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S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.6 No.46, Nov 16, 2020

This Newsletter is sponsored by SAFLIA

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

 

Business

South Africa

Destiny Footwear: Planning more capacity next year

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – After retrenching staff when factories first reopened, leather men's sandal and moccasin manufacturer Destiny Footwear has recovered to the extent that it is full until year end, sales manager Lloyd Naidoo said last week.
      "Destiny, being an already small scale manufacturer, shed 4 of its 10 staff, but has since taken on a few additional staff members until year end," he said. "We have already been working hard on our Winter 2021 range which will be launching early next year. Plans are in place to expand our production capacity and we are very optimistic for next year. We're hoping the demand will increase for locally manufactured goods, which will really help boost our local economy by creating jobs."

 

Bresan Footwear: Full - for now

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – Orders started picking up in mid-September for leather men's moccasin and stitchdown manufacturer Bresan Footwear, member Alistair Watt said.
      "That's very late, but I think retailers were nervous to place earlier. However, it's meant that we're now full, and battling to deliver on time. We moved into stitchdown manufacturing in July last year, and it's currently our main selling line.
      "I'm concerned about next year. I don't see the economy improving much. But we'll just have to wait and see."

 

 

Shoe Junxion: Difficult to know what to expect

Sasolburg, Free State, SA – Business was more-or-less the same as before the lockdown, director Kishor Mistry said.
      "You just have to keep on promoting, and you also have to be very careful about what you buy, because customers are looking for cheaper items.
      "We don't know what to expect from Black Friday."

 

Shoe Tech: Not sacrificing margin to chase turnover

Springs, Gauteng, SA – For the 1-store family footwear retailer, poor trading conditions were being exacerbated by a lack of direction, member Ayoob Seedat said.
      "Comfort is still quite good, but in fashion there's no direction, nothing that catches your eye when you look at what's on offer," he said. "Everything's a gamble."
      He said other problems included:
- Fewer functions like weddings and matric dances "which are quite important for us, but they're not happening right now".
- Consumers concentrating on a few brands. "I've never really gone for the expensive brands like Nike and Adidas, but that seems to be what's selling."
- Rentals remaining high, "so we're in the hands of mall management".
      In response, he said he was concentrating on styles which were less likely to date. He said he was also "losing a bit of capital" to keep up to date with suppliers.
      "One thing I won't do is sacrifice margin to chase turnover," he said. "For Black Friday, I might cut the prices of redundant stock, but I won't mark down new stock."
      "Overall, we have to rethink what we do. If we don't we might not be around in a year's time."

 

 

Knight's Shoes: Big brands have let us down

Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA – "For the first time in 51 year in business, I don't know what to do," said Chiman Harjeven, who's 4-store group trades as Knight's Shoes, City Fashions and Mr Man, covering family footwear, school uniforms and accessories, and men's outfitting.
      "I'm apprehensive about Black Friday, because the chains all around us have been discounting for a long time, and I don't know how much interest there will be in yet more discounting.
      "By this time of year, we normally have a lot of lay-byes to be collected for Christmas. This year that's way down."
      He said the 'second wave' of Covid infections had hit the coastal area between Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred very hard, and there appeared to be an attitude of indifference, especially among the young, with lots of curfew-breaking and partying.
      Although he had reduced his buy, "I've got plenty of stock - I have to have my core items, and also product to make my stores look interesting".
      He said he felt he - and other smaller retailers - had been let down by the big brands. "Challenges I can cope with," he said, "but I feel there has been tremendous disloyalty by them."
      Forecasting was impossible. "I think it was the CEO of Shoprite Checkers who said his crystal ball was cracked. That's the way I feel, too."

 

FLIC Trends forecast for Spring / Summer 2021

 

FLIC, through its research, has put together its trend review  for the Spring / Summer 2021 period covering both Men’s and Ladies' footwear. Pop onto our FLIC website www.flicsa.co.za and go onto the trend information area of the site. FLIC trusts this will prove to be of great value to the Design and Development teams of the South African footwear industry.

 

 

They Said It

"I was waiting for you to beg." - Afro Thai's Morné Howell, after my umpteenth request for his ad material (see above). And I did.

"Overwhelmed, to be honest." - Intobrands' Paul Hancock, in response to being asked how he was. Overwhelmed, however, in a good way.

 

"Ah yes changed for positive reasons as I have recently managed to get married  - it started off with around 100 people supposedly in July and ended up with 15 in October ….but at least before our latest lockdown when weddings are banned again!!" - SATRA's Christine Powley-Williams, now proudly Christine Anscombe, after I hesitantly asked her about the change of name on her emails. That's her with husband Stevie. No prizes for guessing HIS heritage!

 

Got anything you'd like to share?

Do you have any suggestions, comments or experiences about the lockdown that you'd like to share with the industry? We will publish the throughout the lockdown, so please let us know. - tony@svmag.co.za

 

 

Exchange rates

1. SA Rand (ZAR)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
2020/01/04 R15.97 R18.71 R14.31 R2.05
2020/01/11 R15.97 R18.76 R14.36 R2.07
2020/01/18 R16.04 R14.47 R14.47 R2.10
2020/01/25 R15.87 R18.82 R14.39 R2.07
2020/02/01 R16.54 R19.81 R15.00 R2.16
2020/02/08 R16.48 R19.41 R15.06 R2.15
2020/02/17 R16.16 R19.44 R14.90 R2.13
2020/02/22 R16.27 R19.43 R15.00 R2.13
2020/02/29 R17.27 R20.08 R15.66 R2.24
2020/03/07 R17.69 R20.44 R15.67 R2.26
2020/03/14 R18.04 R19.94 R16.25 R2.32
2020/03/21 R18.92 R20.50 R17.60 R2.48
2020/03/28 R19.63 R21.93 R17.61 R2.48
2020/04/04 R20.58 R23.37 R19.03 R2.68
2020/04/11 R19.70 R22.43 R18.01 R2.56
2020/04/18 R20.43 R23.49 R18.79 R2.65
2020/04/25 R20.59 R23.53 R19.02 R2.68
2020/04/30 R20.24 R23.27 R18.51 R2.62
2020/05/09 R19.89 R22.69 R18.29 R2.58
2020/05/16 R20.11 R22.49 R18.58 R2.61
2020/05/23 R19.24 R21.47 R17.64 R2.47
2020/05/30 R19.48 R21.67 R17.54 R2.45
2020/06/06 R18.93 R21.28 R16.77 R2.37
2020/06/13 R19.19 R21.39 R17.06 R2.40
2020/06/20 R19.37 R21.28 R17.25 R2.43
2020/06/27 R19.35 R21.28 R17.25 R2.43
2020/07/04 R19.14 R21.24 R17.01 R2.40
2020/07/11 R18.94 R21.16 R16.77 R2.39
2020/07/25 R19.39 R21.36 R16.64 R2.37
2020/08/01 R20.05 R22.28 R17.05 R2.44
2020/08/08 R20.78 R23.02 R17.63 R2.53
2020/08/15 R20.57 R23.73 R17.37 R2.49
2020/08/22 R20.23 R22.45 R17.15 R2.47
2020/08/29 R19.74 R22.14 R16.58 R2.41
2020/09/05 R19.66 R22.06 R16.61 R2.42
2020/09/12 R19.83 R21.42 R16.74 R2.45
2020/09/19 R19.32 R21.08 R16.32 R2.41
2020/09/26 R19.92 R21.81 R17.12 R2.50
2020/10/03 R19.39 R21.40 R16.55 R2.43
2020/10/10 R19.47 R21.48 R16.46 R2.45
2020/10/17 R19.40 R21.37 R16.55 R2.47
2020/10/26 R19.28 R21.22 R16.31 R2.43
2020/10/31 R18.91 R21.02 R16.23 R2.42
2020/11/07 R18.50 R20.50 R15.58 R2.35
2020/11/14 R18.34 R20.45 R15.50 R2.34

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

 


2. Botswana Pula (BWP)

Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
2020/10/31 13.31 14.78 11.42 1.70
2020/11/07 13.34 14.79 11.24 1.70
2020/11/14 13.20 14.72 11.15 1.68


3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)

Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
2020/10/31 877.57 975.10 752.96 112.50
2020/11/07 901.04 998.19 758.96 114.86
2020/11/14 899.50 1003.02 760.06 115.07


4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)

Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
2020/06/20 20.39 22.53 18.24 2.58
2020/06/27 20.48 22.52 18.25 2.57
2020/07/04 20.24 22.46 17.99 2.54
2020/07/11 20.54 22.94 18.17 2.59
2020/07/25 21.18 23.26 18.17 2.59
2020/08/01 21.55 23.95 18.31 2.66
2020/08/08 24.05 24.05 18.42 2.64
2020/08/15 22.08 24.40 18.64 2.68
2020/08/22 22.48 24.94 19.05 2.75
2020/08/29 23.33 26.16 19.60 2.85
2020/09/05 23.27 26.11 19.66 2.87
2020/09/12 23.66 25.56 19.97 2.92
2020/09/19 23.73 25.90 20.04 2.96
2020/09/26 23.26 25.48 20.00 2.93
2020/10/03 23.55 26.00 20.10 2.96
2020/10/10 23.85 26.31 20.16 3.01
2020/10/17 23.71 26.12 20.23 3.02
2020/10/26 23.96 26.38 20.28 3.02
2020/10/31 24.05 26.71 20.62 3.08
2020/11/07 24.40 27.03 20.55 3.10
2020/11/14 24.82 27.68 20.97 3.17



5. Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL$)

Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥ Official US$ Rate
2020/06/20 405.54 446.91 361.90 51.17  
2020/06/27 405.98 446.46 361.90 51.13  
2020/07/04 407.08 451.78 361.90 51.21  
2020/07/11 408.89 456.71 361.90 51.70  
2020/07/25 421.71 463.13 361.90 51.58  
2020/08/01 426.09 473.50 361.90 51.58  
2020/08/08 426.53 472.42 361.90 51.93  
2020/08/15 428.56 473.55 361.90 52.06  
2020/08/22 426.90 473.72 361.90 52.30  
2020/08/29 430.86 483.20 361.90 52.71  
2020/09/05 428.42 480.70 361.90 52.89  
2020/09/12 428.70 463.13 361.90 52.95  
2020/09/19 428.45 467.52 361.90 53.46 80.48
2020/09/26 421.04 461.12 361.90 53.04 81.49
2020/10/03 423.96 468.06 361.90 53.29 81.44
2020/10/10 428.11 472.14 361.90 54.06 80.12
2020/10/17 424.13 467.25 361.90 54.04 81.34
2020/10/26 427.91 471.32 361.90 54.02 81.34
2020/10/31 431.64 468.64 361.90 54.07 81.35
2020/11/07 429.60 476.06 361.90 54.74 81.67
2020/11/14 428.29 477.58 361.90 54.79 81.67

 

 

 

 

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (November 09, 2020) - The current average hide price increased by 1.7% to R2.20/kg from R2.16/kg green a week ago. The current price is 46.5% higher than the average price a month ago and is 27.8% higher than the average price a year ago. Industry players are receiving prices between R2.00/kg and R3.00/kg depending on the quality of the hide. The global hide market has seen an improvement in hide prices due to an improvement in the upholstery sector as people perform home improvements and home décor with a big push for leather upholstery.  Current demand for hides is exceeding the supply which is adding support to prices. Expectations among industry members is that prices will continue to see an improvement in the coming months until reaching a more sustainable level where prices will then likely hold. NB* Hide prices are determined by the average of the RMAA (Red Meat Abattoir Association) and independent companies. - Abrie Rautenbach, head Absa agribusiness, and Paige Bowen, agricultural economist, Absa group.

Hide & skin price progression
Date Hides/Kg Dorper/Skin Merino Skin
2020/01/03 1.38 35.00 46.67
2020/01/10 1.42 28.69 45.71
2020/01/17 1.35 30.74 45.71
2020/01/24 1.39 33.75 48.14
2020/02/07 1.36 33.47 47.50
2020/02/14 1.36 33.75 47.50
2020/02/21 1.32 33.75 47.50
2020/02/28 1.29 37.22 43.89
2020/03/06 1.29 36.50 43.50
2020/03/13 1.31 36.00 43.50
2020/03/27 0.93 37.22 48.33
2020/04/03 0.92 37.78 47.36
2020/04/10 0.89 35.63 42.22
2020/04/17 0.88 39.38 41.25
2020/04/24 0.89 33.82 43.33
2020/05/01 0.82 34.55 46.88
2020/05/08 0.82 32.10 43.33
2020/05/18 0.77 32.10 43.33
2020/05/22 0.72 26.54 40.00
2020/05/29 0.72 25.44 40.00
2020/06/05 0.70 23.65 40.00
2020/06/12 0.72 31.14 45.71
2020/06/19 0.69 23.62 43.13
2020/06/26 0.73 28.92 47.14
2020/07/03 0.67 23.58 43.13
2020/07/10 0.68 24.96 43.13
2020/07/17 0.61 28.83 45.00
2020/07/24 0.51 25.63 43.13
2020/07/31 0.57 25.19 43.13
2020/08/07 0.61 26.77 42.50
2020/08/14 0.58 28.57 43.57
2020/08/21 0.57 25.63 43.57
2020/08/28 0.59 27.88 43.57
2020/09/04 0.61 27.17 43.57
2020/09/11 0.67 27.48 43.57
2020/09/18 0.82 27.40 43.57
2020/09/25 1.36 28.57 43.57
2020/10/02 1.50 28.65 48.33
2020/10/09 1.83 28.28 48.86
2020/10/16 2.06 26.88 43.57
2020/10/23 2.16 30.39 48.33
Note: For previous prices, see HERE
 

  

16/11/1950: Len Crozier, retired, formerly leather technician, Bronkhorstspruit.
16/11/????: Sonal Ambaram, JFK Trading, Durban.
17/11/1953: Andy Sandison, retired, formerly ACA Threads, Cape Town.
17/11/1966: Robbert van Schagen, Paris Avenue Boutique, Windhoek.
17/11/1983: Gustav Nefdt, Martin Nefdt Agencies, Port Elizabeth, E Cape, SA.
18/11/1939: Frank Rosenberg, Leathermarc, Bloemfontein.
18/11/1954: Feroze Bhamjee, Piccadilly, Johannesburg.
19/11/1949: Kevin Cockcroft, Maloti Mountain Moccasins, Pietermaritzburg.
19/11/1958: Alan Fleetwood, Bolton Group, Cape Town.
19/11/1975: Kirsten Pillay, Isicebi Trading 1098 cc, East London.
19/11/19??: Johan Stumpf, left the industry, formerly KKI, Oudtshoorn.
20/11/1964: Jessica Han, Gutsy, Bloemfontein.
20/11/1987: Jonathan Colloty, ?, formerly Michelle Footwear, Durban.
20/11/19??: Vis Moodley, KwaZulu Shoe Co.
21/11/1950: JK Strydom, Werda Humansdorp Beleggings, Humansdorp.

 

In Memoriam this week

16/11/2018: Rosa Costa (b. 20/01/1932), formerly of the Superior Footwear Group, Harare.
19/11/2014: Allan Bell (b. 09/07/1926), Bata Kenya and Futura Footwear, in the UK.
19/11/2018: Michael Hiss (b. 03/10/1948), Chanti Belt/Michael Hiss Agencies, Durban.
20/11/1997: Christian Larkins (b. 01/07/51), Interchem, Cape Town.
21/11/2009: Terry Batchelor (b. 30/10/1942), Intershu, Johannesburg.
21/11/2016: Ronnie Jones (b. 19/11/1949), Apeco, Johannesburg.
22/11/1992: Jimmy Shankland, Angels Shoes [closed], Cape Town.
22/11/1994: Chris Claassen, Futura Footwear, Pinetown.

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:
Cosmo Fashions, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Men's outfitter.
Cosmo Footwear, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Footwear importer.

 


Classified Adverts




Fos Investments Seeks Agents

Durban-based shoe wholesaler and distributor Fos Investments cc seeks sales representatives for the following areas:

- Durban central - South Coast - Transkei - Ixopo - Kokstad.
- Durban North - North Coast - KZN Midlands - Northern KZN - Zululand - Swaziland.
- Limpopo - North West Province - Mpumalaga - Lesotho.
- Gauteng - Central Johannesburg.

Representatives are required to have their own vehicles - preferably be experienced - and be aged between 30 and 45.

Please reply to Judy with a detailed CV.

Email: accounts@fosinvestments.co.za. Tel: 031 569 6530

 




Contact us

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

Next newsletter: Nov 23, 2020.

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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