S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol82 No9 Nov 2019
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
Click the advert links for more info. • Download PDF
IN THIS ISSUE:
3 Business Barometer
- Tavonga Gonyora, Dick Whittington Shoes: Anticipating improvement.
- Fiona Dale, AFD Industries: Leather easier to source, but getting good price for finished article is difficult.
- Morné Howell, Afro-Thai Industries: Growing customer base, bringing in new brand, and confident for 2020.
5 Businesses
- TWFG launches Lonsdale and plans to unveil another global brand shortly.
- Leg up for new sneaker brand Corks.
- Enlite Agencies represents Bata and Skechers and offers local sourcing.
7 Opinion
- Sneakernomics: Holiday 2019 predictions for sports retail.
8 Doing Things Differently
- Nick & Nichols: Bags made from recycled tyre inner tubes.
10 Shoe Repairing
- Vaal University of Technology and Brumby Shoe Components offer course.
11 Sustainability
- How footwear brands are leveraging partnerships and materials as demand for sustainability grows.
12 And Now For Something Completely Different
- The curious origin of the high heel.
13 International
- Under Armour under pressure.
- Italian footwear exports up by 7% by value.
14 Going Home
- European Commission launches project to attract young talent to the industry.
15 Marketing
- Digital marketing: Your audience is waiting, says Shikaar Mahabir of Activate.
16 Trends
- Miss Black.
- UrbanArt.
- Micam preview for autumn/winter 2020/21.
- The white sneaker phenomenon.
20 Notice Board
- Obituary: Ben Cartoon - A world-class figure in the belt industry.
- Obituary: Howard Spiro - 'Proper old school' in the most positive sense of the term.
Advertisers in this Issue
Activate (2), Chillisource/Shoepack (6), Creative Leathergoods Manufacturers (4), Kaytex Belts (8), Mossop Leather (OFC), Strassberger's (9), TWFG (OFC).
PRICE:TBA
PRICE:TBA
PRICE:TBA
Footwear Industry Articles
- The showroom pair is not the orderA shoe on a showroom table is wonderfully persuasive. A buyer can flex the forefoot, press the heel counter, check the stitching, compare the two shoes and turn the pair over to examine the sole. Colour, finish and hand feel are all there to judge.The purchase order may then reduce that pair to a short line: one style number, one colour d ...moreShlobo Designs: Foreign consumers appreciate handwork and the story behind the brand
Durban, KZN, SA – I’m a native of Umlazi’s K section, but I’ve called Seaview home since 1994.My life has been a tapestry of experiences, woven with threads of resilience, creativity, and unwavering determination. My journey took an unexpected turn when I was retrenched while working for the bank with a wealth expe ...moreHow FootJoy’s superbly crafted shoes influenced my life
An Informative & Nostalgic Letter written in April 2025 to two executives at Acushnet (USA) – A leading golf corporation which includes FootJoy Shoes.RE: FootJoy & II recall the very first pair of FootJoy golf shoes my late father bought for me in July 1976. This wasn’t my first interaction with the brand that I had al ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- When communication moves faster than truth: Why credible, evidence-based information matters more than ever.We have never had more information at our fingertips. We have also never had to work quite so hard to determine which information we should trust. Communication today moves at extraordinary speed. Social media platforms, digital news, corporate communications, industry reports and, increasingly, artificial intelligence allow information t ...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 ...moreISTT offers free entry level leather course to encourage trainingGrahamstown, E. Cape, SA – The International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) is offering one of its short online courses, Introduction to the Leather Industry, for free.The course is suitable for entry level tannery staff.It is also suitable for anyone in footwear, leather goods, furniture and upholstery manufacturing, retailing ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurement
RealPPE 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. ...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. ...moreSAPEMA demands action against retailer Curve Gear over selling noncompliant safety footwearThe Southern African Protective Equipment Marketing Association (SAPEMA) has reported retailer Curve Gear to the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards (NRCS) for selling “possibly noncompliant” safety footwear.The allegation is because Curve Gear’s safety footwear doesn’t carry mandatory marking: Its NRCS app ...more
