Footwear - Leather - PPE Industry News & Articles

The reasoning behind MSCHF's launch was that some branded sneakers have become popular as collectibles. Another BBC story, on April 16, was headlined "Kanye West's $1m Yeezy shoes are 'most valuable to go on auction'." Extracts from that article included these gems: In recent years, sneakers have gained the same collectable stat ...more

Prato, Italy - Texon, bust known to the footwear industry as a cellulose insole board manufacturer, has launched "a unique, patented, jacquard weaving technology", branded ProWeave, which will allow customers to custom design fabric which is then made by Texon. Texon says it has applications for the footwear, apparel, fashion an ...more

Blantyre, Malawi - Mussa Hajat, founder of Footwear Centre, is pictured above receiving an Omega watch from Bata Rhodesia MD, Dr Fiksel, at Bata's head office in Gwelo, in 1957. He started work with Bata in 1950 as a salesman in Bata's Blantyre shop, and rose to become sales manager of all Bata's retail shops in Nyasaland. He finally left ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Marco Di Lembo, the owner of Villani Shoes, died tragically on April 06, aged 47. Born in Johannesburg to Michele and Rosella Di Lembo, he went to Robertsham Primary Junior School before progressing to Sir John Adamson High School. While in high school, Marco matured and earned academic distinctions and partici ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - Shoe machinery expert Brian Wallis died unexpectedly on April 09, aged 75. Born and raised in Port Elizabeth, he entered the footwear industry in his early 20s when he joined British United, at that time by far the dominant force in footwear machinery in SA, where he trained as a machinery technician. There he also met h ...more

Extract from Shop-Eat-Surf, April 15, 2021- The federal government’s monthly retail numbers released Thursday morning backup what we have been hearing anecdotally from industry retailers and brands: consumers opened their wallets in a big way in March.U.S. retail sales grew 9.8% in March compared to the previous month. And most inte ...more

We all know about the running shoe boom. More people are running, trying to stay healthy while also remaining socially distant. Sales of running shoes are up compared to a year ago. I’m firmly convinced we’ll see running shoes return as street wear, something we have not seen in over 8 years. But there is a related trend that ...more

Madrid, Spain (April 13, 2021) - Spanish trade fair organiser IFEMA Madrid, which includes the twice-yearly Momad  shoe fairs in its portfolio of over 50 fairs, says digital platforms and services and the hybridisation of its fairs will add 30% to current turnover over the next 3 years, adding more than €40 million in revenue. L ...more

 Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (March 04, 2021) - The DOT Safety Footwear group has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with UK-based construction and agricultural machinery manufacturer J.C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB). DOT's licence covers the distribution of the premium range of JCB Safety Footwear throughout Southern Africa. D ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA - The Lemaitre Maxeco - now part of the BBF Safety Group's footwear range - has shod generations of South African workers over the last 30 years, and almost 10 million pairs have been produced - a very rare achievement in this country. Every legacy has to start somewhere. It’s a story based on the recollections of ...more

There was a time, not too long ago, when footwear retailers, wholesalers, importers and manufacturers around the globe could rely on the certainty that their specific skills would see them through for time to come. Market forces were relatively simple and could be dealt with effectively. ...more

Spurred by the unlikely combination of athleisure and lockdowns, comfort footwear has become a category for every brand. Comfort footwear, comfortable footwear, wellness footwear, health footwear - different names and shades of meaning - but until fairly recently, in South Africa, mostly footwear for one category of end consumer, dominated by a few brands and a few specialist retailers.rn ...more

Texon has seen a significant uplift in interest in its paper-based Texon Vogue material over the last 5 years, which it attributes, in part, to the increasing number of people becoming vegan. Around the world a growing number of people are adopting plant-based diets. The United Nations estimated that in September 2020 there were around 78 ...more

Kimberley, N. Cape, SA - S&V has Kim-G Leather Sandals, making 50 pairs/week, listed as a crafter in the Directory.  We may have to change that.  Opened 2 years ago by former Durbanite Gerry du Toit as a retirement project, Kim-G has just dispatched its first export order to Australia.  "The owner of the orthopaedi ...more

Skelton, UK (February 02, 2021) - Following a project with one of the world’s leading sports brands, Texon has reengineered one of its most popular box toe puff materials for the footwear industry to include more sustainable content. Collaborating across its supply chain to source more sustainable materials, Texon has increased the ...more

Boksburg, Gauteng, SA - I immigrated to South Africa in 1974 to take up employment with Plessey SA, upgrading and automating telephone exchanges. In 1981 I was deployed to the Natal north coast to install at Paradise Valley (Pinetown),  Salt Rock, Ballito, Verulam  and Stamford Hill (Durban). This is when we met Lionel Astill, M ...more

Lusaka, Zambia (February 12, 2021) – The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) "is quietly confident" that the industry has turned around following the removal of the 10% export duty imposed on raw crocodile skins in the 2021 Budget, according to association spokesperson and Kalimba Farms chairman Bill Thomas. Altho ...more

Not much good news due to the lockdowns which have seriously affected the markets locally and internationally. However optimism prevails at Zambezi Tanners, which is re-equipping for full bovine hide production. This is in line with the ongoing demand for upholstery leather, which is currently being imported. A Zimbabwean leather furnitur ...more

Bujumbura, Burundi - Tannery and finished goods manufacturer Afritan plans to increase its manufacturing to 500 pairs/day "in the near future", director Bède Bedetse said.  He said the tannery was working well below capacity, and that a second, smaller tannery in the country is currently closed.  "We have c ...more

Machines or equipment that is not maintained (or looked after) will not last long. A machine or equipment that must be replaced often adds unnecessary expense to the business, contributes to end of life waste, and drives consumption demand. Energy efficiency and sources of contamination are what hurt the tannery even more, however – ...more