S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.9 No.49, December 4 2023

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First weekend of December

Mixed results

Umhlanga, KZN, SA - The month has “started very quietly, more quietly than I expected”, Suresh Parekh of Bachelor’s Classic said this morning. He said Black Friday had been partly to blame. He said he would have to work long hours to catch up.

Howick, KZN, SA - “Very well, much better than expected,” Big John Clothing salesperson Melanie Mostert said. She said women’s dresses, men’s shorts and men’s shoes had been the best sellers.

Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, SA - “Fair, but not what you’d expect of a weekend at the beginning of a month, and especially not December,” Salim Tatel of Baxter’s said. He said Black Friday had also not been as good as in previous years. Of the rest of the month, he said it was hard to say what to expect.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Azhar Bulbulia of Belchinni Shoes was away over the weekend, but he said November had not been a good month. “Every area has its challenges,” he said. “In our case, in the CBD, aside from load shedding, we’re still feeling the effects on passing traffic of the gas pipe explosion in Bree Street.” Belchinni has closed 3 of its 4 stores, “but we have to remain positive and build again”.

Hermanus, W. Cape, SA - The first weekend was “average”, said Andreas Joss of Ally Shoes, but he expects a good December overall. “November was quite good, which I think was weather dependent. We had terrible weather until late in October, and only when it improved did people start buying for the new season. I think conditions for December are promising – there are quite a lot of tourists.”

Death Notice

Dietmar Theilig, former MD of what was tanning and textile chemicals manufacturer Boehme Africa – now DyStar Africa – in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA, died on 30 November, aged 85. An obituary will follow in the January edition of S&V African Leather.

In case you missed it!

The November issue of S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine

CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT ONLINE

S&V FOOTWEAR & LEATHER GOODS MAGAZINE VOL89 No11 November 2023

IN THIS ISSUE:

03 Upfront
- Port problems: Sort it out or your Masterplan will fail, retail tells Government.
- SAFLIA also has a go over the collapse of SA’s ports.
- SAFLIA AGM: ‘Opposition to unfairness of collective bargaining drove membership drop.’
- SAFLIA AGM: Local production up in 2022, ‘but Masterplan has failed footwear’.
- Tech Fund: Manufacturers to pay full fee again after long holiday, but NBCLI grants another year’s holiday from levy.

04 Exports & Trade
- The rise and rise of Veldskoen as it seeks to double turnover.

06 Headlines with Tinashe Mandirahwe
- Puma’s partnership with basketball star crumbles under pressure.
- World Shoe Ghana plans to step into the global footwear arena.

12 Notice Board
- Obituary: Misheck Sibanda, The Courteney Boot Company – we lost a staff member, the world lost a good person..

15 Trade Statistics
- South Africa: September imports and exports of footwear and accessories, provided by SARS.



Advertisers in this Issue
APLF (03,16), Evolution Engineering (03), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (04), Palm Footwear (12), Royal Adhesive Industries (07), Saddler Belts (08), SAFLEC (09), S&V Calendar (13), S&V Directory (15), Seadoone Shoes/Solite (06), The Authentic Brands Company/Shoemaker’s Choice (01), Wayne Safety (OFC).

They Said It

"COP28: this is a business. Millions are spent on travel, hotels, meals. Billions are spent on ‘solutions’, which are just another business, generated by politics. Pockets of politicians are filled to the brim. Nothing is achieved except pissing off taxpayers and being one of the reasons in Europe for political shifts to the far right. It is disgusting." - Columnist Sam Setter, who contributes hard-hitting quotes to S&V African Leather.

New subscribers last week

Rod, Director, Barksole, Cape Town, 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

04/12/1981: Ebrahim Bulbulia, Boot & Shoe Centre, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
05/12/1941: Kishor Makan, agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
05/12/1961: Eckhard Marshing, ACA Threads, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
05/12/1962: Mahomed Amod Mahomed, Willowton Footwear, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
05/12/1963: Dr Clive Jackson-Moss, ISTT, Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA.
05/12/1970: Kevin Naidoo, Arena Trim, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
05/12/1970: Robert Chapman, left the industry, formerly Branded Footwear, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
06/12/1970: Ryan Hansen, left the industry, formerly with CL Hansen Agencies, Durban, KZN, SA.
07/12/1947: Denton Estment, retired, formerly Tuftex, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
07/12/1960: Faldiela Paulsen, Dynatrade, Sandton, Gauteng, SA.
07/12/1973: Brendan Thomas, Techmelt & Polymers, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
08/12/1970: Doug Turner, Uniek Leatherworks, Polokwane/Pietersburg, Limpopo, SA.
08/12/1972: Alan Shadbolt, Castaway Components, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
08/12/1978: Barbara Wessels, Fleur Avant, Stellenbosch, W. Cape, SA.
09/12/1944: John Watt, retired, Bresan Footwear, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
09/12/1949: Bob Ludlow, Albertina Bay, Durban, KZN, SA.
09/12/1950: Neil Tupper, retired, formerly Bata Shoes SA, Rockshoes, Tuppino Footwear, Game Discount World, Durban, KZN, SA.
09/12/1957: Rory Anderson, Rory Anderson Agencies, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
09/12/1965: Cliff Coombe, Agent-C, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
09/12/1979: Naseem Tadia, Less Price Fashions, Nigel, Gauteng, SA.
09/12/1977: Yusuf Salie, AM Showroom/Shoe City, Marble Hall, Mpumalanga, SA.
09/12/1990: Trent Hawke, Chillisource, Durban, KZN, SA.
09/12/????: Beryl Roach, Logomotif, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
10/12/1954: Rolf-Dieter Fuchsmann, ?, formerly DED, Ethiopia.
10/12/1965: Benson Gor Okumu, Bata SA, Pinetown, KZN, SA.

In memoriam this week

04/12/2007: Neville Beckley (b. 27/01/1915), SA Footwear [closed], Durban, KZN, SA.
04/12/2022: David Buckingham (b. 04/02/1947), Royal Adhesive Industries, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
05/12/2021: Piet Neethling, (b.18/12/1952), Camdeboo Meat Processors, Graaff-Reinet, E. Cape, 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.

Trade fairs updated last week

13-16 January 2024: Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags Autumn/Winter, Riva de Garda, Italy.
15-18 June 2024: Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags Spring/Summer, Riva de Garda, Italy.

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 (01 December 2023) - The average hide price increased by 0.49% to R3.29/kg from R3.27/kg in the previous week. The current price is 0.8% higher than the average price a month ago and 21.4% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R3.33 Maximum price: R3.50. 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:

KRB Safety & Packaging, Midrand, Gauteng, SA. PPE distributor.
Krisray, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Fashion accessories manufacturer and distributor.

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: December 11, 2023.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za