Publisher of leading trade magazines for the Footwear, Leather-goods, Leather & PPE industries
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S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.5 No.17, April 29, 2019

This Newsletter is sponsored by SAFLIA

LET'S MAKE 2019 A REALLY GOOD YEAR!

Please note: Click on any ad to go to the advertiser’s website

 

Retail last week

Comment from 5 retailers on Saturday
"Slow. It's been a difficult month. There was a bit happening in March." - MH Abdulla, proprietor, Casual Affair, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA. Men's outfitter, 1 store.

"It was a quiet Easter. January and February were quiet, and February was surprisingly worse than January. There was a bit of a pickup in March." - Yusuf Ahmed, director, S&Y Clothing t/a Casual Affair, Secunda, Mpumalanga, SA. Independent, 2 stores, family outfitter.

"We're about 10% down on last year. It's been quiet this week. March was better than January and February, which were unusually quiet. We expected Easter to improve, but it didn't. I hope after the elections that things normalise." - Rafique Vahed, proprietor, Casual Boyz/Fashion Extreme, Estcourt, KZN, SA. Independent, 2 stores, men's outfitter.

"It's been fairly quiet. Retail is in a bit of a dip at the moment. We cater for the middle class, which is taking strain. The year to date has been much the same." - Moffat Zwane, member, Cavallo, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA. Independent, 3 stores, men's boutique.

"Last week was a bit slow because of the weather and the holidays, which is something we always experience in April. However the year so far has been quite good. We recognised that there is business out there - you just have to be in the right place at the right time. We've been more aggressive, and we now stock PPE from A to Z, although safety footwear is still a big part of the business and remains a draw card, because people understand it." - Craig Dorasamy, member, CGA Agencies, Pinetown, KZN, SA. Independent, 1 outlet, PPE reseller.

 

 

Competition Tribunal grants ostrich companies access to confidential information

By Gillian de Gouveia, communications officer, Competition Tribunal
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (April 25)– The Tribunal has ordered that expert economic advisors and lawyers -- representing three companies (the merging parties) involved in the supply of ostrich meat – must be given access to confidential information which was used and relied on by the Competition Commission (the Commission) to prohibit a merger involving their clients.
       The information was supplied to the Commission by EES Millenery (Pty) Ltd (EES Millenery), Charles Gibbs N.O (trustee of Classic Trusts) and Lewitton Industrial Corporation CC (Lewitton) during the investigation of the merger. However, EES Millenery and Lewitton claimed confidentiality over the information.
       On 20 December 2018, the Commission prohibited the merger between the ostrich meat companies (Klein Karoo International (Pty) Ltd; Mosstrich (Pty) Ltd; and Cape Karoo (Pty) Ltd). On 22 January 2019, the companies approached the Tribunal for the merger prohibition to be reconsidered. They want the Tribunal to approve the merger without conditions.
       The Commission prohibited the merger on the basis that it would result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for the supply of ostrich meat. The Commission also found that the merging parties would have the ability and incentive to foreclose the downstream ostrich feather market.
       However, the merging parties argue that the Commission erred in its market definition in respect of ostrich meat -- and erred in its finding that they would foreclose the downstream ostrich feather market.        The companies, which initially raised concerns over the proposed merger, did not attend the Tribunal proceedings to formally oppose the application for access to the confidential information. Their legal representatives were also not present.
       The Tribunal has ordered that the Commission must provide the full version of the confidential merger report to the lawyers and economic experts within five days. The Commission must also provide access to the submissions made by EES Millenery and Lewitton, which raised concerns about the merger.
       Charles Biggs N.O. had also made a submission but the Commission said it did not rely on it when considering the proposed merger. The ostrich meat companies therefore withdrew their application to access information provided by Charles Biggs N.O.

 

 

US footwear imports down as China’s shipments fall 9%

The value of U.S. footwear imports declined from China, Mexico and Germany in the first two months of the year, while all the other countries among the top 10 suppliers posted increases, according to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). Footwear imports from China fell 9% to $2.43 billion this year. - https://sourcingjournal.com/

 

 

Fusion/African Gameskin showroom

By Denzil Spolander, Fusion Leather and African Gameskin
Fusion Leather World and its associate company African Gameskin have opened a warehouse in Westmead, KZN following the International trend of offering speed to market and off the shelf convenience to local footwear, handbag and furniture designers, creative’s and manufacturers.
         The future of manufacture in RSA is in the hands of the millennials, where creativity and access to raw materials needs to be fast, efficient and on trend. This encouraged us to offer an ex stock opportunity to our customers in KZN, in much the same way as we have been servicing the Cape Town market for the past 20 years.
       The Fusion range will include full grain and suede leather in a variety of colours and finishes, with fresh new colours added with the changing times and trends. African Gameskin offers furniture manufacturers, designers and decorators a range of hair on hides in metallic and stencilled prints/patterns, along with the traditional offerings reminiscent of the continent on which we are privileged to call home.
       The face of the industry has changed from long lead times and money tied up in stock to 'just in time' and 'buy what you need'. We listen to our customers and do our best to give them what they need when they need it.
       Our aim is to make our new home of leather supply a welcoming space for our present and new customers, creatives and designers, appreciating the future of our industry is in their hands. 

 

 

They Said It

"The only reason the newsletter went out so early this morning was due to my inability to continue to resist the urge to go to the toilet. When I discovered it was 6 am, I was confronted with a conundrum. Either go back to bed for an additional hour's sleep before having to get up again at 7am, or to send the newsletter there and then and then return to bed. I dutifully dragged myself to the office and fired up the PC, nearly blinding myself from the glare of the monitor as it radiated its snow blinding, arc eye inflicting nastiness at me as I sat slumped before it in the dark gloom of the office at such an ungodly hour. The wait for the PC to complete its boot-up was excruciating as I patiently waited, head hung half asleep. I occasionally glimpsed through the gaps in my cupped fingers covering my eyes, not wanting to risk a light inflicted jolt to my circadian rhythm, to check on the progress of the boot-up. Finally able to access the mailing programme I hit process queue button to launch the newsletter on its merry way and waited until the first few batches had been sent, confident that everything was running okay. I then dragged myself back to bed and remained there, sleeping till about 9am when I crawled out of bed. Moral of the story being don't get to excited about the newsletter going out early this morning, it was either that or wet the bed." - S&V's IT man, Jonathan Commons, who has had to change the habits of a lifetime to send out our publications at 7 a.m. Or earlier, in this case. I had suggested he was loving discovering the joys of early morning birdsong.

 

 

SLTC Convention Countdown: Just 3 weeks to go

The convention will take place from May 17-19 at Green Leaves Country Lodge & Venue in the Magalies Mountains.
To book, please contact SLTC secretary Nicola Phipps at nphipps@telkomsa.net.

 

S&V Directory - Order now

The directory is ready. On sale for R450. The online version is also available at R450 for 12 months' access.

 

2019 Trade Fairs Another essential service from S&V

Please note that we have put a list of the 2019 trade fairs and conferences on our website, linked to their websites: http://www.svmag.co.za/events

 

 

Exchange rates

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
05/01/2019 R15.94 R17.79 R13.99 R2.03
12/01/2019 R15.86 R17.76 R13.83 R2.04
19/01/2019 R15.76 R17.85 R13.87 R2.04
26/01/2019 R15.52 R17.97 R13.60 R2.01
02/02/2019 R15.26 R17.42 R13.32 R1.97
09/02/2019 R15.46 R17.66 R13.65 R2.02
16/02/2019 R15.90 R18.15 R14.09 R2.08
23/02/2019 R15.90 R18.32 R14.04 R2.09
02/03/2019 R16.17 R18.77 R14.22 R2.12
09/03/2019 R16.22 R18.79 R14.43 R2.14
16/03/2019 R16.31 R19.15 R14.40 R2.14
25/03/2019 R16.31 R19.02 R14.42 R2.14
30/03/2019 R16.26 R18.90 R14.49 R2.15
06/04/2019 R15.80 R18.36 R14.09 R2.09
13/04/2019 R15.76 R18.24 R13.95 R2.08
20/04/2019 R15.86 R18.33 R14.10 R2.10
27/04/2019 R16.03 R18.56 R14.37 R2.13
Note: For previous rates, see HERE

 

 

 

 

ABSA Agri Trends 26/04: Hides & skins prices

Bovine: The average hide price over the past week was R1.49/kg green. NB* Hide prices are determined by the average of the RMAA (Red Meat Abattoir Association) and independent companies. Sheep skins: Dorper R32.50/skin

Hide & skin price progression
Date Hides/Kg Dorper/Skin Merino Skin
18/01 3.94 33.75 81.67
25/01 2.89 31.11 92.78
01/02 2.83 30.63 87.50
05/02 2.53    
13/02 2.95    
15/02 2.95 25.83 62.01
19/02 2.01    
22/02 2.00 31.88 49.21
26/02 2.04    
01/03 2.04 30.00 45.21
14/03 1.63    
20/03 1.60    
27/03 1.67    
10/04 1.68    
24/04 1.78    
For previous prices, see HERE
 

  

29/04/1951: Elizabeth Loubser, retired, formerly Bolton Group, Great Brak River.
29/04/1980: Mark Fraser, Claw Boots International, Johannesburg.
30/04/1946: Willi Angeloch, retired, formerly Nakara, Windhoek.
30/04/1959: Gustav Franzsen, Vinaco, Cape Town.
30/04/1964: Hayley Roberts (nee Caro), Mr Price, Durban.
30/04/1985: Gert Bosch, TST Agencies, Cape Town.
01/05/1932: George Wilkens, retired, formerly Martin Johnson [closed], Pietermaritzburg.
01/05/1960: Patience Zikalala, Edcon.
01/05/1961: Ronell Nieuwoudt, Suzi Q, Phalaborwa.
01/05/1962: Tanya Vosloo, Greystone Trading 387, Cape Town.
02/05/1956: Dave Robertson, emigrated, formerly Bushy Marketing, Pinetown.
03/05/1949: Sam Wells, Malome Leather Technologies, Boksburg.
03/05/1951: Ron Rink, retired, formerly Puma, Cape Town.
03/05/1953: Alex Leith, left the industry, Durban.
03/05/1964: Rafique Vahed, Casual Boyz, Estcourt.
03/05/1972: Afzal Deedat, Speed Zipper Durban.
04/05/1940: Isaac James, retired, formerly Step High Shoe Boutique, Cape Town.
05/05/1967: Vernon Lotter, Comfy Feet Shoes, Jeffery’s Bay.

 

In Memoriam this week

30/04/2012: Ebrahim Aboo (b. 07/08/1948), MG Shoes [closed], Pietermaritzburg.
05/05/2001: Raj Kallichurum (b. 23/02/1954), Shoe Component Supplies, KwaDukuza.

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.

 

Have a look at these links

We invite businesses to send us links to websites, Facebook pages and the like which they feel would be of interest to others. The links below are from our database:
Apollo Brands, distributor of Under Armour, Cape Town, W Cape, SA: https://apollo-brands-south-africa.business.site/
Bash, distributor of Birkenstock, Cape Town, W Cape, SA: https://www.bashafrica.com/

 


Classified Adverts

 




Representation in UK

Tom Marcus, formerly of Tholanizikhumba Trading in Pietermaritzburg and now resident in the UK, is offering representation in the U.K. - tom.marcus@btinternet.com




  

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: May 6, 2019.

SAFLIA enquiries: Tel 0800SAFLIA * Email info@saflia.co.za * Website http://www.saflia.co.za

Should you wish to subscribe email tony@svmag.co.za
Our website www.svmag.co.za

 

 

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