S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol83 No11 November 2020
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Forecast for 2021
- SAFLIA: Employers and unions need to create an environment that is fair to all, but also allows the industry to be competitive against imports, says Jirka Vymetal.
- NCRF: We need to cut input costs, says Michael Lawrence.
- Components Cluster: On hold for now, says Mark Gibbings.
- Inno Textiles: We'll make cheaper only where we can, says Tanya van Tonder.
- A. Greenaways (Natal): Chinese suppliers report steep price rises for synthetic materials, says Garth Ribbink.
- Fusion Leather: Better-than-expected bookings for some, says Denzil Spolander.
- Neucoat: Locally-made synthetic for school shoes to be launched in January, says Hans Beier.
- Azula Collective: Looking forward to a great year, says Colleen Chappé de Leonval.
- Bolton Footwear: Great support from chains, costing challenges, says Dewald Visagie.
- E. Baronos Leather: Customers will be price sensitive, says Elias Baronos.
- Equator Accessories: Unpredictable is the only predictable, says Leon Buhr.
- Dangee Carken: Grit and support have kept us going, says Robby Stoller.
- Saddler Belt: More chains need to commit to the Masterplan, says Andrew Fenwick.
- Tri-Africa: How to get your business back on its feet, by Richard Dixon.
- Dick Whittington: Expecting a further decline in tender work, so fashion must grow, says Arveen Boodhoo.
13 Business
- Ailing Clarks awaits approval for takeover by Hong Kong investor.
- Proudly South African and SAFLEC join forces to put local school shoes on learners' feet.
- Kim G. Leather Sandals: New factory in Kimberley starts small.
16 The US Market
- Sneakernomics: U.S. athletic footwear & apparel Q3 results, by NPD's Matt Powell.
17 Trade Fairs & Events
- Allfashion Sourcing: Covid has forced us to be resourceful, says Priyanka Lutchman.
- Lagos Leather Fair: Digital edition 'was a blast', says Tinuola Joseph.
19 Notice Board
- Another tribute for Peter Berry, by Chrystal Erasmus.
20 S&V turns 85
- Well 86, actually, admits Tony Dickson.
Advertisers in this Issue
Creative Leathergoods (5), Footwear & Leather Industries Cluster (8), Freestyle (4), Palm Footwear/Trustees (OFC), SA Footwear & Leather Export Council (2), Skin, Hide & Leather Council (11), Southern African Footwear & Leather Industries Association (7), Softer School Shoes (6).
In The Next Issue:
- Previewing 2021.
Out on January 13
We've revamped our trade fair calendar. Visit https://www.svmag.co.za/events
- 2021 Forecast - NCRF: We need to cut input costs
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - National Clothing Retail Federation of SA (NCRF) executive director Michael Lawrence said most of his time since October had been spent on the implementation of the Master Plan."You should be seeing more local product in those chain retailers which have signed up for the plan," he said."The NC ...more2021 Forecast - Fusion: Better-than-expected bookings for some
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - There is an air of cautious optimism, with many of our customers starting off 2021 with stronger than anticipated order books. Retailers seem to be talking to local manufacturers as international logistics remains unreliable and unpredictable.Hide prices are on the rise. Interestingly the customers who reminded ta ...more2021 Forecast - Bolton: Great support from chains, costing challenges
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - We on-boarded Woolworths just before lockdown and successfully delivered their first shipment under their own label in July this year. Since then the relationship has grown and we are currently working on another repeat delivery for January 2021.There are more styles in the pipeline for the first half of 2021 and ...more2021 Forecast - Baronos: Customers will be price sensitive
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Really tough year ahead, corporates and individuals will be watching the pennies very carefully, hoping that they will look after the pounds. There will be small rays of sunshine, but I believe these will be short-lived. At the moment survival and cost cutting are the orders for the day and we have to hang in t ...more2021 Forecast - Equator: Unpredictable is the only predictable
New Germany, KZN, SA - The only thing we can bank on is that the market will remain unpredictable. What we have seen is that SA retail is more stable (to date) than developed markets like US/UK and Australia. The Netherlands is experiencing the biggest drop in Bricks ‘n Mortar sales from what we see, where they predict (once Governm ...more2021 Forecast - Saddler: More chains need to commit to Masterplan
Durban, KZN, SA - To forecast 2021 is extremely difficult! It will depend on how many people have lost their jobs this year and how the economy does. These negative factors work against the positive factors of #BuySouthAfrican (R-CTFL Masterplan 2030) and the #PayIn30 initiative, where big business endeavours to pay SMMEs in 30 days ...more2021 Forecast - Dangee Carken: Grit and support have kept us going
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - It’s been an incredibly challenging year. The nervousness and uncertainty has been very unsettling. Disappointingly the financial institutions haven’t been much help either. Due to sheer grit and unbelievable support from our suppliers and service providers and our vast experience in forward plannin ...more2021 Forecast - How to get your business back on its feet
What can businesses in SA expect in 2021? I'm going to get straight to the point to provoke some thinking that hopefully will prompt readers into attempting a business reset. Given where we may all find ourselves right now in the “survival stage”, and still in the midst of a COVID 19 crisis, is it n ...moreAiling Clarks awaits approval for takeover by Hong Kong investor
Press releaseLionRock Capital to acquire majority stake in Clarks. Clark family to remain a key shareholder in the business. Partnership will secure a sustainable future for the 195-year-old world-renowned British shoe brand. The investment from LionRock Capital is conditional on shareholder approval and on a Company Voluntary A ...moreProudly South African and SAFLEC join forces to put local school shoes on learners’ feet
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - In a country where many learners walk long distances to and from school, shoes are an essential item. Proudly South African, the country’s buy local advocacy campaign, together with members of the South African Footwear & Leather Export Council are promoting the purchase of locally manufactured school ...moreNorthern Cape sandal factory open
Kimberley, N. Cape, SA - Former EVA Industries staff member Gerry du Toit, who moved to Kimberley in August, has got his small factory up and running, trading as Kim G. Leather Sandals.He writes: "At the moment it's only me, manufacturing sandals and supplying a few customers. Small production. Have to build up a customer base, littl ...moreLLF Digital: What a blast!
Lagos, Nigeria - The just concluded LLF Digital was an absolute blast! LLF was this year’s edition of the Lagos Leather Fair. The event took place from 19th-22nd November 2020, it was a 100% virtual and was nothing short of amazing. The 4-days were enlightening, filled with insightful conversations, and impactful masterclasses. LLF ...morePeter Berry: Valuable lessons for many
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - I’m so sorry to read about Peter’s passing. I knew that he was not well from our last conversation in September and was so hoping that I would be able to see him as soon as he was up for a visit. The photo attached was taken of us in 2017 when we met for lunch and as always we had such a wonderful time ...moreS&V Publishers: Looking back, planning ahead
S&V has been a window onto the soul of the leather, footwear and leather goods industries for decades, and like them, has reinvented itself many times This is an anniversary year for S&V. An 85th anniversary. I very much doubt many other industries in South Africa have a trade publication which has published continuously for ...more2021 Forecast - SAFLIA - Footwear manufacturing, imports and exports dropped by over 30 percent in first half of 2020Durban, KZN, SA - Footwear production during the first 2 quarters of 2020 fell by 34.84% by comparison with the same period in 2019, according to the SAFLIA Digest for January to June, released last month.Pairage dropped from 24.4 million pairs to 15.9 million.The value of ex-factory sales dropped by 31.2%, from R2.7 billion to close to R ...more2021 Forecast - Components Cluster: On hold for nowPinetown, KZN, SA - The Components Cluster, the newest cluster in the leather value chain, was proposed as a means of resurrecting South Africa's components manufacturing capacity, decimated during the long years of imported footwear domination.Cluster chairman and Apeco MD Mark Gibbings said trying to get it up and running had been " ...more2021 Forecast - Greenaways: Steep rise in ex-China synthetic pricesDurban, KZN, SA - The cost of synthetic upper materials, which are currently all imported, mostly from China, has risen steeply this year, according to Garth Ribbink, member of A. Greenaways (Natal) (Pty) Ltd, one of the leading importers.He forwarded correspondence from suppliers in China.One wrote: "During [the past] one month, th ...more2021 Forecast - Inno Textiles: Cheaper if we can, but...Hammarsdale, KZN, SA - In terms of shoe products, I can see a trend with my customers wanting to us to re-develop current products to make them more “affordable” However, we are not too keen on this as we do not believe in “messing” with our quality just to enter a price war. Where we can re-engineer something for ...more2021 Forecast - Neucoat: Locally made synthetic for school shoes to launch in JanuaryPinetown, KZN, SA - In correspondence with Hans Beier, Chairman Emeritus of the Beier Group (Pty) Ltd over plans to resurrect local manufacturing of synthetic upper materials for footwear, he wrote: "Yes, we have developed a 1.8mm PU school shoe upper material which is presently undergoing field trials and laboratory approvals agains ...more2021 Forecast - Azula Collective: Looking forward to a great yearDurban, KZN, SA - Next year is going to be amazing. Our wholesale clients have doubled and we have successfully launched our e-commerce store and our well received in-house range. We have a growing database of customers for the brand, Nēo, and number of repeat orders. There are boutiques country wide interested in s ...more2021 Forecast - Dick Whittington: Expecting a decline in tender work, so fashion must growPietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - Dicks has two distinct revenue streams, the first being through our commercial business generated through sales from its several brands. The bulk of these sales are usually focussed in the second half of the year. Although men’s formal footwear is predicted to decline as more consumers work from home, we ...moreSneakernomics - U.S. athletic footwear & apparel Q3 resultsSports retail under COVID-19 has been a roller coaster, and the Q3 (July-September 2020) results continue to show this bumpy trend. Athletic footwear sales in July were down in the high single-digits, then declined in the high teens in August (one of the market’s most important months of the year), and in September grew in the mid-t ...moreAllfashion Sourcing: 'Covid has forced us to be resourceful'Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - On behalf of the Messe Frankfurt South African team, we would like to thank our exhibitors, sponsors, partners and attendees for their participation at the virtual edition of allfashion sourcing, a digital business oriented marketplace for the textile and fashion industry. “C ...more2021 Forecast for the South African Footwear & Leather Goods IndustryAt the end of 2020 we asked various businesses operating within the footwear and leather goods industry for their 2021 forecast for the sector. ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Mizuno: New distributor plans increase in marketing, and diversification of sports categoriesJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Digital Wellness has been appointed by Mizuno Europe as the new Mizuno Footwear distributor for Southern Africa.It was previously distributed by Performance Endurance Solutions.Brian Kerby will continue with the brand, filling the role of Mizuno Brand Manager. He and Digital Wellness MD Ricky West respond ...moreAre big shoe brands holding back better shoes?On the 28 June 2025 episode of The Energy Blueprint Podcast, Xero Shoes co-founder Steven Sashen made a striking claim: a major sports brand secretly tested a more natural shoe that cut injury rates by half compared to their top-selling model — and then shelved it.A more natural shoe, as Sashen describes, is desi ...moreWorld class manufacturing was an eye-opener and a lessonThis is my last contribution to this series of events. I have thoroughly enjoyed stepping back into the days when travelling to find new designs was real travel.My final contribution is to say that with all that happened there were a lot of positives also achieved. I managed to visit some international manufacturing facilit ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Sam Setter's 'Pills': Brands remain holier than thouOn more than one occasion I have reported on brands being caught using illegal labour in their supply line. From what I understand several brands regularly, but indirectly, use illegal labour and of course always deny their knowledge of this happening. The problem is that everybody knows and nobody can prove this because the brands buy fr ...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 ...morePEPTIDE MANUFACTURE
Purchasing a 25 kg hide for the purposes of manufacturing a bit of leather used to be a pretty inefficient process. Consulting the 1999 paper (by UNIDO) showed the industry that 60-70% of that 25 kg is water, leaving collagen, keratin, glycosaminoglycans, fat, and a few minor components. The hair, epidermis, and fat are removed to leave a ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Obituary: Ernie Wallis, Sheq Safety (14/07/1959 – 16/08/2025): In all things, hard, fair and respected
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Ernie was raised in a strong, principled household. Ernie’s father – a naval man with sharp business acumen and a steady temperament – and his mother, who was uncompromising in her pursuit of fairness, instilled in him the values of discipline, justice, and integrity that would define his l ...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 ...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. ...more
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