Entrepreneurs present ‘first-ever’ Pokémon based store in SA
Not only does the New Redruth business contribute to the local economy, but it also contributes to the country’s economy through a distinctive domain.
Locals Kelvin Trollip and Nathan Odell took a leap of faith by establishing what they deem as the first Pokémon-based store in the whole of South Africa.
The fun and catchy New Redruth store, Poke Depot, which has been on the block for just five weeks, aims to create awareness of Pokémon.
Priding themselves on their distinctness, they boldly declared that Pokémon is the glue that keeps family together. They aim to build a sense of community through educational events at the store.
Pokémon is a brand name for a game or set of games, or a toy, film, or show that involves catching imaginary creatures and training them to fight.
Thanks to their distributor, Solarpop, their store has since been growing by the day.
“We are the only store in SA that does Pokémon only, there is nothing like us in the whole of South Africa. My late mother and I used to collect cards, it was a ‘home thing’. I started with a pack for R80, I pulled a R600 card and sold that card to buy more packs, eventually, I had a shoe box full of cards,” explained Kelvin.
Kelvin said this is something they are very proud of and it has taken them a lot of hard work and dedication.
“I partnered up with Nathan, who was the original owner and founder of Poke Depot and I pushed this to become a shop. It was the best thing we ever did. Everywhere in the world Pokémon is huge, and it’s an up-and-coming market in South Africa. Children and parents love it and it’s a great investment, which has a lot of benefits to it,” he said.
They have Pokémon cards ranging from the 90s running up to date, from vintage to new cards.
In an exclusive interview, Kelvin said they have created the store to start bringing the community something special that is not found anywhere else in the country.
“We want to build this community to what it could be. A lot of people have tried to do this as there are several online stores in SA, but no one has done it to the capacity where they had to open up a big shop. We also have a selfie wall, which sees youngsters coming from far and wide to come in and take pictures,” he said.
Great prospects
The store will create job opportunities as they intend on eventually opening up at least 20 stores over time.
Through Pokémon, children are said to be learning the value of money as well as responsibility and mathematics as a subject.
“There is a very big educational point to it as well, and also communication skills. There is a lot of investment value to Pokémon. We have a family-orientated group on Facebook called Pokebro TCG South Africa, which we have been running for three years,” explained Kelvin.
