2021 Forecast for the South African Footwear & Leather Goods Industry
Published: 10th Dec 2020
At the end of 2020 we asked various businesses operating within the footwear and leather goods industry for their 2021 forecast for the sector.
Tags: 2021 Forecast
- 2021 Forecast - NCRF: We need to cut input costs
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - National Clothing Retail Federation of SA (NCRF) executive director Michael Lawrence said most of his time since October had been spent on the implementation of the Master Plan."You should be seeing more local product in those chain retailers which have signed up for the plan," he said."The NC ...more2021 Forecast - Fusion: Better-than-expected bookings for some
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - There is an air of cautious optimism, with many of our customers starting off 2021 with stronger than anticipated order books. Retailers seem to be talking to local manufacturers as international logistics remains unreliable and unpredictable.Hide prices are on the rise. Interestingly the customers who reminded ta ...more2021 Forecast - Bolton: Great support from chains, costing challenges
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - We on-boarded Woolworths just before lockdown and successfully delivered their first shipment under their own label in July this year. Since then the relationship has grown and we are currently working on another repeat delivery for January 2021.There are more styles in the pipeline for the first half of 2021 and ...more2021 Forecast - Baronos: Customers will be price sensitive
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Really tough year ahead, corporates and individuals will be watching the pennies very carefully, hoping that they will look after the pounds. There will be small rays of sunshine, but I believe these will be short-lived. At the moment survival and cost cutting are the orders for the day and we have to hang in t ...more2021 Forecast - Equator: Unpredictable is the only predictable
New Germany, KZN, SA - The only thing we can bank on is that the market will remain unpredictable. What we have seen is that SA retail is more stable (to date) than developed markets like US/UK and Australia. The Netherlands is experiencing the biggest drop in Bricks ‘n Mortar sales from what we see, where they predict (once Governm ...more2021 Forecast - Saddler: More chains need to commit to Masterplan
Durban, KZN, SA - To forecast 2021 is extremely difficult! It will depend on how many people have lost their jobs this year and how the economy does. These negative factors work against the positive factors of #BuySouthAfrican (R-CTFL Masterplan 2030) and the #PayIn30 initiative, where big business endeavours to pay SMMEs in 30 days ...more2021 Forecast - Dangee Carken: Grit and support have kept us going
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - It’s been an incredibly challenging year. The nervousness and uncertainty has been very unsettling. Disappointingly the financial institutions haven’t been much help either. Due to sheer grit and unbelievable support from our suppliers and service providers and our vast experience in forward plannin ...more2021 Forecast - How to get your business back on its feet
What can businesses in SA expect in 2021? I'm going to get straight to the point to provoke some thinking that hopefully will prompt readers into attempting a business reset. Given where we may all find ourselves right now in the “survival stage”, and still in the midst of a COVID 19 crisis, is it n ...more2021 Forecast - SAFLIA - Footwear manufacturing, imports and exports dropped by over 30 percent in first half of 2020Durban, KZN, SA - Footwear production during the first 2 quarters of 2020 fell by 34.84% by comparison with the same period in 2019, according to the SAFLIA Digest for January to June, released last month.Pairage dropped from 24.4 million pairs to 15.9 million.The value of ex-factory sales dropped by 31.2%, from R2.7 billion to close to R ...more2021 Forecast - Components Cluster: On hold for nowPinetown, KZN, SA - The Components Cluster, the newest cluster in the leather value chain, was proposed as a means of resurrecting South Africa's components manufacturing capacity, decimated during the long years of imported footwear domination.Cluster chairman and Apeco MD Mark Gibbings said trying to get it up and running had been " ...more2021 Forecast - Greenaways: Steep rise in ex-China synthetic pricesDurban, KZN, SA - The cost of synthetic upper materials, which are currently all imported, mostly from China, has risen steeply this year, according to Garth Ribbink, member of A. Greenaways (Natal) (Pty) Ltd, one of the leading importers.He forwarded correspondence from suppliers in China.One wrote: "During [the past] one month, th ...more2021 Forecast - Inno Textiles: Cheaper if we can, but...Hammarsdale, KZN, SA - In terms of shoe products, I can see a trend with my customers wanting to us to re-develop current products to make them more “affordable” However, we are not too keen on this as we do not believe in “messing” with our quality just to enter a price war. Where we can re-engineer something for ...more2021 Forecast - Neucoat: Locally made synthetic for school shoes to launch in JanuaryPinetown, KZN, SA - In correspondence with Hans Beier, Chairman Emeritus of the Beier Group (Pty) Ltd over plans to resurrect local manufacturing of synthetic upper materials for footwear, he wrote: "Yes, we have developed a 1.8mm PU school shoe upper material which is presently undergoing field trials and laboratory approvals agains ...more2021 Forecast - Azula Collective: Looking forward to a great yearDurban, KZN, SA - Next year is going to be amazing. Our wholesale clients have doubled and we have successfully launched our e-commerce store and our well received in-house range. We have a growing database of customers for the brand, Nēo, and number of repeat orders. There are boutiques country wide interested in s ...more2021 Forecast - Dick Whittington: Expecting a decline in tender work, so fashion must growPietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - Dicks has two distinct revenue streams, the first being through our commercial business generated through sales from its several brands. The bulk of these sales are usually focussed in the second half of the year. Although men’s formal footwear is predicted to decline as more consumers work from home, we ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Following Trump’s tariff hikes, can mass shoe production actually be moved to the US? The answer is – it’s not that simple.President Trump’s escalation on Wednesday with the announcement of sweeping reciprocal tariffs have sparked a lot of questions and concerns among the footwear industry.One of these questions that are top of mind for many is: how realistic is it to bring shoe manufacturing back to the States? The answer is – it’ ...moreThat bag goes on auction
The original Hermès Birkin bag – more about capacity than style.The original Hermès Birkin bag, which acted as the blueprint for what would become one of the most desirable celebrity status symbols in the world, will be auctioned by Sotherby’s in Paris on 10 July.According to CNN, in 1984 actress and singer ...moreCan Nike’s new CEO revive sales?
Can someone with 32 years at a company bring the bold, disruptive change needed to turn it around? Nike’s Elliott Hill is that man; he spent that amount of time at Nike before retiring — only to return as CEO on October 14, 2024. While his deep experience provides stability, it may also lead to an overreliance on past strategi ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- ESG PORTFOLIOS
Over the past decade, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing has experienced significant growth, driven by increasing awareness of sustainability issues and a desire for ethical investment options. However, recent years have seen a notable decline in ESG investments, raising questions about their future viability. ...moreCountry hides and skins: Changed markets for a forgotten source
Changes in the global leather market have impacted most on the bottom rung of the leather value chain – ‘country’ hides and skins. This was starkly illustrated when S&V African Leather received a call from someone in the Eastern Cape who had previously made a living collecting them for sale to agents acting on behalf of hide and skin collectors. The agents were still there, he said, but they weren’t interested in buying what he had to offer. Where should he look?rnrn A call to trader Gareth Diesel in East London, who works for and with Elliott Brothers and its subsidiary, East London Abattoir, confirmed that market had died in the province.rnrn He suggested we ask Greg Feinberg, MD of SA’s biggest hide and skin trader, pickler and wet blue tannery, Cape Produce Company, for ‘the bigger picture’. ...moreDetermining the product environmental footprint of ostrich leatherA priority for SA’s ostrich tanneries ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Lengthy detentions: That’s just the way it is, says NCCS&V Protect asked the National Consumer Commission to comment on Treadsafe’s experience, and also whether other containers have been detained. Jabu Mbeje, Divisional Head: Enforcement & Legal Services, at the NCC, sent this response: ...moreSouth Africa’s first safety escape room for hands-on health and safety training
South Africa's first safety escape room was set up at Phalaborwa Mining Company (PMC) in November last year by health and safety solutions provider KBC.“We required a fresh approach to training,” said Mabore Macheru, Manager in Training Development and Contractor Management at PMC. “This offers an interactive and practic ...moreNew standard for PFAS assessment for consumer products ‘is useful for manufacturers, consumers, laboratories, and regulators’W. Conshohocken, Pa., U.S. (07 January 2025) – A new ASTM International standard will provide users with a road map for planning and executing assessments of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products and articles. The new standard, which will be published as F3700, was developed by ASTM&rsqu ...more
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