Kuhle Belu

Ex-Drip founder Lekau Sehoana is back. His new brand, Kite, launched its first sneaker, the Kite Runners, and apparel has already started rolling out. Why this matters: Local footwear is still proving resilient. South African consumers are backing homegrown brands. The market Lekau helped shape with Drip is still wide open, with appetite for streetwear that blends culture and affordability. A second act gives him the chance to refine the model, scale smarter, and avoid some of the pitfalls that slowed Drip. For retailers, keep an eye on: Price points vs established sneaker brands Distribution strategy, whether he sticks to direct-to-consumer or builds a retail network How Kite differentiates itself from Drip in both design and brand story Kite’s launch slogan says it all. Fly high. New beginnings. Take flight.

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🌍 Guest Lecture at GIBS MBA – Principles of Marketing Leadership Last week, I had the privilege of engaging the MBA class at GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science) reflecting on principles of marketing that I have learnt from my many teachers throughout my career. At its core, effective marketing leadership is about expressing your organisation’s purpose and culture in a world where volatility, complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity (VUCA) are accelerating. Changing perceptions and inspiring actions of current and prospective clients and staff involves “making the complex simple and the simple exciting.” I shared seven timeless principles that continue to shape how brands connect with people: 1. Reach – Make your brand accessible across mental, physical, and media channels. 2. Attention – You compete in the attention economy; if you can’t break through the mind, you won’t break through the market. 3. Creativity – Blend unconventional ideas with client insights and emotion. 4. Distinctiveness – Build and protect brand assets and experiences to keep your brand instantly recognisable. 5. Consistency – Be consistent. Find fresh expressions of the core over time. I say, “be freshly consistent, not consistently fresh.” 6. Emotion – Tap into the feelings that drive memory, loyalty, and action. 7. Motivation – Be clear on what people invest in when they choose your brand—security, time, status, or belonging. These principles, when lived out with purpose, create marketing that is not only effective but enduring. Thank you to Silas Matlala Matlala and the GIBS faculty for the invitation—it was energising to share ideas with the next generation of leaders. My Recommended Reads: 1. Positioning - Al Ries and Jack Trout 2. Eat Big Fish - Adam Morgan 3. Principles of Effective Marketing - Tom Roach 4. The Loyalty Effect - Fred Reichheld 5. Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey Moore 6. How Brands Grow - Byron Sharp 7. Nexus - Yuval Noah Harari 8. Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman 9. Alchemy - Rory Sutherland 10. Black Jerusalem - Happy Ntshingila #Leadership #Marketing #GIBS #Principles #BrandBuilding

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🔍 From Data Bottlenecks to Business Value – with Exasol How do you turn data complexity into competitive advantage? 💡 Ask Digital Planet. As one of South Africa’s first online retailers, Digital Planet knows what it means to evolve. In this new customer story, Dominic Albrecht, Head of Analytics, shares how the company: ✔️ Achieved 1,700% faster data availability ✔️ Ensured predictable cost structures ✔️ Built a thriving internal and customer-facing analytics platform ✔️ Drove data culture and decision-making across the business 🎥  Watch the video to see how Exasol helped transform data into a revenue-generating asset: 👉 https://lnkd.in/dN-Ks9gc 💬 “Exasol is the world’s best kept secret in data and analytics. I’m on a mission to change that.” – Dominic Albrecht #DataAnalytics #CustomerStory #DataCulture #DataToValue #Ecommerce #AnalyticsSuccess #CloudDataPlatform

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