Meet Julie Oates: The South African Woman Behind Julz Shoes!

Photo Credit: Julz Shoes

There’s a lot more to Julz Shoes than beautiful footwear! Behind the brand is a South African entrepreneur who has navigated devastating losses, built a thriving business and found ways to give back.

Johanesburg, South Africa (11 November 2026) – South African entrepreneur Julie Oates has built Julz Shoes into a multimillion-rand footwear brand, but behind the fabulous shoes, colourful social media videos and growing business is a story of enormous challenges and a woman who refuses to give up.

On this week’s episode of “Good Things with Brent Lindeque“, I sat down with Julie to talk about shoes, building a proudly South African business, the realities of entrepreneurship and how a devastating fire changed her life (for good).

Julie’s journey began in aviation before she ventured into retail, opening a small footwear shop in Port Elizabeth. When a fire destroyed her shop and stock, she decided to start again. Six weeks later, she boarded a plane in search of beautiful footwear… and Julz Shoes was born in 2014. Today, the brand supplies more than 100 retail outlets across South Africa.

For Julie, it’s always been about more than selling shoes.

“The biggest thing is making a woman feel confident and regardless of your size your shoes always fit. So, it doesn’t matter what size you are, you always have a shoe to fit you.”

But success hasn’t come without setbacks. During our conversation, Julie revealed that an entire shipment of shoes worth approximately R2 million was stolen when a truck was hijacked at gunpoint. To make matters worse, the freight forwarder had failed to pay the insurance premium.

“Everyone sees the fabulous jumping around on social media like a clown and that’s fabulous and we do that. But there’s so many things that go on behind the scenes.”

Despite these challenges, Julie continues to grow her business while giving back. Through a partnership with Samaritan’s Feet, customers can donate R150 towards a new pair of school shoes for a child in need. She’s also expanded into men’s footwear with Will’s Shoes and is preparing to launch a colourful new beach collection called Vacay by Julz.

Our conversation was filled with laughter, fascinating business insights, a reminder that the success stories we see often come with challenges we know nothing about… and shoes! There’s even some “Come Dine With Me South Africa Celebrity” thrown in there.

Watch our full conversation on this week’s episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque, proudly brought to you by BetterBond.

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