Idris Pandor, Gem Schoolwear
Durban, KZN, SA – Retail sales have picked up considerably since Monday and the trend will continue till the 14th. Each year with the volume of customers coming into the store we employ over 100 parttime staff in both our retail stores to assist with the sales. These PT staff get hands-on experience in the retail sector that gives them confidence when they seek jobs elsewhere.  We are proud to skill school leavers for over 30 years.
     Our retail stores are open 7 days a week in December and January to make shopping easier and our doors are open till the last shopper has made their purchase.
     Online sales have been extremely good, and we are satisfied with our growth.
     On the wholesale division, since we opened on the 2nd of January, orders have been pouring in and we have been despatching them as fast as we can.
     Gem Schoolwear is a one stop shop for most of the needs of retailers – our warehouse is like a "bank" of school wear stock.


Jannie Vermeulen, Ekspa and Adno’s
Benoni, Gauteng, SA – Still extremely busy.
     One thing that is noticeable is that the size of individual orders is down. Our sales staff are incentivised to get customers to add items, but this year there are far fewer orders reaching the target.


Chris van den Berg, Burgers Brothers
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – It’s much the same as last year in terms of demand, which is to say it’s quite good.
     There are problems with supply – fabric for uniforms, and apparently leather for school shoes, which are being put down to holdups in harbours. Green Cross has gone so far as to take stock from its own shops to give to its retail customers.


Deshan Chetty, Ace Outfitters
Kimberley, N. Cape, SA – School wear isn’t a very big part of my business, but it’s going fairly well. The only problem I’m having is sourcing specific colour trousers for one school. The previous supplier has stopped supplying them. Still waiting for some of my school shoes.

Steelmaker Arcelor Mittal – Iscor in the good old days – announced the imminent closure of 2 plants, in Newcastle and Vereeniging. While Vereeniging is a major industrial area, Newcastle has been dependent on the jobs provided by coal mines – many now closed – and the steelmaker. We asked leather and apparel businesses in the area what effect it might have.

Hanno van den Berg, Afritan cc
Dundee, KZN, SA – I only heard about the closure of Arcelor Mittal Newcastle yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), so I am still processing the information. It was mentioned that 3500 jobs will be affected directly and immediately, and there is no telling how many more will be impacted in the areas surrounding Newcastle.
     The situation is likely to be devastating for the local economy, which in turn, will affect our local customers. While most of our business is concentrated in the larger centres, I am genuinely concerned about the repercussions this will have on Newcastle, Dundee, Volksrust, Durnacol and all the surrounding towns.


Ashok Kasiram, Junior Outfitters
Newcastle, KZN, SA – 2024 was one of the toughest years of trading in my 49 years of retail. The news of Arcelor plant closing is going to have a devastating blow to our already struggling economy of Newcastle.  Not a good time to be in business.


Manoj Morar, Impressions
Dundee, KZN, SA – We’re 45 to 60 minutes away from Newcastle, so while I’m sure it will have an effect on the area, it won’t affect us as directly as retailers in Newcastle itself.


Salim Ayoob, Jumbo Footwear
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – As wholesale suppliers to many retailers in that northern KZN area, Arcelor’s closure is very worrying. It’s already a depressed area, and 2024 was a tough year for them. There’s not much we, as suppliers, can do, beyond trying to source more budget lines.

Denver, Colorado, USA (08 January 2025) – VF Corporation, owner of The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies and other brands, plans to release its third quarter fiscal 2025 financial results on Wednesday 29 January 2025 at approximately 6:55 a.m. ET. Following the release, VF management will host a conference call at approximately 8:00 a.m. ET (15:00 South African time) to review results.

     The conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet, accessible at ir.vfc.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, an archived version will be available at the same location.

Howick, KZN, SA – John Watt of Bresan Footwear, and before that of Bata SA, died on 05 January following a stroke on 02 January. According to his son, Alistair, He had been struggling with a number of health issues over the past 6 months and had been in and out of hospital a number of times in recent weeks.

     An obituary will follow in the January issue of S&V Footwear & Leather Goods.

Jannie Vermeulen, Ekspa and Adno’s
Benoni, Gauteng, SA – Up until October, it was a tough year, but then it started to improve. We had a Black Friday offering, and quite a few parents took the opportunity to buy early at lower prices.
     December was up on the previous year, and our first day of trading in January was very good. We supply uniforms for 34 schools, so we’re very busy.
     We still have to get to the end of February to see whether we will be up on 2023/2024 overall, but it’s looking promising. I have heard that some other school wear retailers have not done well.
     Parents were affected by interest rates on cars and bonds, and we were also affected by a very mild winter.
     Getting stock wasn’t a problem – many suppliers delivered early, which allowed us to top up where we were short. On the shoe side, we have 5 or 6 suppliers, covering quite a wide range of price points.

Yunus Hansa, Luggage Centre
Newcastle, KZN, SA – Trade for most of last year was poor. In December, it wasn’t very good, but there was demand, including on the school wear side, which was surprising. These next 2 weeks are very crucial for us, and we’re hoping the demand continues.

Idris Pandor, Gem Schoolwear
Durban, KZN, SA – Since Education is always on top of the minds of parents, we are fortunate that we see an uptake in purchases of uniforms as soon as schools have their orientation days towards the end of November and early December.  It is always the new intake in Primary and High Schools that drive the early sales.
     The eager and wise parents buy early before Christmas and New Year. The parents with kids that are already at school do the top up buying after New Year and that is where it becomes challenging when they throng to the stores in the last 10 days before schools open and we need to be ready with our stocks. Planning is very essential, in fact planning at Gem Schoolwear starts as soon as January is over.
     Gem Schoolwear produces uniforms that are locally manufactured, by South Africans for South Africans, and are priced competitively. We are proud to create employment for hundreds of employees locally.
     So far up to the end of December, there has been an improvement in sales in our retail stores as well as our wholesale division compared to last year. We hope this trend continues into 2025. Our online store is also showing a positive growth, and this is a market that we need to nurture.
     We do our best to carry a large range of basic school wear to support our school wear dealers as well as school shops countrywide and beyond our borders at short notice while "special orders" do take anything between 4 to 8 weeks to produce.


Chiman Harjeven, Knight’s Shoes/City Fashions
Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA – We’ve only just started with back-to-school. There wasn’t much of that in December, but there seems to be a lot of interest now. We’ll know more next week.
     December trade generally was better than I expected – not great, but I was pleased.