Footwear Industry Articles

Durban, SA - We were down (between 5 and 10%) but we are gaining traction and will possibly beat last year's figures due to our annual sales and new ranges being launched.  Factors affecting our trading? Thieving staff!!!  The economy and the UNIONS....   The thieves are being dealt with!!  The unions don’t ...more

Pinetown, SA - Turnover is definitely down by at least 18%.  The factors affecting us are fuel costs, new trucking companies cutting prices to find a foot in the industry, and the slow economy.  We're holding onto old clients by not increasing prices and giving the best service, which is sadly lacking in our industry.  Fore ...more

Cape Town, SA - Country of origin marking and reference pricing again dominated the second meeting of the SARS Footwear and Leather Task Team on November 7, which included representatives from SA Revenue Services, SAFLIA, NULAW and SACTWU, and the Foschini Group. The DTI was not represented. There was some progress on reference pricing, a ...more

12,000 footwear industry executives from around the world just received a "Discover East Africa" announcement in their inbox (on right). The Hub is raising the profile of East African shoe manufactures to create win-win market linkages with U.S. buyers. Click here to view a catalogue of Hub-supported East African shoe manufactur ...more

I am so happy to see the end of 2017; it most definitely was a year I sadly want to forget as it was one torn by serious health problems that basically evolved from taking too many pills for my old health problems that had been eradicated by a new heart valve. ...more

Durban, SA - Trading conditions have become more difficult largely because of the heightened economic and political uncertainty over the last few months. The forex rate is generally seen as a thermometer for the health of an economy, and when the Rand strengthened at the beginning of 2017 many thought that the recessionary trading conditi ...more

Durban, SA - Our turnover has been decreasing since September. During the month of October this year we have had a further 10% decrease in turnover.  We attribute this partially due to macro economic factors, deteriorating business conditions and record unemployment.  We have started negotiations with some of our landlords in th ...more

The domestic footwear industry has continued in a similar vein to 2016: that is a lot of uncertainty about future demand and what impact the ongoing political and economic instability will have on consumer behaviour. Different sectors of the footwear market have experienced varied trading conditions, with the civilian footwear sector (fas ...more

Cape Town, SA – Both as a footwear designer and as an entrepreneur, Grandt Mason has been genuinely creative in the development of his business.The company he has spent 15 years building – Grandt Mason – is a successful artisanal manufacturer of men’s and women’s comfortable fashion footwear with 3 retail out ...more

The creative will inherit the earth – eventually ...more