Mathebe Molise is determined to create South Africa’s first beauty multinational.  

In 2021, she launched her own skincare brand Pastry, which is sold by her successful retail business Beauty on TApp. High on this success, she followed up by opening her first brick-and-mortar store at Mall of Africa, where she sells popular beauty products.   

“Over the years I’ve been looking at ways to expand and, of course, opening a brick-and-mortar store was always on my mind, but a lot of people tried to convince me to keep Beauty On TApp online, because then you have fewer costs and you don’t have to pay rental at a big mall. They said I should just be known as the online store that delivers fast,” she says.   

But the astute businesswoman decided to take the risk anyway.   

“I looked at a lot of research in the beauty space and at gaps in the market in terms of where people actually shop for affordable skincare with that nice luxury experience, and where they go to get expert skin advice,” she says. “For me the answer was obvious, and last year I realised there really wasn’t any retail offering like Beauty on TApp as a walk-in. We want people to experience the website as they walk into the store.”  

An investment banker by profession, Molise was comforted by the business’s strong and established customer base, and she wanted to continue to build a community that loves the brand.   

“Late last year, I started engaging a few malls and Mall of Africa was the obvious choice for us. This was a natural next move. Even though during my research I looked at a lot of international stores that are online only, I felt that, as a South African company, smartphone uptake is not as high as in other countries and the walk-in option was needed,” says Molise. 

One of the main challenges when preparing to open the store was forecasting consumer behaviour.   

“I have never done walk-in retail before and it is a completely different beast to online. Stock control is a challenge, because for a lot of brands we had to reapply to retail their products in our store, so those were whole processes,” she says. “But I think getting the store into Mall of Africa was the biggest obstacle, because you must convince them to be selected. You have to make a really good case to be chosen.”   

Molise left a successful career to focus on building the brand she had started in 2015. 

 “When I left investment banking, I thought I would have a way more chilled life, but it has been the opposite,” she says. “One of the things I’m grappling with right now is that I am working on two different brands and different operation models. On the Pastry side, I am contemplating whether we should let it grow as its own brand or withhold it and keep it exclusive to Beauty on TApp, because we have had a few retailers asking to retail it. So, I am learning how to run a separate, independent company.”  

One of the key lessons she has learned is that consumer behaviour in ecommerce differs from that in-store. People who shop online are more patient with stock shortages because they don’t travel to a store, whereas walk-ins expect to find products readily available.   

One major highlight has been securing more brands to join Beauty on TApp.    

“Having big brands coming to us and saying they love how we market beauty is exciting. More than that, it’s getting to know more local brands and having the opportunity to onboard them in the store and seeing how excited they are finally to be in a mall. It means we are becoming a real player in the beauty space and we are making our mark,” she says. 

Molise was raised by strong matriarchal figures, including her mother, and credits them with her bravery in her venture.   

“When my mom walked into the store for the first time she cried, she said she knew I would do something great but did not know it would be this big. So that gave me a really warm feeling, because when I left banking I really had to convince my mom that I would be okay and be able to pay my bills,” she says.    

Funding continues to be a challenge for small businesses and it has taken years for banks to acknowledge their growth.   

“We also have to prove ourselves twice as hard and show people that you are just as capable as male-owned businesses or male-dominated industries,” she says. “Even with staffing it’s harder to lead a team with men in it — it sounds ridiculous but, internally, even as the boss, you have to prove to your male staff members that you know what you are doing. Even in a beauty business, people tend to trust men more, but I hope Beauty on TApp will be able to change the narrative.”  

Her advice to women who want to be successful is to work hard and use their time wisely, but also to believe in themselves.   

“I have made the sacrifice in terms of everything, especially time. I sacrificed good times, I made sure I studied because I wasn’t the smartest but I wanted to be the best. That’s what it takes to be successful, and even now I am still sacrificing, because I want to be the best in my 40s and 50s too,” she says.  

Looking to the future, Molise hopes to become the next bigwig in beauty, with multiple brands and retail stores.