Retailability's decision to relocate Edgars' head office in December from Johannesburg to Durban was contrary to a promise made to staff and has left about 60% Edgars' merchandise staff without employment, sources said on condition of anonymity.
      In the case of the footwear department, it is understood that out of a team of 18 buyers and planners, 3 moved. "The rest have lives and responsibilities in Johannesburg. Relocating wasn't a realistic option," one source said.
      "Retailability decided on 30 November to move Edgars' head office to KZN, 3 months after the takeover. Originally, the agreement was that such a move wouldn't happen for between 6 and 12 months."
      "The reason they gave us was that the business hadn't turned around - which is unreasonable, I think, after it had been in business rescue for months.
      "Head office staff could have contested the decision, but we decided instead to accept a package."
      Retailability CEO Norman Drieselmann didn't respond to requests for comment.
      Retailability has appointed Hayley Roberts and Mellissa Edwards as heads of footwear buying and planning respectively. Tania Deyzel and Yolande Dicks are buyer and planner respectively of women's private label footwear, Lesley Williamson and Claire Trollope are buyer and planner respectively of women's branded footwear, Dion Smith, Giulia Evelyn and Dhaveshandra Naidoo are buyer, planner and allocator respectively of men's private label footwear and Geoff Butcher is buyer and planner of men's branded footwear.
      The Competition Tribunal last September approved, with employment conditions, Retailability's purchase of Edgars.
      "The Tribunal has approved the transaction on condition that the merger parties shall not retrench any employees on account of the merger for a period of 3 years from the merger implementation date. In addition, the acquiring firm will give preference to any former Edcon employees should vacancies arise within 3 years of the merger implementation date."
      "The Commission, in its assessment, was of the view that the transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition. In addition, it found that the merger will result in 5200 jobs being saved."

By Kim Dreyer-Tré, director. 1 store, comfort footwear specialist.
Windhoek – We finished renovating towards the end of 2019, and the building and expansion were unfortunately disruptive for staff and customers alike. So we are very grateful that there has been an overall growth relative to December 2019.
        Green Cross sales were down, as like most businesses they have experienced supply chain issues, and the unavailability and delay in summer styles have influenced sales. And school shoe sales were very depressed due to home schooling.
         Froggies sales are slightly better, but some styles had to be cancelled due to insufficient leather, which has also had a dampening effect. And orders for summer placed in July were only delivered at the end of November. It starts getting warm in Namibia towards the end of August already. So we had plenty of customers looking for new styles, which were not yet available.
         There has been a shift to more affordable lines, with customers more focused on their budgets.
         Belt sales are down, and we think people have been trying to make items last a little longer before dipping into their pockets for a new item.
         Overall, fortunately, it better than we expected.
        We have looked at margins on products, increased ranges, reviewed our layout, bumped up our marketing, extended our trading hours, and tried our best to keep staff motivated and positive. If someone came up with an idea, and it seemed practical, we have literally given it a go. Our team has worked very hard to be innovative, improve service, knowledge and delivery.
        We are eternally hopeful that it will be better than last January, but only time will tell.
 

By Herbert Schier, member. Manufacturer and retailer.
Swakopmund – By comparison we had similar sales as 2019 and did expect the same, as our veldskoen is popular amongst locals and visitors.
      We always try to make our product affordable. Our retail prices were increased in August by about 5%.
      We had hoped that our Government would reduce VAT from 15% to 12%, but this did not happen.
      So for January all will stay the same. We hope sales will pick up later in the year.

East London, E. Cape – Jay Dhaya, member of 1-store men's outfitter Dhaya Investments cc, t/a Oasis Outfitters, said it has so far been "a very different Christmas".
      "We've sold a lot more smaller items," he said, "like T-shirts, flip flops and shoes generally.
      "Specifically, we've done well with Polo T-shirts and Palladium shoes. Also, because it appears Pringle will no longer be available, people who normally buy a Pringle shirt have bought 2 or 3 more.
      "Suits, on the other hand, have been much slower. It's been more of a casual Christmas."
      He said Oasis didn't normally have New Year sales.
      He said had had bought "more cautiously" for winter. "A lot of the suppliers - shoes as well a clothes - have shown smaller winter ranges, "and we would prefer to buy smaller quantities at a time. There's been a trend among suppliers to try to sell to us via Zoom meetings, which really isn't ideal."
      However, he said Oasis itself would have to consider offering online sales.
      "It's impossible to predict what will happen, and that also depends on how people behave."

Bloemfontein, Free State – Gavin Frances, director of 7-store men's outfitter Valortrade 150 (Pty) Ltd, t/a Madison's and B&B Trading, said it has been "a much better Christmas" than last year.
      "Black Friday this year was poor, and I think it was the same for most retailers. We did about 60% of last year's Black Friday turnover. I think consumers just didn't want to go into crowded shops.
      "December, however, has been consistent from day 1."
      He said Madison's had bought very carefully, but in depth.
      "We were more focused, and we didn't take chances. What we bought, sold, and we had the stock so we didn't have to turn customers away."
      He said the business had sufficient stock for January. "We won't be able to rely on back-to-school sales for most of the month, because the schools are going back late, but our expectation is that overall January sales will be 10% to 15% better than January 2020.
      "Of course, things can change. Holidaymakers returning home may bring a surge in infections. But I believe the potential is there for a good month."