{"id":867404,"date":"2026-07-28T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=867404"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:34:24","slug":"the-two-brothers-who-turned-fly-fishing-into-a-retail-empire-quietly-taking-over-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/867404\/the-two-brothers-who-turned-fly-fishing-into-a-retail-empire-quietly-taking-over-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The two brothers who turned fly-fishing into a retail empire quietly taking over South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Clothing retailer Senqu has gone from a small fly-fishing shop started by two brothers to a major player in South Africa\u2019s clothing industry, opening 50 stores in just three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company was founded by Peter and Tim Holden, who began selling flyfishing supplies in Durban in 1985.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These supplies were made by Basotho women and were sold in the brothers\u2019 first shop in Durban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company was named after the Senqu River in Lesotho, which the brothers had visited several times for fishing trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two brothers were avid fishermen and became obsessed with the area and what it offered for fly fishermen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fly fishing is a popular pastime in South Africa, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, with spots for the activity found in and around the Drakensberg mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The river is popular amongst fishermen, particularly for fly fishing, and flows into the Orange River in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business soon expanded to include fishing-related apparel, adding another dimension to the store’s product range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the business became more successful, Senqu focused on the apparel industry, incorporating leisurewear into its stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift was made to appeal to a wider audience and make their products suitable for everyday use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has kept its focus on the outdoors, including clothing for activities such as hiking and fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the success of its first store, the company entered the wholesale market, supplying other retailers with its clothing and operating only a small number of shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These shops were primarily used to sell end-of-range clothing that did not perform well at other retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Senqu has over 120 stores in South Africa and is a major name in the outdoor and clothing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rapidly growing business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Senqu was initially hesitant to move away from its wholesale business model, which had been successful for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It eventually decided to close its wholesale division, in search of more independence in how it operated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business said its decision to expand its store count followed the success of its existing outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senqu managing director, Mark Ely, said, \u201cThe brand had a few outlet stores at this point for clearing end-of-range products, and based on customer response to these stores, we took the decision to close the wholesale division.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer demand for these stores was high, and the company grew to include 70 of its own retailers in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the business was hesitant to expand too quickly and focused on slow, purposeful growth in the first decade after it ended its wholesale operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business has been far more aggressive in its expansion operations in recent years, and aimed to open five new stores every month in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This growth has been seen nationwide, with the company expanding its footprint across South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senqu also received support from its parent company, Gemelli, a clothing manufacturer which also operates Clothing Junction and Victory Lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gemelli is based in Durban, where Senqu originated, and focuses on manufacturing low-cost clothing at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s extensive manufacturing capabilities have been the driving force behind Senqu\u2019s impressive growth, enabling it to produce large volumes of inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its parent company\u2019s focus on low-cost manufacturing, Senqu targets higher-earning clientele through its product range and store locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business focuses on establishing a presence in holiday destinations and in areas known for outdoor activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite moving towards leisurewear, the company continues to incorporate outdoor elements into its designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Store location and product design have helped the business keep its original customer base while expanding into new markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photos of Senqu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The retailer that went from a small fly-fishing shop started by two brothers to a major player in South Africa\u2019s clothing industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":867416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2082104044579852658","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[7540,25914,1419,25912,25911,25913],"class_list":["post-867404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-durban","tag-gemelli","tag-lesotho","tag-peter-holden","tag-senqu","tag-tim-holden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867404"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867764,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867404\/revisions\/867764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}