Canton: As big as ever

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

Discussions in Hong Kong: At a recent network session with fellow Footwear Council members from a few other countries while at the APLF, the topic for discussion revolved around the almost flat line and dip seen in manufacturing and exports with no significant increase.Of course, the likes of India and a few others commented on thing ...more

China Import and Export Fair, also known as the “Canton Fair”, is the World’s No.1 Expo in terms of scale. Canton Fair will see its 137th session to be held from April 15 to May 5, 2025 in Guangzhou, China.With an exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters, the 137th edition of Canton Fair converges 28,000+ exhibitors ...more

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’. ...more

My career journey is a testament to a passion for craftsmanship. I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and completed my high school education in 1974. Shortly thereafter, I spent two years working in my father's engineering company, where I was exposed to numerous industries. It was during this time that I discovered my interest in leath ...more

We have just had the pleasure of the celebration of the world's major leather fairs, Lineapelle and APLF. Both fairs have been considered well attended though business was apparently not brilliant. However, have you noticed that the fairs are more and more shifting from the exhibition and business purpose to a conference venue, an instrum ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA – Wholesaler and retailer Treadsafe cc, which had a container of 120 000 pairs of plain white cotton gloves held up last July by the National Consumer Commission for suspected contravention of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), managed to get the container released – almost 3 months and around R250  ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA (24 February 2025) – South African employers are grappling with significant new responsibilities introduced by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) and the draft Rehabilitation, Reintegration, and Return to Work Regulations. Published on 15 June 2023, these regulations are poised ...more

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 ...more