Mark Kingon, Kingon's
East London, E. Cape, SA - We opened on the 27th and closed on the1st
      We were running a birthday sale of 20% off everything for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday was very poor, Friday was very good and Saturday seems to be slow but Ok!
      The month of April has generally been rather good with school sales driving everything (school went back to 2nd term winter).

Greg Bing, A.P. Jones
Fish Hoek, W. Cape, SA - We traded well on the Wednesday, at the start of the long weekend. Whether this was due to an influx of visitors to our area or not, I cannot say.
      Thursday was interesting as we normally close on public holidays. We advertised on Facebook and to our mailing list that we would be open and trade was “ok” at best. I would probably have to say that we were satisfied with the turnover.
      Trade was good on both Friday and Saturday,  but we were not rushed off our feet. Saturday felt slightly busier because we were short staffed in our ladies section.
      A.P. Jones was closed on Sunday and Monday. A nice refreshing time for my staff.

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - The Tribunal has approved, subject to employment and local procurement related conditions, the proposed merger whereby Foschini Retail Group (Pty) Ltd intends to acquire the business conducted under the Street Fever business name from BMT Street Fever (Pty) Ltd.
      Post-merger, the Street Fever business will be solely controlled by Foschini, and by extension, The Foschini Group (“TFG”).
      In line with the conditions imposed by the Tribunal, for 3 years after the merger’s approval date, the merged entity will keep a record of retrenched employees and notify them of any employment opportunities that arise, taking into consideration qualifications, expertise and physical location. In addition, the merged entity will not retrench any employees as a result of the merger for a period of 3 years from the transaction’s approval date.
      On local procurement, the merged entity will replace imported apparel and footwear products with those from local manufacturers for a specified period and value. A portion of the spend must be geared towards small businesses owned by historically disadvantaged persons.
      TFG is a South African chain-store group with fashion and lifestyle retail brands offering clothing, cosmetics, jewellery, sporting apparel and equipment, cell phones, mobile technology products, homeware and furniture. TFG’s retail offering is available in-store and online. Relevant to the proposed transaction are TFG’s lifestyle fashion retail chains i.e. Totalsport, Sports Scene, Archive and Sneaker Factory.
      The target business is a South African retailer of branded lifestyle and sports-inspired “athleisure” footwear, apparel and accessories presently conducted under the business name “Street Fever”. Street Fever has stores across South Africa and its retail offering is also available online.

Vienna, Austria - Annually, 28 April is observed as both 'World Day for Safety and Health at Work' and 'International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers', which is why the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) chose that day to launch a new course, Occupational Safety and Health Aspects of Leather Manufacturing (OSHALM).

      Full details will be carried in the May issue of S&V African Leather later this week.
 

Morné Howell, Afro-Thai Imports
Trafalgar, KZN, SA - With the exception of one factory, all our winter stock is en route, or is here already. We have had to work hard to minimise the impact of CNY on deliveries and apart from COVID-related issues in certain areas, we are satisfied with how things have panned out.
      With regards to summer - we expect more inflationary pressure to bleed through to the market, with the US talking about further interest rate hikes, Rand weakness and ultimately pressure on end users. Core lines continue to do well and our focus continues to be around comfort, rather than fashion. At this stage we are holding on tight, but still enjoying the ride, although the road is a little dark (tx Eskom) and bumpy at times.

Adrian Maree, Corrida Shoes
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - Corrida’s start to the year has been better than 2022, and although it’s very early days for us for Summer, it looks like it will be very similar to last year which will be a very positive result.
 
Nas Kokoroyanis, Florsheim SA
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - It has been a hectic return to business in the New Year. Lots of queries, issues etc.
      We are fortunate that we traded well at retail, wholesale and online last year. This has put us in a good position for 2023. We have a 'new' brand, Nunn Bush by Florsheim, which has given us entrée into a new segment. This worked very well for us in 2022, and we foresee most of our forecasted growth coming from this brand.
      I believe the market to be very volatile with too many factors at play i.e. rising interest rates, load shedding, unemployment, etc. But, in saying that, every opportunity has to be grasped.

Fiona Borthwick, FSP Collection
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - Pleased to report that we have had a good run for summer with tourists pouring into South Africa, especially Cape Town.      We are expecting good sales for February and March 2023 with events like the Formula E happening. The build up around the stadium is very exciting and will draw big crowds.
      There is always a dip during the winter months but we keep ourselves busy manufacturing stock.
      We are up by almost 100% on this summer period versus last year but still a long way from pre-Covid figures.

Mike Farrer, Hi-Tec Sports Distributors
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - Trade for aw2023 is 15% up on last year and SS23 at this early stage, with a bit to do still, is flatlined. In the coming months we expect to grow slightly on SS22.
This is on the back of 25% average growth over the past 3 years.
We have had a good uptake in new markets in Africa which will fuel some future growth.
So we are extremely happy under difficult trading conditions of late.

Paul Hancock, Intobrands
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - FOB $ prices have increased by approximately 15% across all of our brands which, together with another 15% exchange rate deterioration, will put a lot of pressure on both RRPs and margins as we cannot pass the full price increase onto the consumers. We have consequently ordered lower volumes for the coming winter season.
      Summer sales have performed well and we are sold out in many key styles. We have recently landed some replacement stock but at higher prices which may impact on demand.

Michelle van Emmenes, Paris Belts
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - The bulk of AW23 has been completed and ready for markets and we are now working on SS23.  Sales have been good end last year and we just launched our 2023 range, adding some exciting new designs, and interim orders are looking positive.

Andrew Fenwick, Saddler Belts
Durban, KZN, SA - Our order book is about the same as last year. We thank those retailers who continue to support local manufacturers.

Goleta, Calif., Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Deckers Brands, which owns UGG (represented in SA by IntoBrands), HOKA (represented in SA by Ikhambi Distribution), Teva and Sanuk, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022. The Company also provided an update to its financial outlook for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.
      "Our brands delivered another stellar quarter, led by record results for both HOKA as well as our consolidated direct-to-consumer business," said Dave Powers, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The consistent strength of Deckers results thus far in fiscal year 2023, despite macroeconomic and currency headwinds, are the result of our brand marketplace management actions and dedication to long-term strategic priorities. We believe UGG and HOKA are two of the healthiest, well positioned brands in their respective markets, and with the strength of our operating model, Deckers is poised for continued success going forward."
      Third Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Review (Compared to the Same Period Last Year)
- Net sales increased 13.3% to $1.346 billion compared to $1.188 billion. On a constant currency basis, net sales increased 17.5%.
- Wholesale net sales increased 8.0% to $646.3 million compared to $598.4 million.
- Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) net sales increased 18.7% to $699.3 million compared to $589.4 million. Comparable DTC net sales increased 22.1%.
- Domestic net sales increased 13.9% to $906.8 million compared to $796.1 million.
- International net sales increased 12.1% to $438.8 million compared to $391.6 million.