S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol83 No5 May 2020
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
IN THIS ISSUE:
3 The Virus
- Comment: The idiocy of Level 4 and 'winter footwear'.
- Dick Whittington Shoes: SAPS raid 'a lack of understanding'.
- World Footwear: Global footwear consumption 'to decline by 22.5% in 2020'.
6 Edcon Business Rescue
- Despite everything, suppliers hope Edcon will survive.
- Bolton's Alan Fleetwood: 'It's fairly simple.'
- Caprini's Sanjay Pattundeen: 'Hoping for more business'.
- Eddels' John Comley: 'Its fate will affect the entire industry.'
- Blue Jean Traders' Ronald Sassoon: 'No hard feelings.'
- Bounty Brands' Stefan Rabe: Wait and see.
- Anonymous: 'More risk averse.'
9 Restarting Production
- Saflia's Jirka Vymetal: What we need is clarity.
- Angel Footwear's Ashley Ramlakan: So far, in a small way.
- The Courteney Boot Co.'s Gale Rice: Most in Bulawayo have reopened despite lockdown.
- AFD Industries' Fiona Dale: 'If there are orders, we can start.'
- Palm Footwear's Rajeev Pattundeen: Order book has depleted by 50%.
10 Importers
- Dangee Carken's Robby Stoller: Perhaps this will be the catalyst for change.
- Dale Footwear's Laurence Lotzoff: Everyone will be affected.
- Crown Footwear's Jeremy Nel: Local manufacturing may become more attractive.
11 CTFL Masterplan
- FLIC seeks accurate capacity stats from SA factories, writes Richard Starmer.
12 Recovering From The Lockdown
- Business recovery and cost reduction in a post Covid-19 lockdown economy, by JJ Oosthuysen, turnaround practitioner.
14 Fairs
- A+A: No price increases for 2021 edition.
- Micam prepares for September edition.
15 E-Commerce
- DA: WTO report on e-commerce 'should jolt Patel into action'.
15 Making PPE
- Masks and face shields help keep factories ticking over.
- Sourcing fabric for face masks, by Richard Starmer, FLIC.
16 Trends & Fashion
- Forecasts from Rowan Dorset and Madelein Kearns of Dangee Carken.
17 Notice Board
- Appointment: Charles Atala, secretary of the General Goods, Bags & Leather Employers' Association.
- Obituary: Malcolm Hill, an old school Bata man.
16 Trade
- SARS statistics for March 2020.
Advertisers in this Issue
Creative Leathergoods (7), Dangee Carken (OFC), Florsheim (8), Freestyle (2), OR Leathers (4), Paris Belts (3 and 5), Shoepack (6).
In The Next Issue:
- Insights into street trading in Durban's CBD.
Out on Wednesday, June 3
The Directory is evolving to meet changing circumstances. Watch out for details shortly.
- SAPS raid \\\'a lack of understanding\\\'
Dick Whittington Shoes, deemed an essential supplier because it makes government tender footwear, was raided by the police during 'Level 5' of the lockdown, for a suspected violation of lockdown rules. The rumour mills suggested MD Arveen Boodhoo and production manager Herman Alheit were arrested. Here the MD explains what happened. ...moreDespite everything, suppliers hope Edcon will survive
Edcon, once the biggest fashion retailer in SA, went into business rescue at the end of April. CEO Grant Pattison, in charge for the past 2 years, blamed the lockdown as the final straw in the long slide which began in 2007 when it was acquired by US private equity firm Bain Capital for a - with hindsight - unsustainable R25 billion and d ...moreBusiness recovery and cost reduction in a post Covid-19 lockdown economy
Most companies' disaster recovery plans didn't make provision for a virus-inspired national lockdown. Many companies, across all industries, have a business continuity plan of some sort, but this time they got punched in the face and caught with their pants down. Protection of profits and defending the bottom line is now more imperative t ...moreQ&A: Stocks, the exchange rate and future orders
Dangee Carken: Perhaps this will be the catalyst for changeRobby Stoller, MD. Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA- Retailing is restricted to winter footwear. Do you have stock which you believe would qualify?Of course we qualify. We have brought in boots and closed footwear for the winter season. Most of our stock has been delivered to the trade a ...moreFilling big boots - Appointment: Charles Atala, secretary of the General Goods, Bags & Leather Employers' Association
Appointment: Charles Atala, secretary of the General Goods, Bags & Leather Employers' AssociationJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Charles Atala was appointed secretary of the General Goods, Bags & Leather Employers Association of SA in June last year following the death of long-serving secretary Theo Hefer. His background includes clie ...moreA+A: No price increases for 2021 edition
Düsseldorf, Germany - The organisers of the biennial A+A safety, security and health at work fair have announced that the rates and hall planning for the 2021 edition will remain the same as the 2019 edition. "In order to provide our exhibitors with the best possible support during this period, A+A 2021 will not increase the pri ...moreComment: The idiocy of Level 4 and 'winter footwear'As of Monday, there has been no further clarification of what constitutes 'winter footwear' in terms of lockdown regulations. Last week saw a flurry of communication between the various associations and organisations in the leather value chain seeking to define categories of footwear which will be acceptable to the National Coronavirus Co ...moreGlobal footwear consumption 'to decline 22.5% in 2020'World footwear consumption is expected to decline more than 22% this year, according to the Business Conditions Survey conducted amongst the international Panel of Experts from the World Footwear, a project launched by APICCAPS 11 years ago and dedicated to evaluating the trends in the footwear sector. The impact of the Covid-19 pan ...moreSAFLIA: What we need is clarityCape Town, W Cape, SA - The rules imposed on most footwear manufacturers wishing to restart manufacturing under the government's 'Level 4' lockdown "will discourage most from re-opening", SAFLIA executive director Jirka Vymetal said last week. "There are a lot of rules and requests that make it difficult," he said. &qu ...moreFLIC seeks accurate capacity stats from SA factoriesPietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - FLIC would like to assist the footwear industry and retail by collating the total available capacity of footwear manufacturers by the various fashion categories. This information will then be distributed amongst the large retailers to give them a good idea of what is available to them from the local industry. A ...moreMicam prepares for September editionMilan, Italy (May 06, 2020) - MICAM Milano starts to prepare for the coming edition to be held at the Rho trade-fair centre from 20 to 23 September, with the aim of providing an opportunity for the industry to get restarted after a difficult period for the world’s economy. While the fair organisers work to prepare a prestigious even ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Obituary: Colin Pedlar – Reflex Footwear (Pty) Ltd (08/04/1946-18/07/2025) : Whatever he did, he did calmly, thoroughly, and well
I met Colin Pedlar for the first time when we had the opportunity to take over a production plant in Lesotho.It was quite a daunting prospect starting a new business in a foreign country.Colin was very involved right from the start and tackled every hurdle calmy, from negotiating with the Lesotho Government to moving machinery to Lesotho. ...moreAsia tightens its grip on global footwear, but risks loomAmerican shoemaker New Balance has shipped its first export consignment from its manufacturing hub in Tamil Nadu, marking India’s growing role in global footwear supply chains. At the same time, Japanese giant ASICS is increasing local production in India from 30% to 40% to comply with the country’s new Bur ...moreModway voted ‘best shoe store’ in its area
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – Modway Shoes (Pty) Ltd was voted the best shoe store in the 2025 ‘Best of Pmb & Midlands’ by readers of The Witness and other KZN newspapers in the Caxton Group.Modway has one bricks-and-mortar store and an online store.Shoe Street Brookside and Sole Base Hayfields were second and third.&l ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Sam Setter's 'Pills': For readers who need some wry medicinal humourDevelopment aid: What happened in Ethiopia demonstrates that plans by governments, UNIDO and NGOs that don’t take into account economic realities will failWhat follows is just an example of many similar situations in the whole spectrum of development aid for the leather industry in a variety of countries and in Africa in particular. ...moreKey changes in TFL´s leadership team
Langenfeld, Germany – Kaija Korolainen was appointed Group Chief People Officer (CPO) on 01 July and Samer Al Jabi was appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on 01 September.Kaija has a strong track record of strategic HR leadership across multiple industries and geographies. At TFL, she is responsible for ...moreGELATINE INDUSTRY
Leather users have long joked about how good it would be to have square hides…thanks to the demand for gelatine, maybe that’s not so far away ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- The Competency Dilemma: Determining Competency for Construction Health and Safety and Designations Outlined in the Construction Regulations (2014)
IntroductionThere are substantial ambiguities and debates about the definition of a “Competent Person” when assigning legal appointments and responsibilities for supervision, oversight, and management of key tasks. These are outlined in the Construction Regulations (2014) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of (1993). Va ...moreFidelity acquires SSG Holdings to grow to nearly 70 000 staff over more than 250 locationsJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA (17 September 2025) – Fidelity Services Group has acquired a majority shareholding in SSG Holdings, following all requisite regulatory approvals. The acquisition will expand Fidelity’s footprint to more than 256 locations and grow its workforce to approximately 69 200 employees across Southern Africa. ...moreNot an afterthought – integrating healthcare technology at the very beginning
Today’s modern healthcare facilities have, respectfully, moved beyond bricks, mortar and medical equipment to now include infrastructure that embeds intelligence and resilience, providing the foundation for safer, smarter and patient-centric healthcare environment.In fact, the medical industry is making truly remarkable gains when i ...more
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