S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol91 No9 September 2025
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Interview
- Puma: Holding on to its market gains – just – planning more local production, but a declining independent retail sector – MD Luke Barrett-Smith answers our questions.
07 Footwear Education
- In the first of a series, Richard Kushlick explains the difference between the degradation of crepe rubber and PU soles, and how to prevent both.
11 News
- Malawi: Imports and forex issues stifle local leather sector.
- Shoet3ch opens Pinetown office.
- UK trends: M&S autumn ranges.
15 Insights by Tinashe Mandirahwe
- Asia tightens its grip on global footwear, but risks loom.
- Can India’s Uttar Pradesh become the next global footwear hub?
17 Noticeboard
- The Life of Brian: Back in the day: When overseas travel was a real trip. All work and no play would have made me a dull boy, writes Brian Zyster.
- Obituary: Colin Pedlar, Reflex Footwear – whatever he did, he did calmly, thoroughly, and well, by Rudi le Roux.
Advertisers in this Issue
Arena Trims (12), Bolton Footwear (02, 04), East Asian Import & Export (18), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (06), Haesloop Agencies (14), Kaytex Belts (10), Leather Finishing Products (16), Palm Footwear/Trustees (OFC), Saddler Belts (13), SAFLEC (15), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (11), Shotland Packaging (20).
- Puma: Holding on to its market gains – just – planning more local production, but a declining independent retailer sector
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Puma – along with Adidas, its arch rival here, globally and in their joint hometown, Herzogenaurach – has a long history in South Africa.Next year marks 25 years of Puma Sports SA (Pty) Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary of Puma SE, following a decade or more under licensee Jagsports. “It&rsq ...moreA guide for retailers and distributors on how to advise customers to avoid sole degradation
Richard Kushlick runs footwear education and training programmes for all tiers of the industry (https://footweareducation.co.za/).Starting this month, he will write columns on various topical subjects for S&V. In this issue, he covers a complaint which retailers often face from consumers – sole degradation in soles made from cre ...moreShoet3ch opens Pinetown office
Pinetown, KZN, SA – 6 months after the closure of Shoetech Engineering, its successor company, Shoet3ch Consumables (Pty) Ltd, has opened premises back in Pinetown.“This is of course a business decision,” said Shoet3ch director Nicky Hawkins, daughter of the late Shoetech owner, Eckehard Schumann, “but it’s a ...moreThe Life Of Brian: Back in the day, when overseas travel was a real trip: All work and no play would have made me a dull boy…
I'm going to be very discreet with the following article. Some of the persons described here could possibly be alive and still employed in the industry [Almost certainly, Brian. Only the good die young. – Ed.]. However, I'm not trying to embarrass anyone but just having a laugh at what happened during those overseas trips.Some ...moreObituary: 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. ...moreMalawi: Imports, forex stifle local leather sectorThe Malawi Leather Industry Association says it is struggling to meet the annual demand for shoes, producing only 200 000 pairs against demand of 15.5 million, largely due to competition from imports and forex shortages hindering raw material imports.Data from Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (Smedi), which is championin ...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 ...moreCan India’s Uttar Pradesh become the next global footwear hub?The state of Uttar Pradesh has approved a new footwear policy aimed at building a smooth chain that goes from design to delivery — covering ideas, production, training, and exports. The plan focuses on traditional hubs like Agra and Kanpur while pushing investment into less-developed regions such as&nbs ...more
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Footwear Industry Articles
- Vermont sale completedJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – After 39 years, former owner Mandy Owen has sold her shares in Vermont Leathercraft Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd to Creek Lab (Pty) Ltd, and officially handed over the business to Prashant Bhaga.In a message on LinkedIn, she wrote: “I would like to thank my husband, Graham, for his invaluable contributio ...moreManufacturer-buyer event: Results still to be tallied, but broad enthusiasm for more
The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...moreManufacturer-buyer event: Among the retailer commentsKim Cunniffe, Kingsmead ShoesOur buyers found some suppliers they were unaware of, and a few possibilities in terms of product. We haven’t yet taken this forward, but we will do so.Hassen Ismail, Fashion WorldIt was more-or-less what you expect of local manufacturing in terms of styling, quality, and price.We have asked for samples. ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- ISTT 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 ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': Over and AgainThe EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As ...moreAfrican leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratingsAs African leather manufacturers strive to grow their exports, the number which have qualified for ratings by the Leather Working Group (LWG) and the Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF) is growing.By country, LWG lists the following:Algeria: Sarl Tannerie Ain FakrounBurkina Faso: Mona Industry SARL.Egypt: El Montaza Tannery, Piel Color C ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Biodegradable disposable gloves ‘a growing trend’ in PPE
The poster is available to download in English in both PNG and PDF formats hereCompostable and biodegradable PPE are said to be rapidly growing trends internationally, lead by brands like Showa and HaPPE Earth.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated versio ...moreNew OHS regulations coming into force later this year mean PPE needs to be reviewed, too
In March 2025, the Physical Agents Regulations (and their guidelines) and the Noise Exposure Regulations (and their guidelines) of the OHSAct were published, with an 18-month time-period promulgation date to September 2026, allowing employers time to upgrade their Health & Safety requirements to comply with the new published regulatio ...more2nd SA PPE conference being planned for 2027 under the heading ‘Smart protection: the next era of PPE’Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Technology, artificial intelligence, connected devices and data are transforming the way we think about personal protection equipment — from how PPE is procured and selected, to how it is used, monitored and managed in the workplace.After the successful launch of the South African PPE conference hel ...more
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