S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.9 No.51, December 18 2023
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Last quarter poor, but no knowing what’s to come
Greg Bing, A.P. Jones
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – December so far has been poor – 10% down on last year, even though we have more merchandise, better merchandise, and the same staff. We traded well until September, October levelled off, and November was down.
The staff benefitted from the extra public holiday because they were earning overtime, but it didn’t generate much extra business.
We had big expenses this year installing inverters, which have been worth it, and with roof repairs, and we will go ahead with installing solar panels in the New Year.
There are no hard and fast rules in this business, so let’s see what the rest of the month brings.
Shoe Zone: Getting better, but not up to previous years
Lenasia, Gauteng, SA – The beginning of the month was slow, but it has since picked up, said Omar Sujee, a member of the 54-store Shoe Zone chain. “It’s better now,” he said, “but you still can’t compare it to previous Decembers. Obviously, we hope it will pick up more.”
Casanova to call it a day next year
Durban, KZN, SA – Casanova Fashion Boutique will close within the first 6 months of next year, and its Gateway offshoot, Q’dos, will close at the end of this year, director ‘Budgie’ Magan said, citing the difficulty of operating independent multi-brand stores against mono-brand stores.
He started Casanova in 1979.
“Some retailers at the top end and bottom end are doing well, not all. But there’s no middle ground anymore.
He said he would start something else, “but not in clothing”.
Components quiet, sandals busy
Matthew Hansen, Reunion Components/Angelsoft Shoes
Durban, KZN, SA – The PU sole plant, in terms of supplying other shoe manufacturers in SA, was not as busy as it could be as most manufacturers complained this year was quieter compared to previous years. However, we can already see global sandal trends are heading towards higher and thicker soles which bodes well for summer 2024 as we are already sampling some of our thicker sandal units for summer 24 ranges to other local manufacturers.
Our Angelsoft sandals had quite a good year and we were busy right to the end and we are still despatching orders even today (last Thursday) and already have orders for January 24.
Death notice
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – Allan Norman, formerly of NR Footwear, died last Wednesday in the UK. There will be an obituary in the January issue of S&V Footwear & Leather Goods.
They Said It
"Yeah, well I am pretty young, but time flies the older you get." - Jonathan van Staden, Laeveld Huide & Velle, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, SA, who is 40.
New subscribers last week
Bing Alo-Villareal, Marketing Officer, South African Consulate General, New York, USA
Andrew Pittaway, Director, FSP Collection, Salt River, 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
18/12/1978: Hassive Magaña Maya, Spanish Commercial Office, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
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.
In memoriam this week
18/12/2003: Ben Stoltzman (b. 03.05/1933), Vogue Shoes/Sportshoe SA [closed], Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
19/12/2022: Reg Hattingh (b. 12/01/1936), agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 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.
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.
Directory entries updated last week
Evolution Engineering cc, Durban, KZN, SA.
Ezweni Shoe Components cc, Durban, KZN, SA.
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 ¥ |
| 04/12/2023 |
R20.32 |
R23.69 |
R18.70 |
R2.62 |
| 09/12/2023 |
R20.37 |
R23.74 |
R18.91 |
R2.64 |
| 16/12/2023 |
R20.11 |
R23.41 |
R18.46 |
R2.59 |
2. Botswana Pula (BWP)
Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
| |
Euro € |
GBP £ |
US $ |
CNY ¥ |
| 04/12/2023 |
14.70 |
17.14 |
13.53 |
1.90 |
| 09/12/2023 |
14.67 |
17.09 |
13.62 |
1.90 |
| 16/12/2023 |
14.56 |
16.95 |
13.36 |
1.87 |
3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)
Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
| |
Euro € |
GBP £ |
US $ |
CNY ¥ |
| 04/12/2023 |
1831.63 |
2135.08 |
1685.42 |
236.61 |
| 09/12/2023 |
1813.14 |
2113.02 |
1683.79 |
235.28 |
| 16/12/2023 |
1833.98 |
2134.67 |
1683.14 |
236.49 |
4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)
Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
| |
Euro € |
GBP £ |
US $ |
CNY ¥ |
| 04/12/2023 |
25.88 |
30.17 |
23.82 |
3.34 |
| 09/12/2023 |
26.21 |
30.54 |
24.34 |
3.40 |
| 16/12/2023 |
26.64 |
30.01 |
24.45 |
3.43 |
5. Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL$)
Source: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
| |
Euro € |
GBP £ |
CNY ¥ |
Official US$ |
| 04/12/2023 |
6312.9 |
7357.01 |
818.20 |
5797.01 |
| 09/12/2023 |
6266.70 |
7303.15 |
813.20 |
5835.77 |
| 16/12/2023 |
6464.28 |
7477.57 |
828.40 |
5912.24 |
Note: For previous rates, see HERE
ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (14 December 2023) - The average hide price decreased by 0.07% to R3.288/kg from R3.286/kg in the previous week. The current price is 0.23% higher than the average price a month ago and 21.3% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R3.25 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:
GWK, Douglas, N. Cape, SA. Co-op.
Contact us
News & Classifieds: Tony Dickson, +27 (0)31 209 7505, tony@svmag.co.za
Next newsletter: December 27, 2023.
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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