Footwear Industry Articles
- Mizuno: New distributor plans increase in marketing, and diversification of sports categoriesJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Digital Wellness has been appointed by Mizuno Europe as the new Mizuno Footwear distributor for Southern Africa.It was previously distributed by Performance Endurance Solutions.Brian Kerby will continue with the brand, filling the role of Mizuno Brand Manager. He and Digital Wellness MD Ricky West respond ...moreSkechers goes private amid rising tariffs
As U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports climb to 125%, Skechers is stepping away from public markets to rethink its strategy. ...moreBBF’s Ndlela Mazibuko: Focusing on customers
Pinetown, KZN, SA – BBF Safety Group has appointed Ndlela Mazibuko as MD, effective 1 November 2025. He will work alongside the BBF Safety Group CEO, Brian Kuhnert, and the Beier Group CEO, Warren Sachs, in growing the customer centric focus of the business.In a release, BBF wrote:A seasoned industrialist and inclusive leader, Ndle ...moreObituary: Miles O’Brien – Sportshoe, Jordan Shoes (08/02/1950-26/10/2025) Some See the Crescent, He Saw the Whole of the Moon
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Miles O’Brien went to Progress College in Rondebosch and studied marketing at Cape Technikon. His first job was at Standard Bank in Plumstead for a short period of time, then onto the City Tramways for 10 years.Sportshoe was owned by Benny Stoltzman (who also owned Vogue Shoes) who had the agency for A ...moreAre big shoe brands holding back better shoes?On the 28 June 2025 episode of The Energy Blueprint Podcast, Xero Shoes co-founder Steven Sashen made a striking claim: a major sports brand secretly tested a more natural shoe that cut injury rates by half compared to their top-selling model — and then shelved it.A more natural shoe, as Sashen describes, is desi ...moreKnock out the knockoffs: Protecting your brand against imitationsCounterfeiting is no longer confined to imitation designer goods sold in back-alley markets. It has become a widespread and organised trade that threatens fair competition and the rights of legitimate businesses. At its simplest, counterfeiting means the deliberate manufacture and sale of goods calculated to resemble genuine branded produ ...moreWorld class manufacturing was an eye-opener and a lessonThis is my last contribution to this series of events. I have thoroughly enjoyed stepping back into the days when travelling to find new designs was real travel.My final contribution is to say that with all that happened there were a lot of positives also achieved. I managed to visit some international manufacturing facilit ...morePuma: Holding on to its market gains – just – planning more local production, but a declining independent retailer sector
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Puma – along with Adidas, its arch rival here, globally and in their joint hometown, Herzogenaurach – has a long history in South Africa.Next year marks 25 years of Puma Sports SA (Pty) Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary of Puma SE, following a decade or more under licensee Jagsports. “It&rsq ...moreA guide for retailers and distributors on how to advise customers to avoid sole degradation
Richard Kushlick runs footwear education and training programmes for all tiers of the industry (https://footweareducation.co.za/).Starting this month, he will write columns on various topical subjects for S&V. In this issue, he covers a complaint which retailers often face from consumers – sole degradation in soles made from cre ...moreShoet3ch opens Pinetown office
Pinetown, KZN, SA – 6 months after the closure of Shoetech Engineering, its successor company, Shoet3ch Consumables (Pty) Ltd, has opened premises back in Pinetown.“This is of course a business decision,” said Shoet3ch director Nicky Hawkins, daughter of the late Shoetech owner, Eckehard Schumann, “but it’s a ...more© S&V Publications
