This year was not great for these companies as they were forced to admit their financial failures and went bust in 2024.

According to Statistics South Africa, more than 1,020 companies have had to shut down in 2024.

Here is a list of the three companies that South Africans had to say goodbye to.

Ellies

In April, the JSE-listed electrical products retail company said that its business rescue practitioners (BRP) would apply to the court to liquidate the company and discontinue the business rescue proceedings.

The BRPs had concluded there was no reasonable prospect of Ellies being rescued. The company imports manufactures and sells electrical equipment and does solar installations.

In July, SMD Technologies said that it had acquired the Ellies and said that its acquisition included the Ellies brand and the intellectual property but not its operating divisions.

SMD boasts a broad range of brands, including Volkano, Amplify, Bounce, Rocka, Switched, Kingsons, and Elektra.

Zando

In October, Jumia Technologies announced that it will close Zando, the e-commerce retailer by the end of the year.

Jumia’s chief executive officer (CEO) Francis Dufay said that in addition to closing Zando, they were closing their Tunisian operations in order to focus on other more profitable markets.

“The trajectory of the countries did not align with the strategy of the group,” Dufay said.

He noted that the tech company, which was founded in Nigeria in 2012 is trying to aggressively cut costs and turn financially viable.

As a result, the company will be cutting around 110 jobs in SA and Tunisia.

Drip Footwear

Also in October, popular streetwear brand Drip Footwear was forced to close its doors as the company was ordered to be liquidated by the High Court in Johannesburg.

The shoe brand was taken to court by Wideopen Platform, a company that specialises in large-impact advertising for unpaid services.

Kim Warren from KWA Attorneys represented Wideopen in the lawsuit and said Wideopen was owed R20 million for advertising services.

Drip Footwear began letting go of a number of its workers from its 14 stores across the country even before the court order was handed down.

A few workers said that there was no real communication around the dismissals.

The workers did not want to be identified and said that the founder, Lekau Sehoana failed to inform them about what was happening.

“He did not tell us what was actually happening. It was sudden when last Wednesday we saw sheriffs we were told the store is being closed and staff should pack and leave,” a manager explained.

“He had known for months about the (application to liquidate) and we were either getting short-paid or paid late,” the manager said.

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Three companies that went bust in 2024