S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol87 No10 October 2021
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 This Month's Focus Sector: School Shoes and Belts
- After 18 months of 'bust' maybe a brief moment of 'boom'?
- Comments by:
- Hans Beier, Neucoat: Locally made synthetic school shoe upper material launched.
- Michael Wyatt, Bata SA: It all depends on customers' sell out rate.
- Rajeev Pattundeen, Palm Footwear: In the bigger picture, this is just another blip.
- Andrew Fenwick, Saddler Belts: 'We'll respond to the future together.'
- Shane van Niekerk, Jet: Anticipating close-to-normal demand, but pressure on prices.
- Sharon New, Term Footwear: Looking to source from countries 'more aligned to the UK'.
- Delanie Bezuidenhout, My Walk With Soul: Combining recycling PVC with donated school shoes.
11 Sector: Safety Footwear
- Wayne Plastics: Gumboot manufacturers at the forefront of footwear's campaign to be recognised as sustainable.
12 Sector: Travel Goods
- Kennith Barlow, Destinations by Frasers: After a long famine, travel goods retailers need to stock up for a deluge.
13 The U.S. Market
- Marshall Cohen, the NPD Group: Holiday 2021 - A season of comfort and concern.
14 New Ideas
- Russell Addinall: If you can imagine it, you can make it - product development, internships and training.
15 Trade Fairs
- MICAM Milano: Re-launch 'exceeded expectations' - now preparations for February edition get underway.
17 Notice Board
- Debbie Ditchfield obituary: Like a shooting star, a brief, glorious life.
Advertisers in this Issue
BBF Safety Group (OFC), Caterpillar / Medicus Footwear (13), Corvari Footwear / Angels (17), Corvari Footwear / Natural Steps (15), Destinations by Frasers/Busby (04), Destinations by Frasers/ Delsey (06), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (02), Italtan (03), Karma / Caterpy (09), Manock Naturals (10), New Creation Shoes (16), SA Footwear & Leather Export Council (18), Saddler Belts (07).
In The Next Issue:
- Focus Sector: A look at some local brands.
Out on November 26
- PRICE:TBAPRICE:TBAPRICE:TBA
Footwear Industry Articles
- SAFLEC AGM 2026: Strengthening of relationships between industry organisations and government a key developmentThis has been a defining year for the South African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC). It has been a year of innovation, collaboration and meaningful progress, where together with our members and strategic partners, we have continued to strengthen the competitiveness of South Africa's footwear and leather industry while creat ...moreComrades Expo 2026Durban, 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 ...more2026 Comrades shoe count: Asics stays top, Adidas up, Nike slides into 4th placeMarathon shoe counts are among the few footwear statistics available in SA. The Sweat Shop’s Jax Snyman has extracted this year’s Comrades Marathon figures for comparison with last year.His assessment: “Asics up. Adidas properly up. New Balance steady although now 3rd largest. Nike down and drop in rankings to 4th. Sauco ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- LEATHER’S ELEMENTARY UNITGeoff Attenburrow’s PhD student David M. Wright worked on the behaviour of leather under strain (Attenburrow, 1993; Wright, 1996). They were the first to describe that leather had a “co-operating unit”, a set of structures within leather that helped the leather to resist breaking and to resist deformation at low strain.T ...moreSA’s 2025 automotive leather exports: Down on 2024, but still good, on the face of itFigures from NAAMSA’s Automotive Trade Manual 2026 Automotive components – exports by product Component category 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 % of total export value Ran ...moreSARLEN – the journey so farSARLEN was guided by a model policy framework for the leather value chain, adopted by all member states in 2023. It was supported by Deutsche Zusammenarbeit (German Cooperation), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with the SADC Secretariat as the principal sponsor.The building blocks are ass ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- More precise fire extinguishing from the air using simulation and sensor dataWildfires 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 ...moreFurther controls over the import of safety footwear are on the wayOn 03 August 2026, the Safety Footwear Working Group, led by SAFLIA, submitted a request to Minister Tau (dtic) for interim import control measures in respect of specified safety footwear. The request was strongly supported by organised labour and other industry stakeholders.The application was further strengthened by contributions f ...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










