S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 43, Oct 29, 2018

This Newsletter is sponsored by SAFLIA

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Stats SA: Retail sales climbing

Pretoria (SA) – Statistics SA said retail sales rose 2.5% year-on-year in August, according to a report in eNCA, which said the main contributors to growth were retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods.
       Some chains agreed that sales have been improving, but mini-chains and independents spoken to said they had not yet experienced a recovery.
       Foschini Group CEO Anthony Thunström said he couldn't comment in any detail as TFG is in a closed period, "however yes, I do think the reported numbers are credible".
       Rui Abreu, head of luggage at The New House of Busby, said August had been "the first month in almost a year" where there had been an increase in the sales of leather goods, and footwear sales had also been positive. He said the Statistics SA figures "might be a little conservative".
       "Our own sales definitely reflect that," said Paulo da Silva, director and men's and footwear buyer at Eagle Clothing and Clothing City. "September and October have been good. November will be quiet until Black Friday, and the first 2 weeks of December will be quiet following Black Friday."
       Mike Levi, managing member of Hepworth's and Mike's Outfitters, said August sales had "probably level-pegged", and that September and October had been much the same. "It's been a very tough year, one day good, one day bad. If there hasn't actually been a decrease, year-on-year, that's been good news." He said Black Friday had been good last year, and he hoped for the same this year.

Treasury says footwear tender is imminent

Pretoria (SA) – The National Treasury's media unit says the RT59-2018 tender for footwear for the State, which should have been awarded in February or March, will be awarded before year end. In a statement, it said:
1. Please note that the evaluation of the above-mentioned bid (RT59-2018) is underway and is almost complete. The National Treasury expects to finalise the evaluation process during the months of October and November 2018. The new contract is expected to commence on 1 December 2018.

2. During the extension of the contract, service providers were requested to indicate in a case where the acceptance of the extension is accepted with price adjustments for the remainder of the contract. Contractors were expected to provide the National Treasury with supporting documentation to substantiate the price adjustment.  

Openings

Johannesburg (SA) – John Craig has climbed to 101 stores, marketing manager Nicole van Donnick said. "We opened a store in Stanger in September, which is doing well. We are opening this week in Thulamash and Acornhoek - two new centres in Hazyview area. We will be opening Centurion Mall 21 November as well as Mall of the South and Mamelodi Mall all on the same day and then in December in Matatiele. The business is trading well and our performance is looking strong - we are excited about the store openings still planned on this side of the year."

Cape Town (SA) – Isabelle Steiger of Think! Shoes SA will be opening her fourth store on November 29 in Bellville Village Square, Durbanville. Her other stores are in Lifestyle on Kloof, Willowbridge Centre, Tyger Valley, and Shop in Shop at Lunar Clothing, Milpark, Johannesburg

Bag manufacturer wins export awards

Cape Town (SA) – Designer handbag manufacturer Research Unit became the first company at the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Exporter of the Year competition to win four awards this month.
       Research Unit was the overall winner of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation/Cape Chamber award, also winning the Transnet Port Terminals award for manufacturing, the small exporter category and the innovation award. - http://www.ftwonline.co.za/

Send us the links

We renew our invitation to send us links to websites, Facebook pages and the like which readers feel are of interest to others. These websites are from our database:
African Gameskin Group, Cape Town, SA: http://www.africasoulfootwear.com/ African Leather & Skins, Paarl, SA: http://www.africanleather.co.za/

They Said It

"It's interesting how they simply side step your request for reasons for the delay." - A footwear manufacturer on Treasury's response to queries about the footwear tender (see above). I had asked them why the tender had been delayed for 9 months.

Exchange rates

Source: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator/

30/10/1939: Peter Boudewijns, retired, formerly Badger Footwear [closed], Port Elizabeth.
30/10/1977: Julie Gabriel, company?, Cape Town.
31/10/19??: Ofer Ardenbaum, formerly Tiago Trading [closed],
31/10/1961: Deidre Harte, LTE, Cape Town.
01/11/19??: Bob Brown, Crown Footwear, Pinetown.
01/11/1940: Innes Rhind, retired, formerly Crispin Industries, Botswana [closed].
01/11/1942: Laurence Smith, PMC Components, Cape Town.
01/11/1957: Anthony le Roux, Agussi Crafts, Franschhoek.
02/11/1934: Hawa Shaikh, formerly Amshu Distributors, closed, Greytown.
02/11/1936: Alastair Gardner, retired, formerly Panther Shoes [closed], Cape Town.
02/11/1962: Jan Morgan, Morgan Hides, Pretoria.
03/11/1976: Voden Wearne, Apeco, Cape Town.
03/11/1979: Orian Mendes, Shuler Enterprises, Harare.
04/11/1962: Philip A Carstens, Carstens’ Orthotic Laboratories, Durbanville.

In Memoriam this week

30/10/2001: David Cairns (BASF SA).
03/11/2007: Ahmed ‘Bull’ Patel, hand stitching CMT operator, Greytown.
03/11/2010: Grahame Steele (b. 17/04/1929), Budget Footwear [closed], Durban.
04/11/1998: Roy Schefermann, Futura Footwear.

Have you let us know about your birthday, or the birthdays of your colleagues? Our readers love this section, so please become part of it. This also applies to the In Memoriam section. Help us remember former colleagues.

ABSA Agri Trends 12/10: Hides & skins prices

Whilst the better grades find a place in the market; the lower grade materials have not yet found a price point. Overall, the hide market sentiment remains bearish, in line with the weak international hide market. The average hide price over the past week was R5.00/kg green. NB* Hide prices are determined by the average of the RMAA (Red Meat Abattoir Association) and independent companies. The average price for Dorper skins was R30.56, and for Merino skins was R95.00.

Upcoming Trade Fairs

The SLTC 2019 Conference will be held on April 27 at the Park Inn, Northampton. See our website for details.

For a list of local and international trade fairs covering footwear, leather goods, leather and PPE, visit our website: http://www.svmag.co.za/events.php

Classified Adverts

Top safety brand seeks consultant

Safety Footwear consultant required to work on a consultancy basis with existing business. Must have knowledge of NRCS approvals process.
admin@barglobal.co.za

In need of a boardroom?

SAFLEC, situated at 6 Stedman Mews, 128 Jan Hofmeyr Road, Westville, has a boardroom for hire.
       It seats up to 12 people around a table, and has space to add up to 15 more chairs in the room. You are welcome to view the room before hiring.
       For more information, please contact Louise on 031 266 1473 or louise@saflec.co.za.
We look forward to being of service.

Contact us

News & Classifieds: Tony Dickson, +27 (0)31 209 7505, tony@svmag.co.za

Next newsletter: November 5, 2018.

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