About Us: How it all began
What started on Greenmarket square as a small business run out of the Eales’ garage at home and employing all of 4 staff, has expanded into an international company employing 413 people worldwide.
Naartjie was founded in 1989 in Cape Town, South Africa, by Anne Eales, when she was unable to find anything that appealed to her to dress the first of her 3 sons in. Being a designer for a young ladies fashion label at the time, she started using off cuts to make clothes for baby Jasper. One thing led to another and 4 years and 2 more sons later, with husband Steve now also involved in the business, they opened their first shop in the V&A Waterfront in November 1992.
The Naartjie brand that she created is a successful synthesis of several design elements that make it distinctive, inspirational and very popular. From its inception, Naartjie has been a product focused company that generated new customers primarily through concentrating on its unique assortment and design elements. It quickly attracted an international following, including members of Great Britain’s Royal Family and today receives business from loyal customers around the world including Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.
Naartjie’s popularity continued to grow and another 10 stores were opened to satisfy the growing market. In 2001 Naartjie South Africa was purchased by Naartjie USA creating an International company and brand. The first USA store was opened in 2001 in the Valley Fair Mall in California. We currently have 24 stores in South Africa and have 48 stores in the USA with an expansion plan in place and an extremely successful on-line shopping site.
Today all Naartjie garments are designed and originated by our fantastic design team in South Africa, which is still headed up by Anne.