SOLOMONS fashion & decor

General information

We have 5 stores around Gauteng: Pretoria North (flagship store) at 509 Gerrit Maritz Street, Pretoria North (furniture & décor) at 518 Gerrit Maritz Street as well as smaller fashion stores at Jean Crossing, Elardus Park Shopping Centre and Southdowns Shopping Centre. In Johannesburg, we have a furniture & décor store in Lees Street, Marlboro, as well as a fashion boutique under our sister-brand; AZ U R in Killarney Mall. During the late 1890’s, the young and energetic Ismail Dockrat set foot on African soil after braving the long journey across the Indian Ocean. Seeking a better life here, he initially worked as a labourer toiling lush sugar plantations but with an inherited finance brain and entrepreneurial spirit, Ismail began hawking from farm to farm, eventually settling his family in Pretoria North. Ismail’s son, Suleiman steered their informal trade towards groceries and Dutch medicines, a clever initiative which relied on his ‘fundi’ mum’s remedies as well as the elderly Afrikaans ladies in the community who sought advice to cure their ailments. “Solomons” – the easier pronunciation for clientele who found his Arabic name challenging - was signed above Suleiman’s first store, a small space on Gerrit Maritz Street which now contains their mind-blowing multi-brand shoe department. Large supermarkets began sprouting up around town making it increasingly difficult for Suleiman to trade competitively, and so at a ripe old age, he made the brave decision to venture into...