S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.9 No.09, February 27 2023

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Finished goods suppliers order positions

Orders are there, exchange rate a worry

Michael Joseph, CEO, Crick Group
Midrand, Gauteng, SA - Our order book on all our brands looks good going forward. The biggest factor affecting trading conditions at this moment is the exchange rate as we are worried about pricing going forward.

Good growth off low base

Eleni Gerpinis, Operations and head of business, Earth Gear (Pty) Ltd
Edenvale, Gauteng, SA - Our range is not truly a seasonal range by the strict definition of the word and we generally introduce new styles to our range through the year.
      2022 was a decent trading year for us, with a growth of 40% on 2021 and 80% on 2020. Not a difficult figure to beat given that we, as a brand, were new during the Covid year and all the lockdowns.
      For 2023 we have adapted our core range and top sellers which have proven to be a good return on investment for both us and our stockists.
      Most of our stockists are struggling as is the whole country to run their businesses with the new challenges we face now post Covid between load shedding and water shedding and public transport issues.

Retail trading conditions

Load shedding hammers otherwise good sales

Kelli Dodo Kupritz, group marketing director, Dodo's Shoes (Pty) Ltd
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Dodos and Franco Ceccato had an excellent back-to-school despite all the load shedding.
        February had been good, but as blackouts escalated, trade dropped immediately. A lot of our stores are without power for days on end. We are currently working on our power solutions for our stores.
      Our online division, being Shoebox and Madison Heart New York, has been trading extremely well. 

Pienaar Bros. picks up pieces from North closure

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - PPE distributor Pienaar Brothers (Pty) Ltd has moved its Durban branch to new premises in Riverhorse Valley, and has taken on some former North Safety Staff.
      It has also opened a branch in Pietermaritzburg - where it wasn't represented before - in part of the former North premises, and has taken on some of North's staff there, also.

Tamm closes

Boksburg, Gauteng, SA - PPE distributor Tamm Industrial Supplies (Pty) Ltd, owned by Rhona Wilson, was liquidated in mid-February.

Stock Exchange News Service (SENS)

Ackermans drags down Pepkor clothing sales

Extracts from Steinhoff Quarterly Update. For the full report go here.

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA (24 February 2023) - Pepkor Holdings Pepkor Holdings has the largest retail store footprint in southern Africa, with more than 5 900 stores operating across 10 African countries. It also has stores in Brazil. The majority of its retail brands operate in the discount and value segment of the market.
      In constant currency the clothing and general merchandise segment increased sales by 10%. Like-for-like sales (which exclude Avenida) decreased by 2% and were negatively impacted by the poor performance in Ackermans where trading continued to be impacted by a suboptimal merchandise mix in its summer 2022 range, as communicated in Pepkor’s trading update. At the start of the second quarter, trading in clothing and general merchandise brands during January 2023 was supported by a very successful back-to-school season. PEP, Ackermans and Shoe City achieved double-digit sales growth in back-to-school trade, on a strong base in the prior year. This performance was underpinned by the ability of these brands to offer customers best value through their unrivalled volume and scale of operations.

Truworths: Africa, UK sales up

Extracts from Truworths interim results. For the full report go here.

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA (23 February 2023) - Truworths Africa: South Africa’s energy crisis is evident in the sustained level of daily load shedding. Truworths is adopting a pro-active approach to load shedding on the assumption that varied levels of disruption will continue in the short to medium term.
      In the months ahead the Group aims to extend back-up power solutions to protect turnover in stores not yet covered by alternate sources of power, creating further cost pressure in the current tight economic environment. Consumer disposable income is expected to remain constrained in the medium-term as inflationary pressures from higher food, fuel, electricity and cost-of-living expenses are compounded by rising borrowing costs. New retail concepts and brands developed over the last two years have exceeded management’s expectations and the Group will continue to refine and invest in them, while the growing, integrated in-house design capability will bolster the supply chain and further enhance speed to market.
      Truworths’ retail sales for the first seven weeks of the second half of the 2023 financial period increased by 5.7% relative to the corresponding seven weeks of the second half of the 2022 financial period. Trading space is expected to increase by approximately 2% for the 2023 reporting period.

Office: The UK retail sector is expected to continue to face headwinds from mounting pressure on household income due to persistently high inflation, rising energy costs and interest rates, which have increased three-fold in the past year.
      Notwithstanding these challenges, the Office business has proven resilient on the strength of its relationships with the world’s leading footwear brands and its loyal customer following. In the current environment, Office will capitalise on new store opportunities, the renovation of stores in strategically important locations, further strengthening its brand positioning, and introducing and growing new brands.
      Office’s retail sales for the first seven weeks of the second half of the 2023 financial period increased by 39.2% in Sterling relative to the corresponding seven weeks of the second half of the 2022 financial period.
      Sales growth in Office is expected to slow down from April 2023 as the base started normalising in April 2022 when lockdown restrictions were lifted in the UK and tourism increased.
      Office’s trading space is expected to decrease by approximately 9% for the 2023 financial year as the business continues to exit marginal and loss-making stores as leases expire or lease breaks are negotiated with landlords.

They Said It

"Sorry I missed your email. It was due to trying to get our factory settled after our move - between the devastating bouts of load shedding!" - Alistair Watt, Bresan Footwear, Merrivale, KZN, SA.

Directory entries updated last week

Boaonda SA (Pty) Ltd, Durban, KZN, SA.
Chommies Cape Town (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
Egoli Leather Wholesalers [Twinsavers cc], Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.

New subscribers last week

Doubt Mawere, Footwear Technologist, Vaal University of Technology, Gauteng, SA.
Ilham, Sales Manager, Bash, Western Cape, SA.

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

27/02/1975: Denver Mahabeer, ?, formerly Edgars, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
28/02/1945: Basil da Silva, Mendelson & Frost, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/02/1969: Dilesh Dajee, agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
01/03/1945: Chris Schutte, retired, former agent, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
02/03/1945: Sakkie van der Vyver, retired, formerly Adidas, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
02/03/1953: Garth Ewing, retired, formerly Garth Ewing Agencies, East London, E. Cape, SA.
02/03/1960: Robin Teifel, Harry E. Teifel & Associates, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
04/03/1946: John Commins, retired, formerly Wayne Plastics, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
04/03/1977: Regan Govender, Paragon Footwear, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
05/03/1937: Arnold Buckby, agent, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
05/03/1949: Tony Carnecky, retired, formerly Futura Footwear, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
05/03/1983: David Novos, Economic Shoes, Paarl, W. Cape, SA.
05/03/1986: Muhammed Omar, Fashion Square, Durban, KZN, SA.

20/02/2004: Barry Dowson (b. 1938), Barry Dowson Components [closed], Greytown, KZN, SA.
27/02/2010: Jean Mee ‘Mick’ Lailvaux (b. 22/02/1919), Service Agencies (closed), Durban, KZN, SA.
27/02/2010: Amanda ‘Mandy’ Terry (b. 20/02/1969), Makro, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
28/02/2016: Johnny Parboo (b. 21/10/1945), Labora Shoes, Durban, KZN, SA.
01/03/2004: Sandra Faye Campbell (b. 09/06/1971), Dunn’s Stores, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
02/03/1991: Edward Powell (b. 12/02/1967), agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
03/03/2003: Gerry Elder (b. 03/08/1928), agent, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
03/03/2010: Ernest Alfred ‘Basie’ Heunis (b. 17/05/1923), Silverton Tannery [closed], Pretoria, 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.

3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)

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4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)

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5. Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL$)

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Note: For previous rates, see HERE

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (23 February 2023) - The current average hide price increased by 0.5% to R4.20kg from R4.18/kg a week ago. The current price is 0.5% higher than the average price a month ago and 36.6% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R3.83 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:
Jackson's, Dundee, KZN, SA. Family outfitter.
Jade Safety, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA. PPE distributor.

Classified Adverts

CHOMMIES SEEKS PRODUCTION MANAGER

Chommies, based in Cape Town, is looking for a production manager to manage the in-house production studio. Must have experience in sample and batch sample production, as well as full scale manufacturing according to set targets, timelines and quality control. Must have excellent people, analytical and organisation skills, knowledge of leather production and experience working with inventory and production software (ideally DEAR). Minimum requirements - tertiary studies, car and driver's license. Remuneration negotiable for the right individual. Please send applications to katrina@chommies.com.

To see what we do, visit www.Chommies.com

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: March 06, 2023.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za