S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol82 No3 March 2019
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Business Barometer
- Attie Els, Els Agencies: Will the industry survive long enough to see the upturn?
- Hadley Craig, Cape Knife Cutting: Develop and diversify, or die.
- Tavonga Gonyora, Dick Whittington Shoes: Hoping for post-election confidence.
- Keith Baptista, agent: We need to sell what sells.
- Barry Selby, The Athlete's Foot: On balance, business is improving.
- Stephan Ncube, agent: Opportunities for a good year.
Opinion from NPD in the U.S.
- E-commerce in sports retail.
- What really happened with athletic footwear and activewear sales in 2018
Doing things differently
- A new series. In this first article, Graeme Tuck of Durban-based retailer/wholesaler Blueberry Blush describes the business's journey so far.
Business News
- Botswana start-up Armadilloz is looking to partner with local company.
- Borage diversifies into leather lamination.
- Bolton Footwear sports brand maintains partnership with SA Hockey.
- Sneaker retailer Vosk to do trial order with Tego Footwear.
Counterfeit
- Footwear accounts for over 20% of global counterfeit product, says statistical service Statista.
Exports
- Sourcing Journal reports that E Cape EPZ 'is a potential new global apparel source'.
Zimbabwe
- Inflation hits apparel.
- Chinese group 'considering shoe factory in Bulawayo'
Technology
- Scientists develop first fabric to automatically cool or insulate depending on conditions.
Notice Board
- SAFLEC's Louise Pelser, retiring at the end of May, looks back at her time in the industry.
Advertisers in this Issue
Dick Whittington Shoes/Johnston & Murphy (3), Europa Art Group/Clarks (OFC), Intershu/Bounce Max (2), Katz Footwear/Willow men's (5), Kaytex Belts (11), Strassberger's (12).
PRICE:TBA
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Footwear Industry Articles
- A perspective: Perhaps it was an eye-opener for industry players to hear each otherLooking back over the workshop, BMA consultant Justin Snelling wrote: “In terms of our reflections of the workshop, we covered a lot of territory. Perhaps though what was most encouraging was the breadth of participation from different segments of the sector and their willingness, or even excitement, to contribute. We don’t ta ...moreHistorical highlights: How Rockshoes became Trailmix Trading
Rockshoes was one of the many successful footwear factories in Pinetown in the 1960s through to the early 2000s. Its successor, Trailmix Trading, has repeated that success, as an importer and wholesaler. Here’s how it unfolded. ...moreComrades Expo 2026
Durban, KZN, SA – The exhibitor list at the Comrades Expo, from 11-13 June, has shown an evolution in the types of companies exhibiting. Just 1 running footwear supplier, Ikhambi Distribution, promoting its Hoka brand, was there.Technical sock suppliers, however, were well represented, with Balega, Falke, Sox Footwear and The Hirst ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Sam Setter's 'Pills': Over and AgainThe EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As ...moreDavid Buirski retires (but we’re sure to hear more from him)
David Buirski, the former South African who edited World Leather from 1993 to 2005, and who continued his involvement with the publication and its offshoots until recently, has finally retired because “having turned 90 last December, I guess it was the sensible thing to do. Thirty-three years could be considered a long time.&rd ...more‘FMD is here to stay – we have to learn to live with it and manage it’
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – FMD is no longer a series of isolated outbreaks; it has become a national systemic risk, and we need to shift our mindset from emergency response to living with and managing FMD responsibly. The pressure is already showing in the numbers. Our latest figures show cattle slaughter down 12% and sheep slaughter d ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- More precise fire extinguishing from the air using simulation and sensor data
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more intense worldwide. Fires often become infernos due to heat, drought and wind, especially in the summer. The problem is compounded by the climate crisis. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM and the startup CAURUS Technologies GmbH are responding to this growi ...moreCONSIDERING A PPE MATRIX
What Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) do we need to have on site to reduce and manage the workplace and environmental exposure risks to our employees?Safety and mining legislation place the responsibility on employers to ensure that they provide and maintain working environments that are safe and without risk to the health on employees ...moreRealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurementRealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...more
