Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Temu has withdrawn counterfeit Hi-Tec products from its online catalogue following a ‘cease and desist’ letter on 02 September from Hi-Tec SA’s attorneys (parts of which were published in last week’s Newsletter). It has not, however, indicated how many pairs were sold, how many may still be in existence, or compensated Hi-Tec. Temu’s reply read:

As an online platform, Temu highly values and respects intellectual property rights and is eager to collaborate with right holders to combat against infringement. Temu operates as a passive platform, facilitating a marketplace where independent third-party merchants list and sell their products. Temu does not own, possess, use, produce, manufacture, or sell the products listed by the independent merchants, nor does Temu create or control the content of the listings.
After receiving your complaint, we carefully reviewed the enclosed information and removed the reported products. Furthermore, we are implementing reasonable measures to prevent the concerned products being relisted. While we, as a neutral platform, are not under general obligation to monitor content uploaded by third-party merchants, we are taking additional proactive steps to identify and remove listings that may potentially infringe your client's trademark rights in South Africa based on the information provided.
Temu remains committed to acting promptly and responsibly upon receiving notice of potentially infringing materials. If you identify any other potentially infringing materials in the future, Temu recommends you to use Temu IP Portal at https://www.temu.com/intellectual-property-complaint.html. The form is straightforward, and this portal ensures that Temu's professional IP team can handle such matters swiftly and efficiently.

Candidate attorney Phillip Theron of Strauss Daly inc. confirmed “the offending product listings” had been removed from the Temu platform.
Hi-Tec had registered its trademarks on Temu’s brand registry portal, and “going forward, any attempt by third-party sellers to upload new products under the Hi-Tec name or bearing the Hi-Tec logo should be flagged by Temu’s system and prevented from going live”, he wrote.
Because of its structure, Temu “does not track the number of units sold by individual sellers and cannot provide figures on how many units of the offending products may have been sold prior to their removal. Temu also does not assume liability for past sales by independent sellers unless compelled to do so by a competent authority.”
He added: “From a legal perspective, this means that while the Brand Registry will help prevent future infringements, the initial detection of infringing listings on Temu will still largely rely on our monitoring and reporting them as they arise. This model is consistent with how other large e-commerce platforms operate.
“Importantly, Hi-Tec’s legal rights and remedies have been fully reserved. Should Temu fail to comply with our demands or allow further unauthorised use of the Hi-Tec trademarks in future, we are entitled to pursue the appropriate legal remedies against the responsible sellers and, where appropriate, against Temu itself if it fails to act upon notice of infringement.” 

Milan, Italy – There were more than 100 visitors each from Nigeria and South Africa at Micam and Mipel, according to the organisers. The post-show report read: “Visitors came from 126 countries, with the strongest participation from Spain, Germany, France, Poland, China,

Japan, Nigeria, and South Africa”.

There were over 20 000 visitors, 57% from outside Italy.

In response to a request for more information about the African visitors, Micam communication manager Fabiana Tempestini wrote: “For privacy reasons, unfortunately, we cannot provide the list of exhibitors. However, all those coming from Africa were mainly retailers. As for

individual figures, we cannot share them; please note, though, that we consider the top countries visiting the exhibition [to be] those with over 100 attendees per country.”

Among the SA delegates were 5 selected by the Italian Trade Commission in Johannesburg and sponsored by the organisers to attend Micam and 1 to attend Mipel.

In the release, she said 2 Italian Government Ministers and a Senator had delivered messages pledging support for Italy’s fashion sector.

It was the 100th edition of the Micam footwear fair, and the 128th edition of the Mipel handbag and leather goods fair. 

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Hi-Tec SA is demanding unspecified damages from Temu, the handover of counterfeit merchandise, and the assurance that Temu will stop selling counterfeit Hi-Tec products in SA.

In a letter dated 02 September to Whaleco Inc., the U.S.-based company that operates Temu, Strauss Daly Inc., which represents Hi-Tec Sports Distributors (Pty) Ltd, said their clients demanded:
“…urgent interdictory relief to restrain any further use of its marks and to prevent the continued sale and distribution of infringing goods;
“…the delivery up of all infringing and counterfeit goods for destruction…;
“…damages in respect of the loss suffered…;
“…the immediate removal of infringing online listings, product pages and domains…” and
“…as the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods constitutes a criminal offence, our client is entitled to pursue criminal prosecution of the parties responsible…”

Further, they demanded that Temu “immediately cease and desist from all use of our clients’ registered Hi-Tec trademarks”, “remove and destroy all marketing materials, labels, signs, domain names, and other representations that might infringe on our clients’ registered Hi-Tec trademark”, and “provide us with a written assurance within 5 days of receipt of this letter that you have complied with the above demands”.

“We saw more and more product being loaded with a digital logo projection on items,” Hi-Tec SA CEO Gary de Vogel wrote. “Even cobranded Adidas and Hi-Tec!
“We did a test order and the duties were half what Hi-Tec pays.
“As they registered a local entity and warehouse, we decided to take action.” 

Geneva, Switzerland (04 September 2025) – Testing, inspection and certification company SGS will host a free webinar, ‘Footwear Comfort Evaluation and the SGS Performance Tested Mark’, on 23 September 2025.

This expert-led webinar will explore key market trends, industry challenges and practical solutions in footwear performance. Attendees will learn about advanced testing and evaluation methods and discover how the SGS Performance Tested Mark can substantiate claims, build consumer trust and create lasting competitive advantage.

Offered in two sessions, this webinar is for designers, technicians, quality assurance specialists, marketing teams and compliance managers across footwear brands, retailers and manufacturers. register here 

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Retail in South Africa is not for the faint-hearted. Retailers across the country have felt the strain — from potholes that go unrepaired, to water outages in our homes and in the shopping centres where we operate, to the load shedding that still lingers in outlying areas of the country. Every day brings a new corruption scandal, with the spotlight firmly on our president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and his cadre, supporting policies that don’t serve South Africans, while aligning with regimes like Iran. Many of us look at our government, the corruption, and the weight of global economic shifts and wonder where hope lies.

And yet, South Africans know how to survive.

This past season has felt long, cold, and challenging — in business and in life. But now, as September arrives, so too does spring. A time of fresh beginnings. A reminder that no matter how harsh the conditions, new growth is always possible.

For us in retail, this change of season couldn’t be more symbolic. It’s an opportunity to launch new promotions, to refresh our stores, to inspire our teams, and to remind ourselves why we do what we do. It’s not that retail is dwindling — far from it. What’s dwindling is the stability of our economy. But within that, our stores remain places of energy, resilience, and community.

The truth is that retail everywhere in the world is tough right now. Botswana’s diamond decline has left government workers unpaid, and many other territories face similar economic struggles. But what makes South Africa unique is our ability to create light in the darkest times.

That light is what we encourage those around us to carry. It’s deeply symbolic in my community. It teaches us to show by doing the small acts of kindness we extend to staff and customers. Supporting charities that need our help. It’s there when we encourage our teams to close one more sale, to go the extra mile, to stay creative and not get stuck in old ways. It’s there when we choose not to let the weight of the economy define us, but instead define ourselves by the energy, optimism, and resilience we bring to our businesses each day.

Spring reminds us that new things can bloom, even in difficult soil.

So, as we step into this new season, let’s choose to count our blessings, to continue to build and to shine a little brighter in the face of the challenges. Because while the economy may be failing thanks to the ANC, our spirit as retailers — and as South Africans — does not have to.