Pretoria, Gauteng, SA - The National Consumer Commission (NCC) is asking CTFL sector importers to attend 'engagement sessions' in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town to discuss the compliance of their products with the Consumer Protection Act.
      The sessions will be on 15 February in Pretoria, 17 February in Durban and 24 February in Cape Town.
      In an email from NCC senior research Shaheen Buckus, the NCC said the the objectives of the engagement sessions were:
      "To raise awareness of relevant section/s of the Consumer Protection Act when importing goods into South Africa
      "To determine the challenges associated with complying with the relevant provision/s pertaining to importing goods into South Africa
      "To determine if the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are administratively burdensome and what can be done to reduce any burden.
              "Importers are encouraged to attend the sessions as it will assist the NCC in enhancing the ease of doing business if there any obstacles that are identified."
      Importers are requested to confirm their attendance via email by 01 February - Wednesday this week - to Sindie Kenny: s.kenny@thencc.org.za.
      The Pretoria meeting will be at the SABS, 1 Dr Lategan Rd, Groenkloof. Durban and Cape Town venues will be confirmed.
      For any other queries, contact Buckus at S.Buckus@thencc.org.za.

Michael Wyatt, Country Manager, Bata South Africa
Pinetown, KZN, SA - Overall Back To School was extremely successful from a manufacturing, distribution, and retail perspective. We saw double-digit growth vs. plans, and a strong January top-up demand despite 2022’s inflationary pressure on raw material costs and gross margin. The majority of retailers will only provide full Back To School feedback come to the end of January, but from those we have aligned with already, the report is that sell-out has been great in both Bata leather and synthetic collections.

Rajeev Pattundeen, MD, Palm Footwear
Durban, KZN, SA - Back to school was very good.
      We are again tracking 2019 volumes.
      Margins are under pressure; we remain grateful to our partners who continue to demonstrate confidence in us as a business.
      It was a very tough year and we are still recovering from the floods of April 2022. Our family at the plant worked through the devastation and again have proven their mettle in dealing with disaster which we have become accustomed to in KZN.
      Their dedication cannot slip by unnoticed.
        Thankfully, we planned well; the requisite inventory levels were maintained throughout back-to-school, enabling us to service our retailers to their expectations and beyond. Cash flow is reality, our customers have not let us down. We envisage a challenging year; our team will show up, that’s for sure.


Idris Pandor, director, Gem Schoolwear
Sales have definitely been much better than the last 2 years.
      Issues with supply? Shoe manufacturers and wholesalers have run out of a size or two.
      Bag manufacturers ...very few reliable ones, and trying to get stock out of them is a challenge. They either have capacity issues or are underfunded businesses, together with poor planning. It's really stressing us out.
      Trying to get stock of a PDR tracksuit is also challenging... it goes back to sourcing of yarn, capacity, buying generators and lastly labour.
      We stock the following school shoe brands:  Bata, Step on Step, Green Cross, Froggie, Elefante, Grasshopper, Buccaneers, some Tuff Beat and Hush Puppies ... most have moved on to synthetics.
      Payments? Keeping a tight ship helps steer us financially. Take your eye of the ball and you could be collecting up to June and at times beyond!!!

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA (23 January 2023) - In a SENS announcement, The Foschini Group repeated the announcement it made via the financial press in December that it has bought Port Elizabeth-based sport fashion chain Street Fever. It will rename most of the stores under its own brand, Sneaker Factory, and convert remaining stores to other TFG brands.
      The announcement also said: Shareholders of TFG are advised that the Group, through its value athletic and leisure footwear retail brand, Sneaker Factory, has entered into an agreement to acquire Street Fever, an independent retailer of affordable branded footwear and apparel.
      The Acquisition will allow TFG to scale up its presence in the value branded footwear segment and gain new customers while offering them greater choice of brands and products through TFG's sourcing capability.
      Implementation of the Acquisition is subject to the fulfilment of conditions precedent normal for a transaction of this nature, including approval by the relevant Competition Authorities.
      On completion of the Acquisition, the 114 Street Fever stores, their leases, and store-related staff will be taken over by TFG, with approximately 90 of these earmarked to be rebranded as Sneaker Factory stores. The remainder, which are located where Sneaker Factory outlets are already in close proximity, will be taken up by other TFG brands.

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - The Foschini Group (TFG), which had been identified as the interested party by several sources close to negotiations between the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and potential buyers of clothing manufacturer Celrose and its footwear manufacturing subsidiary, Eddels Footwear, is NOT buying Celrose, TFG said on Friday.

      "Celrose is a very important strategic supplier to most of the larger retailers," TFG said. "TFG is not in the process of acquiring Celrose, but continues to work very closely with them as well as with other strategic suppliers, during a challenging period for the South African clothing industry."

      Sources have said that during months-long negotiations, TFG was interested in acquiring Celrose, but did not want Eddels.
      Caralli Footwear (Pty) Ltd was last week confirmed to be negotiating to buy Eddels, but on Friday its parent, B&B Media, didn't respond to a request for an update. Last week it said it expected "clarity" towards the end of this month.
      IDC head of corporate affairs Tshepo Ramodibe said the IDC would only comment "once there are developments or clarity on this delicate matter".

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Hitherto little known top end manufacturer Caralli Footwear (Pty) Ltd is the company negotiating with the Industrial Development Corporation to buy Eddels Footwear.
      Caralli is wholly owned by B&B Media, which is also the major shareholder in Buka Investments, a holding company in the process of being listed on the AltX, the parallel stock exchange for small and medium-sized companies owned by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
      Werner Grobbelaar, group financial manager of B&B Media, who confirmed the above information last week. said negotiations had been taking place since August last year, "and although the process is quite advanced we are not in a position to engage in a discussion around the transaction.  I can however confirm that  towards the end of this month we should have clarity on the agreements and the way forward."
      On its website, Buka describes itself as "bringing quality fashion to aspiring customers in South Africa and beyond". It also bought Socrati Footwear mini-chain in July last year.
      Eddels CEO John Comley sent a letter to staff on Wednesday in which he said the primary reason for the sale was to return the company to profitability. He said Caralli wanted to retain key staff and "existing stakeholders", but that "if the sale is successful, the potential buyer may in due course, and if necessary, relocate the business to Johannesburg".
      More in the January issue of S&V Footwear and Leather Goods, out later this week.