S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol80 No4 April 2017
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Industry Barometer
Topline Manufacturers: Very slow first half, but confidence up as orders to hold stock come in.
Kadisco Paint and Adhesive Industry: All sectors of Ethiopian footwear industry doing well.
CG Shoes: Waiting for retailers to clear old stock.
CC Leather: Feeling positive as sales improve.
Bolton Footwear: Learning from hard lessons.
C.Y. Lin: Feedback shows where to concentrate.
American Shop: Counterfeits an added problem.
Beggio’s Clothing: Where have all the foreigners gone?
Opinion: Phillip Nutt
Can you teach creativity?.
Chain Profile: Studio 88 Group
The unspoken aim is to dominate men’s branded apparel.
The Innovators: Grandt Mason
From vegan dabbler to global aspirant.
Advertisers in this Issue
Apeco (2), BBF Safety Group (OFC), Crep Protect (4), C.Y. Lin/Zäh Petite (13), Katz Footwear/Willow (6), Neptun Boot (8), Tuftex (10).
- Grandt Mason: From vegan dabbler to global aspirant
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 ...moreLearning from hard lessons
Jacques Pretorius, head of group sales, Bolton Footwear Cape Town, SA – Despite a tough trading period in South Africa for all fashion manufacturers and retailers, we are very optimistic about the future. We learned some hard lessons in 2016 and are now capitalizing on the growth opportunities that we have created with our newl ...moreAll sectors of Ethiopian footwear industry doing well
Saifudin Khalifa, Deputy G/M, Kadisco Paint and Adhesive Industry S.C.Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Generally the industry is developing well, particularly for the exporters. There is a forex shortage which is affecting all business in general but those companies involved in exports are faring better. What I found interesting at the ...moreFeedback shows where to concentrate
Peter Lin, proprietor, C.Y. LinCape Town, SA – We only began testing the market late last year, and the first containers only arrived in April. The feedback from customers so far is that they are selling well.Because we’re a new label, a lot of independents are on a testing stage. Customers are happy with the price points and ...moreFeeling positive as sales improve
Tom Bassage, member, CC LeatherPietermaritzburg, SA – Our turnover is up on last year – I estimate by between 10% and 15% – but I think our profitability is much the same.I think the reason for the increase has simply been that we’ve introduced some cheaper lines. Essentially, we’ve added some synthetic upper ...moreThe Studio 88 Group - The unspoken aim is to dominate men\'s branded apparelJohannesburg, SA – This article differs from all preceding articles in this series in that it was submitted to us without an interview, and with the proviso that there would be no photos of personnel. It was written in September last year. From Laurence Wernars, chairman of the Studio 88 group of companiesI thank you for your i ...moreVery slow first half, but confidence up as orders to hold stock come inCollin Pillay, member, Topline ManufacturersDurban, SA – Our turnover for the first 4 months is definitely down – by as much as 20%, and we just hope and pray that it will pick up.Some of our customers have work, but the independents are very quiet and it seems many of the chains aren’t placing orders at the moment eithe ...moreWaiting for retailers to clear old stockGerald Jason, member, CG ShoesDurban, SA – Our turnover is down compared to the same period last year.The situation is that independent retailers just don’t want to place orders at the moment because they’re sitting with stock after a poorer-than-expected Christmas season and a disastrous Easter.Most of them have told us ...moreCounterfeits an added problemMuhammad Ismail, director, American ShopPretoria, SA – I’d say our turnover is on par with last year. We service the lower end of the market and the main factors affecting our consumers are unemployment and inflation. We sell mostly brands, and we are also very badly affected by counterfeits – they sell ‘Nike&rsquo ...moreWhere have all the foreigners gone?Arvin Govind, proprietor, Beggio’s ClothingJohannesburg, SA – Turnover is down about 30%.People haven’t got money at the moment, and unemployment is a big factor.There has also been a big drop in the number of foreigners shopping here – from Botswana, Mozambique and other neighbouring states. Previously they came t ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Traditional Guinea Leppi fabric now officially recognised as a PGI
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (15/04/2025) – Leppi fabric dyed using local plants is the traditional fabric of the Foutah Djallon region in Guinea. Its Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) designation, recently granted by the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), safeguards the fabric from misuse inc ...moreBack in the day: When overseas travel was a real trip
Back in the day, the 1980s and 90s, before the time of cell phones and the internet, all design and marketing teams in the South African footwear industry had to visit the fairs and shop windows in Paris, Frankfurt, Bologna and Alicante in person to see the various new product releases from the design houses.This happened over a 3-week pe ...moreFollowing 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’ ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Eagle Italian businesses ‘set to reopen’
Marondera, Zimbabwe – Eagle Italian Leather (Pvt) Ltd and Eagle Italian Shoes (Pvt) Ltd, which operate as a combined tanning and footwear manufacturing business and which were set up about 20 years ago to supply the Zimbabwean Government with military boots, are expecting to reopen, director Francesco Marconati said this month.He sa ...moreCOMESA launches leather value chain strategy to boost regional industrialisation
Nairobi, Kenya (02 April 2025) – In a landmark move to accelerate Africa’s industrialization, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has unveiled its Leather Value Chain Strategy 2025–2029.The high-profile launch, held in Nairobi, brought together government officials, development partners, private se ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- SGS to host 'Discovering PPE softlines solutions’ on 27 MarchGeneva, Switzerland – Testing, inspection and certification company SGS is hosting a complimentary webinar, ‘Discovering PPE softlines solutions’, on 27 March 2025.The global market for personal protective equipment (PPE) is expanding, but it is also becoming more regulated. Businesses looking to ensure product complianc ...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 ...moreWHO targets 15 countries for elimination of sleeping sickness by 2030
A project is underway to eradicate ‘neglected tropical diseases’ (NTDs) in Africa.Among them is sleeping sickness, also known as nagana in domestic and wild animals.Sleeping sickness, known medically as human African trypanosomiasis, is caused by protozoan parasites transmitted by infected tsetse flies, and is endemic in sub-S ...more
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