Goodleaf announces opening of South Africa’s first premium CBD store

Cape Town, 17 July – Goodleaf is excited to announce the opening of South Africa’s first premium CBD store in the heart of Cape Town’s city centre.

The street-level store, located on buzzing Buitenkant Street in the East City Precinct, is housed in the recently renovated Tiny Empire building and is the first of its kind since the legalisation of CBD in late May.

In-store, you can expect a selection of premium hemp-derived CBD products including vapes, drops and creams from leading international brands Select CBD, Dr Kerklaan and Herb Essentials. The first goodleaf products were launched in store this Wednesday 17 July.

The minimal design of the store sets the tone for the brand and takes advantage of the unique space, housed in an elegant heritage building with high ceilings and tall windows. Natural light, white-washed walls and clean design create a calm and welcoming atmosphere for this landmark store.

The 40m-square retail space was conceived as more than just a retail environment, but an ‘amphitheatre’ of low birchwood rows that function as both product display and wrap-around seating for socialising, customer education or pop-up events.

It reflects the brand’s commitment to curating premium products and sharing knowledge at a time when attitudes and the law have changed towards CBD.

“The store embodies everything Goodleaf stands for – open and accessible, sophisticated and stylish. We always believed there was a huge opportunity to offer consumers an educated and curated experience in a welcoming environment. I think its design is the perfect blend of functionality and modern retail style,” says CEO Jonni Katz.

Goodleaf is located at 37 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town, 8001 and open Mondays to Friday, 9am – 5pm

Goodleaf Founders:

Warren Schewits

Warren began his career in Investment Banking. He moved to Toronto, Canada in 1997 where he joined the Mergers and Acquisitions group of Royal Bank of Canada. In 1999 he joined start-up OpenLane and was part of the founding management team which grew the business over 10 years to be the largest online wholesale marketplace for used cars in North America selling approximately 500,000 vehicles per annum. OpenLane was acquired by NYSE listed KAR Holdings in August, 2011.  Warren returned back to South Africa in 2011 where he founded Clear Asset a technology platform which he grew successfully before selling a majority stake in an empowerment transaction.  In late 2018, he launched Southern Sky Group with the goal of building the leading vertically integrated Cannabis business in Africa. He lives in Cape Town where he is married with 4 children.

 

Jonni Katz

Many great brands have been born out of nothing more than passion and a spare room. In 1992 during his early 20’s, Jonathan Katz and his sister Karen started EARTHCHILD on just a dream and a little bit of marketing savvy. Together they recognised the untapped demand for high quality leisurewear produced with a natural philosophy and opened the first concept store at the V&A Waterfront in 1997. Karen exited the business in 2002, and subsequently EARTHCHILD and EARTHADDICT grew into South Africa’s leading organic fashion retailer and design house, operating retail stores nationally.

While Jonni’s objective was always to drive bottom line results, he endeavoured to do so in a way that remained true to his core ethics and philosophy. These values were reflected in the business through Social Conscience, Quality, Comfort & Passion.

in 2015 as a result of the brands rapid growth and reputation in the marketplace, it was seen as an opportune time to consider the next chapter. After a careful selection process, Truworths International (JSE listed clothing retailer) emerged as the natural buyer, acquiring 100% of the business. Jonni joined Truworths as a Divisional Director and oversaw the Earthchild integration as well as overseeing Nartjie Clothing and the launch of Office shoe brand

Jonni left Truworths in 2017 to explore new entrepreneurial opportunities and spend time with his wife and three daughters. In 2018 Jonni and Warren Schewitz joined forces with the vision of building the leading vertically integrated Cannabis business in Africa. Jonni is driving the retail and brand side of the business, starting with goodleaf with more to follow.