Shelly Beach, KZN, SA – David Boulanger started out making leather sandals, belts and hats from his VW Kombi in Jeffrey’s Bay in the 1970s, and has been in business as The Little Leather Shop since 1980. He and wife, Ivy, are about to launch online retail – prompted by the slow recovery of business post-covid.
      The business includes a workshop, where they continue to make products under their Totem brand, and the retail shop, which sells a broader range, including branded travel goods. The bought-in brands are the bigger side of the business.
“We’re not doing as well as we were,” he said. “Previously, we were sustained by the holiday periods and up-country visitors, but these July holidays, although the roads were busy, business wasn’t. With the cost of toll roads, petrol and accommodation, visitors don’t have a lot left over. It’s quite a serious situation.”
Online is new territory, and “we know it will involve a lot of work”, he said, “but although we’re in our 70s, we’re still going for it”. The website will be www.totemsleather.co.za.
He has developed a thumb brace for himself “because my joints are messed up from all these years of leather work”, and he hopes that, too, will become a popular item.

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – After 3 months under new ownership, Eddels has settled into a routine which will hopefully lead it into sustainable profitability, new GM Steven Jacobs said last week.
      “This is a business in distress, and we’re not trying to hide it,” he said, “but as big as the challenges are, there are also opportunities.”
      Production has been scaled back further. By the time of the takeover, production had dropped to 1 500 pairs/day of mixed leather and synthetic, formal and casual, men’s, women’s and children’s footwear. Now, it’s 450 pairs/day of men’s formal leather footwear. Staff numbers have dropped from around 300 to 108.
      “We think that’s the right level at the moment,” he said. “The optimistic estimate is that we can turn this business around in 6 months. I would say 2 years would be closer to the mark.”
      Eddels was bought by Johannesburg-based Caralli Footwear – itself part of a bigger group – and Caralli specialises in formal men’s leather footwear.
      “We have experience in this industry,” Jacobs said, “and we have a lot of very talented people trying to make this business work to the point where it can run itself.
      “We’re not going to try to double production this year. We can look at that, and at diversifying production, when it’s stable.”
      He said reducing the staff had been a difficult decision, but that “if we’d kept everyone, the business would have failed – the intention is that as and when we grow, we’ll bring those people back. Where else would we find those skills?”
      Management cuts were proportionately greater; Chris Paul has been promoted to production and planning manager, Richard Starmer is now design and technical manager. Among his other inputs, Caralli MD and group shareholder Samet Karali oversees the original Eddels team of agents.
      Jacobs, an actuarial science graduate who was working for the group in Germany, was brought back to run Eddels. “I’ve had footwear experience with the group, but mostly on the retail side,” he said.
      “We’re selling to a mix of chains and independents, and that’s the way we want to keep it,” he said. “One thing we’ve noticed is that there has been a shift by retailers to source more leather footwear locally.”

According to a report in Biz Community, Adidas South Africa has opened a new Home of Sport concept store in Durban, at Gateway Shopping Centre. It's the first of its kind on the African continent, and with a retail footprint of 1687 square meters, it's also the largest Adidas store in Africa.

The Home of Sport concept is rooted in sport culture, showcasing the best of the Adidas brand through powerful visual storytelling.
Customers will find a truly immersive retail experience, from cutting-edge technologies and a Run Lab that tests gait analysis, to a unique Made for You section where footwear and apparel can be personalised with embroidery, engraving, badges and heat press.

Changing rooms are spacious and include a bra measurement facility, as well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) mirrors that automatically detect product information, to provide consumers with real-time colour and style options.

The store has a wide selection of best-in-class products across its Running, Outdoor, Training, Women’s, Football, Sportswear and Originals categories, with a premium offering of Stella McCartney, Terrex and Y3, as well as an exclusive DBN t-shirt range.

The space is hyper-local, with Durban culture and credibility woven at every touchpoint. The store offers a modern retail space, with a dynamic layout that combines both functional and aesthetic elements.
- The furniture is designed by murrmurr, with the moon range inspired by the night sky. Different moon phases are incorporated in the design – from waxing, waning, crescent, full and new moon.
- Kylie Wentzel’s carpet design was inspired by the pace of life in the subtropical city of Durban. The warm and bold colours in the design, the palm trees, surfboard and sandcastle – are all suggestive of vibrant coastal living.
- The store installation was done by Arturo Tedeschi, who used the map of Durban as a generative element to add meaning and depth to his work. There is an interplay between layers within the sculpture that engages with the surrounding light and spatial store dimensions, in an immersive experience.

Gerald Naidoo (General Secretary/Principal Officer), National Bargaining Council of the Leather Industry of SA Durban, KZN, SA - The parties to the Footwear Sector have concluded the 2023 wage negotiations and have reached agreement as follows:

(1) Wages and Wage Rates
With effect from 1 July 2023, the basic wage on all prescribed operations shall be increased by 7%.

(2) Peripheral Issue
Payslips/salary advice for the annual leave allowance shall be issued to employees by no later than three days prior to the commencement of the Annual Leave period.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Muhammad Bulbulia, formerly with retailer Joey & Sam, which is now closed, said the family business began selling tea beverages during the covid19 period, but has come back into footwear with an all-leather product range imported from Brazil.

“Clave is the new winter collection we are currently sell on our online platform www.tranquildawn.co.za,” he wrote. He said the business, which is “a 75% ladies-run group”, will also wholesale.