Green Cross Deals, Specials & Catalogues

Green Cross is a shoe retail and wholesale business with a 40-year history.

Green Cross is a shoe brand that was created by husband and wife, Karl and Hildegard Zeppel. Having grown up in families of shoemakers in Germany, the two started a small business making clogs and cork sandals reminiscent of the shoes from their native homeland. Their first store was opened in 1975, operating from their Cape Town home. However, demand for the shoes soon became so great that they needed to move to larger facilities, first in New Church Street, then to Salt River two years later. By the 1980s, the company was sizeable enough to warrant the building of a factory. The Zeppel’s sons, who had joined the family business, found a site in Epping and were in charge of overseeing the construction of a state-of-the-art facility, making the company one of the only vertically integrated shoe manufacturers in the country. The factory continues to employ 400 people and still produces 60% of the inventory for the stores, while the remainder of the company’s product ranges is imported. Green Cross shoes are known for their exceptional comfort due to their orthopaedic support. The shoes are available in casual and more formal styles that make them suitable for all-day wear. There are currently 38 stores located in malls around the country, and the brand is also distributed to Botswana, Mauritius and Kenya, among others.

While the bulk of Green Cross’ business is in selling high-quality leather shoes for men, women and children, the company has also extended its range to include accessories such as handbags, belts and leather cleaning products. Through its wholesale business, Green Cross also supplies 1,500 pharmacy chains, hospitals, and independent retail customers, further increasing the distribution of its products. In July 2012, the diversified consumer goods group, Anglovaal Industries (AVI), acquired Green Cross from the Zeppel family for R382.5-million. The group considered the brand to be a good fit within their premium footwear portfolio.

In the 2016 financial year, Green Cross generated a turnover of R340-million.