With a passion for cleaning shoes, Takkie Wash SA offer professional care to make your shoes last longer.
In 2016 when entrepreneurial dynamo Ntokozo “Melo” Ntleko started Takkie Wash SA, she was looking for a way to supplement her income. Juggling studying with waitressing, she had taken on the financial responsibility of a car – and she wasn’t coping.
She started scrubbing and rubbing shoes in her apartment – and it wasn’t long before the word got around and her Instagram gathered an enthusiastic following.
Melodious has been running her slick operation from the current Musgrave premises since July 2018. “I’ve taken a few giant leaps of faith along the way, my latest one was opening the second branch in uMhlanga exactly four years after the Musgrave store opened,” she says.
Her strategy of investing back into the business and following a long-term plan is paying off. Melodious employs 11 staff who specialise in different aspects of the business.
“Shoes have a personality. They carry that memory of where and when you bought them, where you wear them, and how you walk in them. We feel all that when we clean those shoes. Through research and experimentation, I have developed my own specific method for cleaning shoes,” Melodious says.
“We want customers to get that ‘new shoe’ feeling when they collect their shoes from us. There’s nothing better than seeing that chuffed look on a customer’s face when re-united with their spotlessly clean shoes.”
The business’s bread-and-butter is the deep cleanse service which ranges from R110 to R160. For shoes that need more attention, there’s the refurbishment option which ranges from R295 for sneakers to R385 for suede. Refurbishment can include colour restoration and re-whitening rubber that has yellowed over time.
The company’s services have expanded – they now sell laces, fix shoes with stitches and patches, and also do heel repairs. Takkie Wash SA is open seven days a week for drop-off and pick-up. Turnaround time is generally two to three days, but customers receive an SMS when their shoes are ready which can be sooner.
FOR MORE INFO:
- 5 Equinox Rd, uMhlanga Ridge (across from the fire station)
- Phone: 031 023 0422
- Email: washme@takkiewashsa.co.za
- Instagram: takkiewashsa_dbn
- Hours: Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm; Sat-Sun: 9am-4pm