S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.9 No.39, September 27 2023

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How a trip tarnished Germany’s image

I was in Italy last week, sponsored by Assomac Servizi to attend the Simac/Tanning Tech fair, and technical reports will follow in the October issues of S&V African Leather and S&V Footwear & Leather Goods.
      My indelible memory of this trip isn’t of the fair, however. It is the apparent affirmation of the grumbles I’ve heard in recent years by Germans – most, not all, living in SA – about the ‘deterioration’ of Germany, which I’ve always put it down to a generational thing – the older you get, the better ‘the good old days’ seem.
      But for 3 of us from SA – Keith Lyons of Strayz Footwear, Colin Parker of Paul Moeller & Co., and I – the return trip seemed to highlight real dysfunction at Frankfurt International Airport – Germany’s “main international airport by passenger numbers”, according to Wikipedia.
      The trip started very badly. Our flight from Milan to Frankfurt was late, so we missed our connection to Johannesburg, and Keith seriously injured his knee when he was pushed shortly after landing. Colin wrote a blow-by-blow account of our experience for the people who handled our bookings, but I offer just the most surprising moments of a surreal experience:
       - Close to 6 hours at the airport, trying to find a wheelchair, book another flight, get our luggage, catch a taxi to a hotel (no luck with the booking or getting the luggage).
       - Watching mice/rats scavenging from bins alongside a food area INSIDE the airport building.
       - Cigarette butts lining the hundreds of metres of the taxi ranks (in GERMANY).
       - Waiting 3 HOURS to get a taxi.
       - The utter disorganisation, unhelpfulness, rudeness, and theft – yes, theft – of the taxi drivers. The one who finally took us demanded cash AND the voucher Lufthansa had given us, then took us for a 20-minute drive to a hotel we discovered the next day was 5 minutes from the airport.
       - The helplessness of the senior Lufthansa official who told us it was illegal for taxi drivers to refuse custom, and who suggested WE CALL THE POLICE to ask them to force a taxi to take us.
       - The same official who said the airline used to have its own wheelchairs, but that now all wheelchairs for the airport were controlled by a separate entity (which clearly didn’t have staff working late).
       - The same official who suggested, if we couldn’t get a taxi, getting a room at a 5-star hotel across the road – not covered by the Lufthansa vouchers – and suing Lufthansa later to get our money back.
       - At Germany’s busiest airport, ALL shops, restaurants, and lounges shut some time before midnight, so sleeping on benches at the airport was an even less attractive option. (We couldn’t manage the vending machines, and we weren’t the only ones – after aborting an attempt to buy an item, we got more back than we’d put in.)
      By the time we got to the hotel, our formerly lofty opinions of Germany (and Lufthansa) had taken a beating.
      The hotel didn’t have a wheelchair, but an enterprising staff member produced an office chair on castors, and there were some slapstick moments negotiating carpets and lift entrances, but overall, it was a welcome return to normality.
      The next day, Assomac’s travel team had rerouted us via Emirates, direct to Durban, with Keith in business class, and 48 hours after setting off from the hotel in Milan, we landed.
      We can laugh about it now, but speaking for myself, I’m in no hurry to travel overseas again.

Fury over ICLT’s likely closure

Northampton, UK - A storm of protest over the probable closure of the University of Northampton’s Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) is about to break, according to a informed source who has seen correspondence from various associations and graduates of the ICLT and its predecessor courses.
      The gist of the protests is that they believe the university’s main stated reason for the probable closure – a drop in student enrolment to unsustainably low numbers – is a situation that could be rectified.
      A combined response is likely to be delivered to the university shortly.

They Said It

"I’m a salesman, so I talk." - Colin Parker, Paul Moeller & Co., Pinetown, KZN, SA. He can do more than talk. In the ill-fated return trip from Italy to SA mentioned above, he took charge, did all the organising, made all the decisions, kept us all in touch, followed up even after we got home. Hats off to you, Colin.

New subscribers last week

Amanda, Watching sea and leather work, Jongensfontein, South Africa
Kevin, Footwear, Durban, South Africa
Karabo Musa, Director, Troding Hides Imports & Exports, Lobatse, Botswana
Willem Marais, Customs Consultant, Willfreight Consultants CC, Western Cape, 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

Birthdays this week

25/09/1965: Mahomed Dawood Kaka, Skoen Boetiek, Lichtenburg, N.W. Province, SA.
25/09/1973: Michael Cloete, Resource Fashion Trading, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
25/09/1974: Yousuf M Jadwat, Fast Forward Clothing Co, Bellville, W. Cape, SA.
25/09/1979: Zaid Paruk, City Express Stores, Durban, KZN, SA.
26/09/1934: Siva Pillay, Allateens Bopsi Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
26/09/1940: Cedric Novis, emigrated, formerly Bolton Footwear, W. Cape, SA.
26/09/1944: Dick Smyth, designer, Durban, KZN, SA.
26/09/1948: Melt van Niekerk, Checkmate, Secunda, Mpumalanga, SA.
26/09/1958: Skip Bradfield, Skip Bradfield Agencies, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
26/09/1970: Brett Pengelly, Trail Mix Trading, Durban, KZN, SA.
27/09/1943: Rashid Mayet, agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
27/09/1933: Mussa Hajat, retired, formerly Footwear Centre, Blantyre, Malawi.
27/09/1973: Tracy Lopez, Lopez Leathers, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/09/1938: Mervin Bloom, retired, formerly Meroda Footwear [closed], Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/09/1946: Richard Bryant, retired, formerly Mossop Western and Fusion Leather, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
28/09/1948: Ivy Boulanger, Little Leather Shop, Margate, KZN, SA.
28/09/1963: Loll Bishoon, agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
28/09/1967: Rajesh Morar, Quik Serv Shoes, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
28/09/1977: Preshan Ramharack, Palm Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
29/09/1942: Moon Govender, Arc Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
29/09/1957: Monica Hoffman, Chafkins, Benoni, Gauteng, SA.
29/09/1959: Ismail Haffejee, Capri Bag, Durban, KZN, SA.
29/09/1962: Venessa Schmid, The Whatnot, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
29/09/1963: Gavin Wilkins, formerly Eddels Shoes, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
29/09/1967: Hitesh Motiram, Nakuls, White River, Mpumalanga, SA.
29/09/1968: Milton Zwart, Ribtech, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
29/09/1964: Denzil Spolander, African Gameskin Group, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
29/09/1976: Brad Isaacson, agent, Durban, KZN, SA.
30/09/1944: Dennis Wilkens, retired, formerly Martin Johnson [closed], Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
30/09/1950: Mohamed Farouk Limbada, Kirimon Traders, Durban, KZN, SA.
30/09/1966: P ‘Segie’ Govender, RNT Footwear, New Germany, KZN, SA.
01/10/1944: Ian Smith, Faulks (Durban, KZN, SA),  G&D Shoes (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, closed) Flair (Cape Town, W. Cape, SA, closed), Studio Shoes (Port Elizabeth, E Cape, SA, closed), Panther (Cape Town, W. Cape, SA, closed), Elliott (Cape Town, W. Cape, SA, closed), G&D, China various. Retired to Plettenberg Bay, W. Cape, SA.
01/10/1960: Amanda McCarthy, Groundcover Leather Company, Curry’s Post, KZN, SA.
01/10/1964: Steven Broughton, Cape Produce Company, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.

In memoriam this week

25/09/2019: Mike Gedye (b. 04/03/1950), Michelle Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
26/09/1994: Cinnie Bonthuys, Crown Footwear, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
26/09/2020: Douglas Oates [b. 03/12/1939], Bata and Beier Safety Footwear, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
27/09/2018: Mano Chetty (b. 29/11/1961), formerly PMC Group, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
29/09/2012: Richard McCulley (b. 14/09/1964), agent, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
29/09/2004: Noel Eric Teifel (b. 06/03/1928), NE Teifel & Co, Midrand, 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 (22 September 2023) - The average hide price increased by 1.3% to R3.39/kg from R3.34/kg in the previous week. The current price is 10.6% higher than the average price a month ago and 27.0% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R2.75 Maximum price: R4.50. 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, and Zama Sangweni, 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:

Kids Emporium, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Online children’s products retailer
Kingdom & Co., Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Branded distributor.

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: October 2, 2023.

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

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