Groundcover at a trade show in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Over the course of the show he met Rory McAuley. The two quickly got along and spent a great deal of time discussing Manchester City, the shocking price of cigarettes in the UK, and of course Groundcover — the philosophy behind the business, the way our shoes are made, and what they represent.
After the trade show we stayed in touch with Rory, and conversations gradually turned to how Groundcover might enter the UK market. As luck would have it, Rory already runs a warehouse operation in the UK and has experience with distribution and fulfilment.
After many discussions, we decided to try a small venture together. Groundcover would continue to manufacture the shoes here in South Africa, send them to the UK, and Rory would handle the warehousing and fulfilment there.
The venture is still in its early days, but the start has been encouraging — and somewhat surprising. We began with four styles and originally expected that our premium boot range would appeal most strongly to UK customers. However, it is our Veldskoen, which we were initially a bit tentative about sending, that the UK market has taken to most enthusiastically.
This is somewhat surprising because, although the UK market is familiar with the chukka design, our Veldskoen stays very true to the roots of the traditional South African construction. It is a reminder that simple, heritage concepts often travel further than expected.
We have recently sent our second shipment of shoes to the UK and are continuing to build the partnership with Rory step by step.
A special thanks goes to Ernest for representing the brand so well and for making the connection that helped open this door. Opportunities like this often begin with a simple conversation, and in this case that conversation has carried Groundcover a little further across the world.
And for those of you with friends and family on the mud island — please keep them updated on our movements there.