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S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.8 No.51, December 19 2022

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

 

December trading - a very mixed picture

Readers will note that most respondents this week are from the Western Cape. This is probably because I emailed Western Cape retailers earlier on Saturday than retailers in KZN and Gauteng. I will attempt to get responses from a much wider geographical spread this week for the newsletter to come out on Tuesday next week.

Peter Allen, Burton's/Monson's
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – December trading has been satisfactory so far. Despite load shedding constraints we are achieving positive growth on last year.


Martin Cohen, L. Cohen Outfitters
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – The first half of December has not been good. Second half has improved but on the whole disappointing. 


Barry Selby, The Athlete's Foot
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – December trading and traffic in Cape Town is back to the norm we  experienced last in December 2019 so turnover  is up. This has been aided by the weak Rand (for overseas tourists ) and buoyed up by the  increased numbers of Johannesburg customers who have made Cape Town their destination of choice.


Greg Bing, A.P. Jones
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Having been affected by a drought, a failing economy and Covid over the past 5 years or so, we are definitely starting to feel an upswing in the market. We are up for both November and December so far. This trend started with the lifting of the mask ban in early July 2022.
      It would appear that we have broken the “R1000 barrier” and our ladies department is selling dresses at this price point and beyond for the first time in a while.
      Very happy with results at this stage, but feet are firmly on the ground as things could change very quickly if the wrong leadership comes in to power.
      I think that it would be safe to say that, if we did not have load shedding cocking everything up, we would be ecstatic under the circumstances.


Imran Lockhat, Famous Shoes
Durban, KZN, SA – No fireworks. Trade like any normal month in the year.


Lloyd Naidoo, Best Shoes
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – December trading has been on par with last year's sales thus far. Very little hawker trade as generally expected. Most of our hawkers stop buying in November. Some hawkers returned after 2 years as their businesses were badly affected. We were fortunate to have some locals and holiday makers visit the Failsworth/Manchester Road area looking for bargains over this past weekend. The poor trading conditions have affected everyone here and we're just ticking over. There's very little disposable income for the low-to-middle income earners to spend on clothing and footwear. With all the financial and political challenges our country faces, we're choosing to remain optimistic for 2023.


Naseem Essack, Brandz
Port Shepstone, KZN, SA – Unfortunately, trading has been adversely affected by the load shedding.
      Stage 6 load shedding especially with 4 hour sessions has a detrimental effect on sales as credit card sales are impacted due no connectivity.
      Load shedding couldn't have come at a worse time.


 

 

Consumers face another expensive braai season in 2022

Comment by Paul Makube, Senior Agricultural Economist at FNB Agri-Business
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (15 December 2022) – Consumers face an expensive braai season as they enter the December festive with meat inflation at the highest level for this period since November 2017 when it reached 14.9% y/y.
      What underpins the current strength in meat prices? A combination of factors have been at play including the tight supplies due to the pedestrian livestock slaughter, reduced imports of chicken amid higher prices, and the surprisingly resilient consumer demand despite tough economic conditions with the consumer’s financial welfare under strain.
      In addition, livestock producers faced enormous cost pressures emanating from a surge in raw feed input prices that necessitated the cost recovery as profit margins were severely squeezed.
      The price of maize, a major ingredient in feed manufacturing, has so far increased by 43% and 28% y/y for the white and the yellow maize respectively to an average R4,989/ ton and R4,837/ ton. The price of soybeans, a major source of plant protein in livestock feed, so far averaged R10,561/ ton which is 39% higher y/y.
South Africa’s November 2022 consumer price inflation (CPI) surprised on the downside to 7.4% year-on-year (y/y) from 7.6% September, but was still off the 2022 peak of 7.8% y/y reached during July, according to recent data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The monthly CPI slowed by 0.3% month-on-month (m/m) in November from 0.4% m/m the previous month.
      After steadying in October, the food CPI rebounded by 0.5 percentage points in November 2022 to 12.8% y/y and still the highest level since April 2009 but decelerated by 0.5% m/m 0.9% higher month-on-month (m/m).
In contrast, the global food price inflation as measured by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) slowed significantly from the 2022 high of 34% y/y in March to just 0.3% y/y in November 2022 with the monthly prices remaining in negative territory for the past eight consecutive months at -0.1% m/m. Prices were down across the cereals, the dairy, and meat categories which more than offset gains in the vegetable oils and sugar.
      Within the SA’s food CPI subindex, the November meat CPI steadied but still reached the highest level in fourteen months at 10.5% y/y.
      A deep dive into the meat CPI data shows that beef T-bone steak surged by 18% y/y in at R135.48/kg, followed by brisket and chuck with increases of 11.8% and 10.4% respectively y/y. In the pork category, pork ribs and fillet posted modest gains of 3.9% and 2.8% y/y at R94.59/kg and R104.62/kg. However, pork chops fell by 3.8% y/y at R89.55/kg. Lamb chops rose by 4.8% y/y to R195.55/kg. For chicken, prices were up across most categories with an increase of 7.2% at R63.85/kg for fresh whole birds while the individually quick frozen (IQF) 2 kg chicken portions rose by 5.1% y/y at R86.69.
      Nonetheless, we expect some reprieve for consumers early in the New Year as the lower seasonal demand post the December holidays in a tight economic environment with costs of electricity and transport still elevated likely to place downward pressure on meat prices.

 

They Said It

"Hi Tony. As we approach the festive season, may I wish you and your wife a very Blessed and Happy Christmas. May 2023 also bring you good health, wealth and happiness. May it also bring you all an abundance of electricity. Best wishes. Bev Jack." - The ever practical former director of the Leather Institute of Zimbabwe.

"Do you know of anyone who could bat in the top six for RSA?" - Greg Bing, A.P. Jones, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA, as a post-script to his comments on December trade. The answer is perhaps as intractable as our electricity supply.

 

Directory entries updated last week

Sew Solutions, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.

 

Trade fairs updated last week

07-09 February 2023: Première Vision, Paris, France.

 

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

 

19/12/1959: Yegan Pillai, left the industry, formerly Michelle Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
19/12/1944: Hoosen Patel, Spectrum group [closed], Durban, KZN, SA.
20/12/1957: Michael Ngwenya, Nulaw, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
20/12/1976: Zamo Mkhize, left the industry, formerly Nicole Footwear (closed), Durban, KZN, SA.
20/12/1984: Carl Prinsloo, Allied Agencies, Westville, KZN, SA.
21/12/1942: Allan Kushner, retired, formerly Shoe Fayre, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
21/12/1963: Trevor Capell, ? Hilton, KZN, SA.
22/12/1949: Maryna Bender, ?
22/12/1966: Collin Kisten Pillay, Topline Manufacturers, Durban, KZN, SA.
22/12/1973: Hassan Adam, Seadoone Shoes, Amanzimtoti, KZN, SA.
23/12/1947: Chris Dorasamy, Robach Components, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
23/12/1949: Alex Gordon, Novita Shoes, Durban, KZN, SA.
24/12/1947: Gerald Borg, formerly Bata SA and Amshoe (closed) , KZN, SA, emigrated to Cyprus.
24/12/1953: Morgan Naidoo, Alan D Jackson, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
25/12/19??: Malcolm Walton, retired, formerly Corrida Shoes, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
25/12/1934: Ivan Harris, retired, formerly Woodheads, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
25/12/1948: Morris Smith, agent, Durban, KZN, SA.
25/12/1960: Yusuf Moosajee, Seltex, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
25/12/1969: Noel Whitehead, Bolton Footwear and chairman, SAFLIA, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
25/12/1975: Mohamed Ameen Ravat, Ravat & Sons International, Pietersburg/Polokwane, Limpopo, SA.

 

22/12/2008: John Whittle (b. 21/05/1936), John Whittle Components, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
23/12/2004: Stewart Dorrington (b.?), King Tanning [closed], King William’s Town, E. Cape, SA.
23/12/2014: Mohammed Seedat (b. 16/07/1942), Jino’s Clothing, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
25/12/2003: Lionel Klein (b. 24/08/1926), agent, Durban, KZN, 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.

 

 

 

 

Exchange rates

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

1. SA Rand (ZAR)/Lesotho Loti (LSL)/Namibian Dollar (NAD)/Swazi Lilangeni (SZL)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
17/12/2022 R18.58 R21.34 R17.57 R2.52
 


2. Botswana Pula (BWP)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
17/12/2022 13.57 15.58 12.83 1.84


3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
17/12/2022 1079.82 1240.21 1021.34 146.45


4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ US $ CNY ¥
17/12/2022 18.78 21.57 17.77 2.54



5. Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL$)

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

 
  Euro € GBP £ CNY ¥ Official US$
17/12/2022 382.62 439.45 51.86 672.70
 

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

 

 

 

 

 

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (15 December 2022) - The current average hide price decreased by 0.7% to R4.15/kg from R4.18/kg a week ago. The current price is 10.1% lower than the average price a month ago and 21.7% 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

  


Classified Adverts




Agencies sought

Professional and very experienced agent, with extensive chain and retail customer list, seeks agencies for the Western Cape. - Skip Bradfield (0)82 477 7312, skipbradfield@gmail.com

 




Sewing Machine Mechanic/Technician seeks position

PREMCHAND HARIPERSAD. I have 34 years combined experience as a machinist/mechanic. Currently a qualified sewing machine mechanic. My qualification was obtained at ‘London City of Guilds institute’. During my tenure in the industry I have serviced and fixed high quality machinery that production depended on. Passion and skill for the industry assisted me in obtaining world class experience which I thoroughly enjoy not just as a job but more as my hobby. This allows me to exceed expectations of technical demands and standards ensuring maximum production at all times. Based in Durban CV available +27 78 151 7752 +27 67 047 3952 haripersadpremchand@gmail.com

 




 

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: December 27, 2022.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za

 

 

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