S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.8 No.28, July 11 2022

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Retail

This week the interviews were with retailers in Limpopo, again an area dependent on mining and agriculture.

Mostly it's about keeping heads above water

Polokwane (Pietersburg), Limpopo, SA - Load shedding is making trading very difficult, Ma Gents director Aniz Omar said. "We're only able to trade for 4 hours a day," he said. "Today, we were off from 9 to 11, and we're expecting to be off again from 4 to 5."
      Ma Gents' response has been to offer more specials, promote itself on Facebook and Instagram ("Facebook is more effective here."), and buy more basics.
      "People here look at social media, but they mostly prefer to come to the store to actually buy. We do offer to deliver where people want that.
      "We're buying more product that won't date - when times get better, we'll look at more fashion again. In the meantime, let's hope for a better future."

Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, SA - While trading has been tough, consumers still want and need higher end apparel and sports goods, said Iqbal Mahomed, member of A.V. Mahomed & Sons cc, which has 2 outlets, McCoy's Outfitters and Playboy Sports. A third store, which sold groceries and hardware, closed earlier this year.
      "Load shedding is a big problem, and it's a long-term problem," he said.
      "The sports store battled during the lockdowns, and it's still not doing as well as it should be doing," he said, "but it's definitely much better than it was." Playboy carries both sport leisure - especially footwear - and technical apparel, footwear and equipment for a wide range of sports, including soccer and rugby, running, tennis, table tennis, pool and golf .
      McCoy's is a destination store for branded apparel, particularly formal.
      "As a retailer, you can't hold back on your buy," he said. "No-one carries stock anymore, so if you don't buy, you don't get."

Polokwane (Pietersburg), Limpopo, SA - "Business is a rollercoaster," said Yahya Tayob, managing member of family outfitter Ahmed Tayob. "Month end is busy, the 15th is busy, the 25th, when government employees are paid, is busy, but generally business is 10-15% down on pre-Covid."
      His business's response has been "to stock basics, offer good service, and do more advertising on social media".
      "We're definitely buying down," he said.

Trade Fairs

'Positive turnout' for Securex, A-OSH Expo, Facilities Management Expo and Firexpo

Midrand, Gauteng, SA (30 June 2022) – The occupational health and safety, security, facilities management, and fire protection sectors "proved that business people want face-to-face interaction", says Specialised Exhibitions, organiser of the Securex, A-OSH, Facilities Management and Firexpo trade shows, which attracted over 200 exhibitors and 8 300 visitors from 31 May to 02 June 2022 at Gallagher Convention Centre.
       “It's been a long two years since we’ve been able to hold larger live events and exhibitions in South Africa, so 2022 was a landmark year for these trade shows in many ways," said Mark Anderson, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions.
“We were proud to celebrate 29 years of Securex this year, while A-OSH marked more than a decade of being Africa’s leading occupational health and safety expo." It was the second edition of Facilities Management Expo, and the first edition of Firexpo, focusing exclusively on fire-related products and services.
“The show floor was buzzing over the three-day period, and it was clear, for both visitors and exhibitors, that the industry was more than ready to re-engage and reconnect on an in-person basis.
"While there was a very small drop in visitor numbers comparatively with the 2019 figures, reflecting the same trend already seen this year both locally and globally, the quality of visitors across the board is still extremely high.
“Securex, in particular, attracted a high ratio of purchasing decision-makers and influencers, at 82.9% of those attending,” he said.

“Securex drew in many visitors from Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ghana and Eswatini, as well as Angola, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar. Attendees from further afield hailed from across Europe, the US and more.”
Excellent feedback from exhibitors was received across all four shows, he said. ““It’s clear that this type of live event is now more important than ever in terms of building face-to-face connections and relationships, as well as allowing for a first-hand experience of new offerings.”
“Securex has been phenomenal, even better than expected,” said Western Digital’s Brad Bennett. “We thought we would be busy, but the response and footfall through our stand has been beyond expectation. We have been engaged in quality conversations and fielded many questions on our solutions offering, receiving many good leads, and quality engagements, with a number of people from beyond South Africa's borders, including Togo, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which shows the reach of the show. We are very excited to see where it goes in the future."
“This was our first time exhibiting at Securex and it has been most enlightening,” added Phophi Marara from Dwyka Mining Services. “We were very pleased to be able to show that our technology, which was introduced to the local mining market, can be easily adapted for other industries as well, for example for security patrols and bomb detection services, simply by switching out the payload on the top of the mobile robot. The visitors have been very enthusiastic about our offering.”
“Firexpo was a fantastic experience – we have already signed up for next year’s show,” explained Fireball’s Le Roye van der Merwe. “I’ve been extremely pleased with the quality of the visitors on our stand – certainly the decision makers from the companies have been coming through.”
“The BBF Safety Group is very committed to A-OSH Expo, and we are very pleased that we have had a busy stand,” disclosed BBF Safety Group’s Ruan Breedt. “We had a brilliant turnout and I’m very happy with the attendance. There has been significant appreciation from the visitors, who have been very interested.”
Said Mel Barends of Broll Facilities Management: “Our experience of the Facilities Management Expo - as the main sponsor of the 2022 show – has been excellent. The foot traffic has been plentiful, and the seminar theatre has been great; there have been some fantastic talks that were very well received. I’ve been most impressed with the atmosphere and the level of technology that has been showcased. After the COVID-19 lockdown, I take this as strong evidence of our economy getting back on its feet.”
Securex South Africa, A-OSH Expo, Facilities Management Expo and Firexpo will return from 06 to 08 June 2023 at Gallagher Convention Centre.

In case you missed it!

The July issue of S&V African Leather Magazine

CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT ONLINE

S&V African Leather Magazine Vol16 No7 July 2022

IN THIS ISSUE:

03 Upfront
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
- So far, PE/Uitenhage tanneries continue to operate despite water shortage.
- It's official: TFL appoints Malome to handle Lanxess products.

07 An Eclectic View
- 1ppm Chromium VI! If export to the EU is part of your current or future business plans, you had best be working on an alternative tannage, writes H. Procter.

12 Decoding Tanning Science
- Research on the use of propylene carbonate as a fungicide for wet blue, by Dr Clive Jackson-Moss of the ISTT.

14 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.

15 Notice Board
- Obituary for Melcus Nel: Big man, big personality, big business man and a great pal.

16 Agriculture
- A double whammy for agriculture as fuel prices escalate and interest rate outlook worsens, says FNB's Paul Makube.

17 Knowledge Transfer, Education & Training
- Going after a tannery silent killer - enhanced online course 'How to deal with hydrogen sulfide'.
- Making leather, Part 6 of 10: Different types of bovine leather, by Richard Daniels.



Advertisers in this Issue
Els Agencies (03), ISTT (08), Italtan (09), Mimosa (06), Rolfes Leather Division (02), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (11), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (07), SIMAC/Tanning Tech (05), Stahl (OFC).

They Said It

"The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong."

Got anything you'd like to share?

Do you have any suggestions, comments or experiences about the industry that you'd like to share with the industry? - tony@svmag.co.za

11/07/1945: Maureen Liebenberg, retired, formerly Barker Footwear, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
11/07/1964: Hafiza Shaikh, left the industry, formerly Amshu Distributors (closed), Greytown, KZN, SA.
11/07/1975: Cassim Dawjee, Moola’s Fashion House, Newcastle, KZN, SA.
12/07/1970: Guy Blake, agent, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
13/07/1954: Peter Handley, Coventry Shoes, Durban, KZN, SA.
14/07/1969: Veronica Clausen (nee Haupt), Clicka Heels, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
14/07/1971: Laurence Lotzoff, Dale Footwear, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
15/07/1933: Joe Powell, retired, formerly Footwork, Trafalgar, KZN, SA.
15/07/1950: Joram Philip Wakari, agent and retired former director of the Leather Association of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
15/07/1971: Philipp Rein, Thurling Investments, Mossel Bay, W. Cape, SA.
16/07/1954: Lex Devlin, emigrated, formerly ACA Threads, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
16/07/1956: AR Noorbhai, Razno Agencies, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
16/07/1974: Marisca Ras, The Health Shoe Shop, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
17/07/1947: Hennie van der Merwe, chairman, KKI board, Oudtshoorn, W. Cape, SA.
17/07/1970: Kota Wessels, A.J. Rankin & Basson Sport, Ceres, W. Cape, SA.
17/07/1973: Tanya van Tonder, Inno Textiles, Hammarsdale, KZN, SA.

12/07/2015: Hessen Bernado (b. 19/07/1959), Bagshaw Footwear, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
15/07/2020: Carlo Longano (b. 22/08/1956), Bodynamics Institute [closed], Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
16/07/2004: Frederick (Fred) Howard (b. 16/02/1918), King Tanning Company [closed], King William’s Town, E. Cape, SA.
17/07/1979: Abe Smidt, agent, Bolton Footwear, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.

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.

Directory entries updated last week

Ahmed Tayob, Polokwane (Pietersburg), Limpopo, SA.
Danyaal, Rustenburg, N.W. Province, SA.
Junxion Group, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
Ma Gents, Polokwane (Pietersburg), Limpopo, SA.
Malome Leather Technologies, Boksburg, Gauteng, SA.
McCoy's Outfitters / Playboy Sports, Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, SA.
The New Shoe Co., Durban, KZN, SA.
Woolworths, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.

New subscribers last week

Ana Bela Goncalves, Decofurn, Durban, KZN, SA.
Langton Mharira, Eagle Italian Leather and Shoes Pvt Ltd, Marondera, Zimbabwe

3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)

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

4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)

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

5. Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL$)

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

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (07 July 2022) - The current average hide price remained unchanged at  R4.11/kg from a week ago. The current price is 0.7% lower than the average price a month ago and is 51% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R4.00 Maximum price: R5.00. Please note: Our methodology weighs the prices we collect according to the number of hides they sell in a month. This is done to make it more representative of the prevailing market price. NB* Hide prices are determined by the average of the RMAA (Red Meat Abattoir Association) and independent companies. - Marlene Louw, senior agricultural economist, and Nkhensani Mashimbyi, agricultural economist, Absa group.

Note: For previous prices, see HERE

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:
Handbag & Luggage Centre, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Travel goods retailer.
Handy Garments, Laudium, Gauteng, SA. PPE distributor.

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: July 18, 2022.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za