S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol90 No9 September 2024
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Upfront
- International fast fashion retailer H&M, which does source some raw materials from SA, says it is serious about sustainability and about talking to local manufacturers about sourcing finished goods.
- Small West African state Benin is making branded garments for export.
- Management changes at Bata SA.
11 Headlines with Tinashe Mandirahwe
- Clarks’ Indian departure – what went wrong?
- Investor lawsuit hits Lulelemon.
- Comfort is what the market is demanding.
19 Export & Trade
- Italian Trade Agency sponsors SA visit to Milan fairs.
21 Noticeboard
- SAFLIA AGM marks the organisation’s 80th anniversary.
- National Bargaining Council bids farewell to outgoing general secretary Gerald Naidoo.
Advertisers in this Issue
Arena Trims (20), BBF Safety Group (04), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (02), FrontierCo/Busby (09), Haesloop Agencies (14), Kaliber Safety Footwear/For the Motor Industry/Safety Boots (06, 08), Kaytex Belts (12), Leather Finishing Products (16), Lemaitre (10), Palm Footwear (OFC), Saddler Belts (07), SAFLEC (13), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (17), Shotland Packaging (18).
The Next Issue:
- Out on 25 October 2024.
- ‘We have and will continue to investigate sourcing opportunities for apparel’
Several SA raw materials make it into H&M’s value chain, but so far, no finished goods ...moreManagement changes at Bata SA
Durban, KZN, SA – Bata SA country manager Michael Wyatt has been promoted to president of Bata Africa-Middle East and Bata Industrials.The new Bata SA country manager is Lorraine Dyer, who has over 20 years retail and wholesale experience in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.In a release, Bata SA said “her track re ...moreClarks’ Indian departure — what went wrong?
A report from Yahoo Finance on August 27, 2024, reveals that Clarks, the iconic British footwear brand, is closing its stores in India due to "differences over terms" with its local partner, Reliance Retail.This unexpected development underscores the critical importance of aligning with local partners and effectively m ...moreComfort is what the market is demanding
Expansion AnnouncementOrthoLite, a leading manufacturer of comfort foam insoles, has announced it is expanding its European facility in Almansa, Spain. This strategic move aims to enhance production capacity, innovation, and speed-to-market manufacturing, enabling OrthoLite to better serve its brand partners ...moreItalian Trade Agency sponsors SA visit to Milan fairs
This September, SAFLEC, accompanied by a group of trailblazing members funded by the Italian Trade Agency, made a significant and impactful presence at Simac Tanning Tech, Lineapelle, Micam, and Milan Fashion Week.More than a routine industry visit, this participation was a strategic initiative designed to gather high-level intelligence a ...moreBenin begins exporting U.S. branded garments to EuropeZè, Benin (11 September 2024) – Benin, which along with Togo is a small Francophone state sandwiched between Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, has exported its first consignment of clothing under the American brand, U.S. POLO ASSN.In a release, Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) (www.GDIZ-Benin.com) said: “Th ...moreInvestor lawsuit hits LululemonLululemon Athletica Inc. is currently facing a class action lawsuit filed by a shareholder who claims the company misled investors by failing to disclose critical information about its business operations. This lawsuit involves individuals and entities who purchased Lululemon securities between December 7, 2023, and July 24, 2024.The Alle ...more
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Footwear Industry Articles
- SAFLEC AGM 2026: Strengthening of relationships between industry organisations and government a key development
This 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 ...moreAn industry with distinctive material riches, unable to sufficiently convert them into finished goods in a world class way“The project’s purpose,” said Courtney Grant, “is to be a robust, evidence-based strategy to address the leather and general goods sector’s challenges and unlock its growth potential.”The main headings of her presentation were:Creating the groundwork for a National Leather and General Goods Strategy:Fro ...morePalm Footwear: ‘One family’Palm Footwear was founded in July 1966 by Kasie Pattundeen, with 18 staff, making slippers.60 years later, with over 800 staff, it is among the biggest employers in the SA footwear industry and among the biggest manufacturers by volume.It remains a family business, headed by Rajeev and Kiran Pattundeen, with their children, Srishti and Rt ...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 ...moreNigeria’s Leather Industry: Not a clear picture
Nigeria is widely accepted as having a very large livestock population, but a relatively small tanning industry, much of it concentrated in Kano, producing high grade goat- and sheepskin crust which is exported for finishing elsewhere for use in garments.Recent articles cast some doubt on this, so are Nigeria’s hides and skins: M ...moreZimbabwe Leather Development Council lobbies for Government contracts
The Zimbabwe Leather Development Council (ZLDC) is lobbying policymakers to open up public procurement contracts to local leather manufacturers, arguing that Government contracts are essential to reviving the country’s struggling leather value chain.Speaking on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo (ZIC ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE 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. ...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 ...moreStatistical shape modelling for population-specific respirator design: Addressing fit failure in South African populations
Respirators are widely regarded as the last line of defence against hazardous airborne exposures. Whether protecting healthcare workers from tuberculosis, laboratory personnel from infectious samples, or workers exposed to carcinogenic dusts and fumes, respirators are often relied upon when other controls cannot eliminate exposure. This r ...more
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