S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.8 No.52, December 27 2022

Download PDF

We wish our readers a successful, satisfying and healthy New Year. And if it can be happy as well, let that be a bonus.

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

December trading - good for some, others affected by arbitrary or unexpected factors

Omar Hassim, Shoe Biz
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe  – The relative stability of the Zim Dollar over the last 6 months has had a positive effect of stabilizing prices and an overall positive effect on trading over the last quarter. December sales have been fairly good up to now and hopefully those dark dreary days of the previous Decembers never return again.
      The Diaspora returning home again from South Africa and abroad after an absence of a long 2 years will bring much needed respite to their families and have an uplifting effect on December sales. Our footwear sales are still focussed on basic needs as family breadwinners prioritize spending on their children's needs rather than their own.
      We face a challenging trading environment  as the informal sector continues to grow and the market is flooded with cheap second hand imported footwear and clothing from abroad. This has now become a very popular and affordable option for many cash strapped consumers and is  being sold on the road side and the many flea markets that are popping up everywhere.
      The informal traders have become increasingly daring and more enterprising these days. I came across an interesting spectacle just the other day as I drove into a service station to refuel. There was this vehicle, parked at the wayside, with an array of colourful sports shoes displayed neatly all over the vehicle, from bonnet to rooftop and boot and all over the windscreen, with more scattered around the vehicle .Now this, I thought, was a more befitting description of a CAR BOOT SALE. A mobile shoe shop poised to move from one prime site to another, available to trade anytime of the day.


David Mushy, Fabulous House of Fashion
Walvis Bay, Namibia – Rather than emphasising December, I would rather say the last quarter has been good for me. All the months have been up on last year, Black Friday was successful, and I would say we have really recovered to pre-Covid levels.
      I don't know the reasons, but perhaps it's just that we are very exclusive.


Mark Kingon, Kingon's
East London, E. Cape, SA – Although things have seemed quiet, we are up on last year, especially in schoolwear.
We are still down on 2019 , but I feel that we are being held back by the very high fuel price!


Mohamed Abdoola, Zaa Zaa Shoes
Laudium, Gauteng, SA – Trade for this year is up by 20%.
      I found a pick-up in the wedding trade, and also lots more people travelling locally and abroad.
      What I also found was that because I am based in a suburb, we were much busier. People don’t want to go out to shopping centres like before.
      Most importantly, a big thank you to all my suppliers for trusting me. It made a huge difference for my business.


Abdul Dajee, City Outfitters
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – September, October and November saw City Outfitters, and the majority of retail stores, filling up stock in preparation for the Christmas shoppers as usual. But I must say this December trade was not as vibrant. December trade started slowly and we remained daily in anticipation that the next day it would happen - but in vain.
      Okay, after the 15th it improved a bit to the 18th, and ebbed again. Momentum picked up on the 21st and 22nd. Came the 23rd and 24th, disappointing sales. So overall December trade has dropped drastically, which means it's going to be challenging to meet our commitment to merchants.


Ridwaan Sayanvala, Pick & Save Hyperstores
Maseru, Lesotho – Sales this year were one third less than sales last year. Since the borders of South Africa re-opened, and there is no need to get a Covid test for R500 per person, people prefer to go to South Africa for their shopping.

 

Crime

USA shoplifting epidemic

Tinashe Mandirahwe, former owner of Cathula Sandals in Harare, Zimbabwe, now a Canadian businessman and retail analyst, writes an occasional article for S&V on some aspect of the footwear business. Here he discusses a subject we know well.

The theft problem I used to deal with almost daily when I was running Cathula Sandals in Africa is now ravaging the USA. Theft is raging! Will the USA be able to stop this? Once it becomes problematic, it's like cancer, almost impossible to stop. Like my late father used to say - "you can make something waterproof, bulletproof, almost anything-proof, but you can't make it person-proof."
      2021 saw the USA retail industry suffer shrinkage losses of $94.5 billion, according to the National Retail Foundation. A significant portion of this loss came from theft. Retailers from grocery stores to bookstores have resorted to locking merchandise in Plexiglass cases and heightening other security areas.
      Retailers have been advocating the government for stricter organized retail crime legislation, better law enforcement, increased penalties and a reduction in the dollar amount that makes theft a felony. For example, stealing merchandise worth $950 or less in California is just a misdemeanour, not a felony. In terms of punishment, in California a misdemeanour is punishable with a sentence up to 1 year in jail, while a felony carries a maximum sentence of more than 1 year in jail.

Opportunity knocks?

'Give women with bigger feet the opportunity to buy affordable shoes from chain stores'

In a petition put out yesterday by 'change.org, The world's platform for change', (https://www.change.org/), South African consumer Tilla Victor wrote:       Do you know the frustration?
      You need shoes for work, a wedding or a hiking trip.
      You walk from shop to shop in your last, 5 year old pair of trustworthy shoes, just to be disappointed, over and over again.
      Most shops stock up only to a size 8. The only 9’s or, if you are lucky, 10’s, have Marie Biscuits soles and spaghetti straps and are only available in navy blue. You need cream.
      By the end of the day, you’re heading home with a pair of men's flip flops in black, cause that was the only thing that fits. Exhausted, disappointed and frustrated.
      Shopping online is usually a case of trying to send back everything in huge effort.
      I would like us ladies to stand together and set up a petition for general retailers to take us seriously and give us a choice to also look our best in their clothes.
      We want pretty, comfortable shoes that mostly supports the longer, bigger body that goes with the bigger feet. Clothes are available up to a size 50 and designed to look good and feel good on a bigger body, but shoe sizes stops at a size 8.
      Clothes can be home made, shoes not.
      We want a shop where we could walk in and fit on different colours and different styles and pay a normal price. Health shoes are pretty expensive and mostly very basic and not flattering at all.
      Please girls, the struggle is real. Let’s do something about it.

Customs

'Possible counterfeit shoes bust worth R3-million in total'

Press release
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (21 December 2022) – Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have seized possible counterfeit shoes (sneakers and sandals) with an estimated value of R3-milliion this past weekend.
      The Customs Detector Dog Unit (DDU) at the Lebombo border post with Mozambique searched a truck with two trailers entering South Africa. The DDU found 5237 pairs of various branded (possibly counterfeit) shoes and sandals. The items were found loaded in the back of the trailers of the truck.
      The shoes were handed over to the South African Customs State Warehouse for further processing and engagement with the relevant brand holders for confirmation of the authenticity of the items.
      SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter praised the Customs officers and the DDU for their vigilance in preventing illicit and counterfeit goods from entering the country. “The lawful production of clothing and textile industry in the country needs to be supported and SARS has shown once again that it is playing its part to foster industrial growth and job creation.”
      Mr Kieswetter added that SARS is determined to give meaning to its strategic objectives of making non-compliance hard and costly for any person who transgresses the law. “While we have made it easy and simple to comply, we will not tolerate criminals and syndicates that impede the economic prosperity of our country and the well-being of our citizens.”

Stock Exchange News Service (SENS)

Woolworths sells David Jones

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA (Mon 19 Dec 2022, 7:31) – Woolworths Holdings Ltd (WHL) has sold its Australian subsidiary David Jones to Anchorage Capital Partners, an Australian private equity fund.
      According to a SENS report, WHL anticipates the transaction to complete by the end of March 2023, and that "the transaction will materially improve the return on capital of the Group by further transforming its balance sheet through the removal of c.R17bn in liabilities relating to the David Jones store portfolio. Importantly, this also enables the reallocation of capital and management focus towards value-accretive initiatives across other areas of the Group."
      It said a turnaround strategy for David Jones over the past 2 years had "resulted in a significant improvement in the underlying operational and financial health of the business", but that WHL concluded that the David Jones business was no longer aligned to the strategic objectives of the Group".
      Roy Bagattini, Group Chief Executive Officer said: “This is a major milestone in the repositioning of WHL for growth, while simultaneously improving return on capital for our shareholders. The strategic rationale at the time of the acquisition did not materialise to the extent originally envisaged. While David Jones has successfully executed on its turnaround, notwithstanding the Covid-19 disruptions, now is the right time for the business to operate under new ownership, while WHL refocuses on its core South African and Australian Country Road Group businesses."

Death notice

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Reg Hattingh, retired former agent for Trail Mix Trading and its predecessor, Rockshoes, and for Stanhope Boot & Shoe Manufacturers and Budget Footwear, died on 19 December, less than a month before his 86th birthday. An obituary will be carried in the January issue of S&V Footwear and Leather Goods.

Retirement notice

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – Ada 'Vymie' Vymetal, lead auditor: consignment for leather and footwear at the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) has retired after 38 years.
      In 1975, he joined the Rhodesian Bata Shoe Company, in Gwelo, where his father worked.
      In July 1979 he joined Eddels in Pietermaritzburg, SA, as a production supervisor in the ladies' plant and then in the quality department.
      He joined the SABS in 1984.
      He said he had no retirement plans but that "there was a possibility" that the SABS would hire him on a contract basis, at least until it found a suitable replacement.

They Said It

The Cobbler's Motto
We doctor your shoes, heel them, see to their dyeing and then we save their soles. We do not concern ourselves about their colour or from where they came.
Submitted by Lionel Astill, formerly of Apeco and Italian Leathers, Durban, KZN, SA, now retired to the UK. He wrote: "This was sent to me by my niece, Jane Manning (ex-Apeco), who saw it a Syston Cobblers recently. Syston is a village near Leicester, which had many shoe factories, and the place where I was brought up."

Directory entries updated last week

Palm Footwear Manufacturers, Durban, KZN, SA.
Shoe Biz, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Skye Distribution, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.

New subscribers last week

Mohamed, Retailer, M.Y., Durban, South Africa
Vymie, Retired, SABS, Pretoria, South Africa

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

26/12/1937: Andre le Roux, retired, formerly Watson Shoes Ladies’ Division, Oudtshoorn, W. Cape, SA.
26/12/1948: Peter Waddleton, left the industry. Formerly Bata SA, then Finlam Textiles, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
26/12/1977: Kirit Mistry, Shoe Junxion, Sasolburg, Free State, SA.
26/12/1956: Omar Faruk Doola, Shoe World, Springs, Gauteng, SA.
27/12/1962: Kareem Kader, Options, Gaborone, Botswana.
28/12/1944: Ken Moakes, retired to Northampton, UK, formerly Buckman Africa, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/12/1970: Tony Vaubell, Mr Price Group, Durban, KZN, SA.
28/12/1979: Peter Bassingthwaighte, Bass Marketing, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/12/1988: Ismail Moosa, Jumbo Footwear, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
29/12/1944: Andy Woods, Woods’ Tanning, Uitenhage, E. Cape, SA.
29/12/1949: Paul Jacobus Smit, S&S Boutique, Tzaneen, Limpopo, SA.
29/12/1971: Regman Govender, Exodus Marketing, Durban, KZN, SA.
29/12/1981: Ganesh Kadoo, UCL Co Ltd, Dalton, KZN, SA.
31/12/1958: Neil Burnham, Joslyn’s Shoes, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
31/12/1964: Colin Teifel, Harry E. Teifel & Associates, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
01/01/1937: Franco Polia, freelance designer, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
01/01/1946: Stan Smidt, former agent for Bolton Footwear, retired, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
01/01/1947: Chris Ryder, left the industry.
01/01/1952: Cecele Therese 'Carrots' Doyle, former agent, retired, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
01/01/1965: Selwyn van Aarde, Barker Footwear, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.

26/12/2020: Neville Dodo (b. 02/04/1941), Edworks Group [closed], Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
27/12/2020: Yusuf Bham, Megashoes [closed], Durban, KZN, SA.
30/12/2016: Michael O’Connor (b. 11/12/1951), Jensen Belts [closed], Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
31/12/2003: Peter Craythorne (b. 28/02/1935), BUSM [closed]/Woodheads, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
31/12/2000: Nols Jonker (b. 10/06/1944), Watson Shoes, Great Brak River, W. Cape, SA.
01/01/2012: Balduin Heimann (b. 30/06/1932), agent, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
01/01/2021: Alvin Reginal Naidoo (b. 27/02/1970), Angel Footwear, 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.

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 (21 December 2022) - The current average hide price remained unchanged at R4.15/kg from a week ago. The current price is 10.2% 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

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:
J.L. Maister. Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Saddlery and weapons accessories manufacturer.
Lemkus, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Lifestyle retailer.

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: January 2, 2023.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za