S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol. 92 No. 02 February 2026
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Upfront
- ‘If footwear manufacturers want to supply chains, they have to trigger the viable ideas. It’s not retail’s responsibility’, says NCRF director Michael Lawrence.
- An export success story: Weef – the art of taking an extravagance and making it an essential, globally. Dévan Swanepoel explains.
09 Shoe Fairs
- Mipel/Micam attract 20 000 visitors.
11 Sustainability
- Plastics manufacturing: Sustainable PU production without toxic isocyanate.
13 Noticeboard
- Obituary: George Geyser, Dancewell: From ballet pumps to clown shoes, a shoemaker who could make, literally, any shoe.
- Obituary: Rolf Oltmanns, PMC: His philosophy had an impact far beyond the businesses he led.
- Obituary: Edward W. Bailey, CDB Holdings: A good and wise man from a different era.
17 Statistics
- Preliminary trade statistics December 2025.
Advertisers in this Issue
Arena Trims (OFC, 02, 07), East Asian Import & Export (02), Ethekwini Leather (05), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (04), Jumbo Footwear (11), Haesloop Agencies (17), iSync Solutions (13), Kaytex Belts (14), Leather Finishing Products (08), Saddler Belts (12), SAFLEC (16), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (18), Shotland Packaging (10).
- ‘If footwear manufacturers want to supply chains, they have to trigger the viable ideas. It’s not retail’s responsibility’
South African clothing manufacturers whose strategy is to supply chain retailers are, by and large, reaching sustainable agreements with their customers. South African footwear manufacturers who have the same business model are yet to make similar inroads.That’s the assessment of National Clothing Retail Federation (NCRF) executive ...moreeThekwini Footwear & Leather Cluster panel discussions and presentations
The EFLC panel discussions and networking dinner on 19 February included chain retail, manufacturing, and union representatives, municipal, provincial and national government officials, a successful exporter, a representative from Amazon South Africa speaking about potential for local suppliers, and the MD of Messe Frankfurt SA speaking a ...moreWeef: The art of taking an extravagance and making it an essential – globally
Dévan Swanepoel of Cape Town manufacturer Weef makes products that no-one actually needs, but which a sizeable percentage of his target market wants – especially after they’ve been exposed to the enthusiasm, energy and visual appeal of Weef’s ‘handmade leather statements’: leather ties, leather bowties ...moreMipel/Micam attract 20 000 visitors
Milan, Italy – Micam and Mipel this month attracted over 20 000 visitors, a little over half of them international, led by France, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Greece in Europe, and Japan and the United States from the rest of the world. A little over half of the 795 exhibitors were also from outside Italy.“This edition of ...moreObituary: George Geyser, Dancewell Footwear (02/02/1941-17/11/2025): From ballet pumps to clown shoes, a shoemaker who could make, literally, any shoe
Durban, KZN, SA – George was born in Pietermaritzburg into a family with deep footwear industry roots – his father, Martin, joined Eddels in 1924 at age 12. His uncle, ‘Kork’ Geyser, worked in the industry in Durban, as did Kork’s sons, Rudolph ‘Rudi’ and Leon. Rudi’s son, Brandon, of EVA In ...moreObituary: Rolf Wilhelm Oltmanns, PMC Group (24/08/1944-13/12/2025) His philosophy had an impact far beyond the businesses he led
Pinetown, KZN, SA – It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Rolf Oltmanns on 13 December 2025, at his holiday apartment in Cape Town.Born on 24 August 1944, Rolf was a respected and longstanding figure in South Africa’s footwear and manufacturing industries. He served with distinction as Managing Directo ...moreSustainable polyurethane production without toxic isocyanatePolyurethanes (PUR) are found in many products, such as upholstered furniture, foam or insulation materials, flooring, paints and even medical catheter tubes. The production of these high-demand plastics, however, relies on toxic isocyanate. Fraunhofer researchers have now developed an alternative production process using harmless dicarba ...moreObituary: Edward W. Bailey, CDB Holdings (10/03/c1939-31/01/2026) A good and wise man from a different eraWritten more as a reminder of his participation in the industry than as an obituary.Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA – Ed was Managing Director of CDB Holdings Pty Ltd. This entity, over a period, controlled Colin D. Bailey (Pty) Ltd, Fashion Components, Arrow Glove Works and Valhalla Leather Production, all of which would be known to th ...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 ...moreGrey Street – memories of an 80s GenX cool dude
Jonathan Commons, our webmaster, grew up in the Durban of the 1980s. He has a great affection for the Grey Street outfitters of the era, and he wrote these recollections.Oddly enough the news item about the closure of Jay's Outfitters triggered a bit of nostalgia for the good old days when, as a teenager in the 80s, one could hitchhike do ...moreHistorical highlights: How Rockshoes became Trailmix Trading
Rockshoes was one of the many successful footwear factories in Pinetown in the 1960s through to the early 2000s. Its successor, Trailmix Trading, has repeated that success, as an importer and wholesaler. Here’s how it unfolded. ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SARLEN: Defining what needs to be doneThe SARLEN webinar on 12 June 2026 featured 3 main speakers. The entire presentation can be seen here: : https://drive.google.com/file/d/14xBkPMTqsln-YuqkCXsm_vsazDwNqL83/view?usp=sharing ...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 ...moreLuxury or notWe hear from all sides that the leather industry is not doing too well and the conflict in the Middle East is definitely not improving the situation. The present wars have a huge impact on inflation and hence on the buying power of consumers with negative consequences for the luxury industry whose shares we have seen tumbling at the vario ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Obituary: Colin Battle, agent (17/04/1957-27/07/2026): Our sales trips were a whole life experience
Dearest Lee, Greg & Sammy,I send my sincerest condolences & wishes of long and healthy lives to all of you, after the passing of your beloved Colin. I’ve no doubt that once the pain of losing an adored husband and father starts to subside, you will be left the glorious memories of your lives together with a most wonderful an ...moreChina-made firefighting equipment now needs verification of conformity with SANS standardsPretoria, Gauteng, SA – Firefighting equipment is among the 25 product categories published on 01 April by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for a mandatory Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) Programme.The system will require certain goods shipped from China to be tested and certified before they enter the ...moreBiodegradable 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 ...more
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