Robby Stoller, whose incredible career in the South African footwear industry spans close on three decades, founded the Dangee Corporation in 2011. With a remarkable understanding of the intricacies of the industry and an eye for international market sway, business was booming from day one. Robby has played an integral part of some of the country’s most successful local men’s and ladies’ brands and, as such, he has extensive experience and expertise in the formation, design, marketing and selling of brands in the South African market. Today, backed by the hard-won skills of getting a new business off the ground, Robby continually sets his sights on new business opportunities and brand expansion.
Describe your job: What do you do?
My job title is managing director, I oversee the group which consists of 3 companies, Dangee Corporation, Carken and Company, Triple F retail (DC.ONE)
Which level do you occupy within the business?
I am the founder and CEO of the Dangee group.
Tell us what constitutes a typical working day for you, pre-and-post COVID/lockdown era?
I have management meetings throughout the day, overseeing every aspect of the businesses, I get feedback from my managers and co-directors and implement tasks to be done. I have meetings with various suppliers who partner us in the operations of the business. I discuss and implement overall strategic goals for the business’s and ensure they are met, through constant discussion and system management.
What are the best parts of your job and least favourite parts?
Achieving our objectives on a daily basis and overall goals , empowering our staff to be creative and grow with our strategies, Seeing our business flourish in a tough environment. Implementing technology to support our management and control function. Least favourite is managing issues out of our control, Forex fluctuations/Shipping delays/boarder control issues and supply problems.
How do you define and measure success? What KPIs do you use to measure success and convey that success to clients?
My success is measured in our growth in turnover , cost management – strong bottom line growth/ Brand awareness and taking market share from our competitors. Strong operational functionality with a smooth throughput process, Staff empowerment and freedom of creativity. Excellent company culture.
KPI’s:
- Strong GP%
- Operating profit of between 10 to 15%
- Low stock holding, high % sell through rate
- Operating expenses below 15% of turnover
- Single digit % of staff to Turnover
What are your favourite technologies and platforms that you use to make yourself more productive and get more done?
We implemented an ERP System over COVID, it is a South African based technology company that is focused on our industry, the smooth implementation , ease of use and tailer made reporting has changed our ability to have control of information, at the touch of a button – It has allowed us to refine our systems for maximum output. This coupled with our retail system which integrates with the ERP system and our eCommerce platform, Shopify, all work together seamlessly.
We have embraced technology , coupled with our old school knowledge of the industry and our ability to tackle change it has catapulted our business into the future. We continue to innovate and push boundaries in this ever changing world
Keeping way ahead of our competitors.
What fashion/footwear brand marketing/communications campaigns stand out for you and what South African brands produce the best campaigns locally in your opinion?
My strategy has been to build South African brands, where we have total control over the design/ development and marketing of the brands. Our business model is based on fashion and value reaching a broad consumer base giving them international fashion / on trend – with prices that they can afford, without compromising on quality.
Our success is building the brands through social media, collectively we have 1.75 mill people following us on social media, we are the top selling brands across all eCommerce platforms occupying the number one and two most successful brand selling by revenue with SA’s largest eCommerce platforms, we pride ourselves of being local, supporting local and uplifting and supporting influencers and celebrities alike.
Our two lead brands Miss Black and URBANART lead fashion in the men’s and ladies local fashion arena, we have collaborated with celebrities like Kwesta, where we launched a TV /radio and Billboard campaigns. We are looking at doing co- labs with many local celebs and influencers giving them revenue streams that are ground breaking in South Africa.
Our turnover Growth currently is at a staggering 50%, unheard of within the industry and especially post COVID – we are without doubt the most progressive and exciting footwear fashion supply in Southern Africa, our ambition is to supply the rest of Africa as our success moves beyond our current southern African supply.
