S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.10 No.18, April 29 2024

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Temu pulls safety footwear from its SA site, SAFLIA says it’s going after other noncompliant suppliers

Umhlanga, KZN, SA – Following an investigation by SAFLIA, Chinese online retailer Temu said after last week’s report that it had withdrawn all safety footwear from its South African portal.
      SAFLIA found that Temu’s safety footwear didn’t comply with the marking and certification requirements for safety footwear in South Africa, which is regulated by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS).
      Following our report last Monday, Temu said in an email: “After thorough review, we have taken the necessary steps to remove the item in question.”
      Earlier, it had said that its legal team checked legal requirements in all markets it serves.
      Although Temu still offers a wide range of ‘work’ shoes, none state that they have protective toecaps.
      SAFLIA executive director Jirka Vymĕtal said this morning that the organisation was following up on safety footwear offered on a similar site.
      “I’m pleased we’ve stopped this source of noncompliant safety footwear, which undercut legal safety footwear in part because it didn’t have to follow NRCS regulations,” he said. “We intend to shut down all similar sources.
      “I’d also like to point out that Temu’s ‘work’ shoes claim to be oil-resistant, waterproof and nonslip – this statement is somewhat questionable as it falls under their category of ‘Work & Safety Shoes’ in both the men’s & women’s categories. Perhaps this also needs looking into.
“My understanding is that any footwear claiming safety needs the necessary accreditation markings, certification etc. Hence the questionability of the link below, which states: ‘Men's Solid Slip-On Oil Proof Chef Shoes, Comfy Non-Slip Casual Safety Shoes For Men's Outdoor Activities’.
Link

Caprini: ‘Restarting for summer’

Durban, KZN, SA – Caprini Footwear is restructuring and has NOT closed, MD Sanjay Pattundeen said last week.
      He said Caprini had had no work for March and April, “but now I’m preparing to restart a scaled down Caprini next month”.
      Caprini supplies chains, wholesalers and mini-chains, and it has an export customer in a neighbouring state.

Death notice

Northampton, UK – Leather technician Ken Moakes, who retired back to the UK after many years with various tanning chemical companies in SA, died suddenly last Monday, aged 79. An obituary will follow in the May issue of S&V African Leather.

In case you missed it!

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

CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT ONLINE

S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol90 No4 April 2024

IN THIS ISSUE:

03 Upfront
- The R-CTFL Masterplan, 5 years on – Part III: It’s not enough to say ‘please buymore from us’, says NCRF.

05 Exports & Trade
- APLF Leather, Materials+, Fashion Access: It was good to be back, exhibitors said.
- Fathima Khan Luxury: Good leads.
- NTE Company: Boost for agents.
- Thurling Investments: In many ways, back to the old glory days.
- Zambezi Grace: Good market for our leather and our bags.
- SAFLEC: As world output exceeds demand, SA is still an attractive source of footwear.

13 Travel Goods
- Growth for top end as business travel returns to normal levels.

16 Profile
- Alfonso Smerilli of Make My Shoes Store Lab and Smerilli Design Manufacturing: Direct to consumer AND supplying mini-chains with European quality footwear.

14 Headlines with Tinashe Mandirahwe
- Shoe brand The Weekend Boot opens doors to its secrets.

20 Influencers
- Beyoncé Bounce: Western boot sales jump more than 20% week over week since ‘Cowboy Carter’ launch.
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ‘ruins’ classically cool sneaker, while Barack Obama looked ‘tasteful, playful and on-point’.

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



Advertisers in this Issue
All China Leather Exhibition (OFC), Arena Trim (04), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (02), Haesloop Agencies (09), Kaytex Belts (12), Leather Finishing Products (15), Leggenda Sport/Diadora (03, 19), Saddler Belts (07), SAFLEC (10), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (14), Seadoone Shoes (06), Shotland Packing (17).

They Said It

"Business is not as brisk as we would like. Difficult to tell the crocodiles to stop growing!! Margins are squeezed as buyers are driving a hard bargain." - Declan ‘Dex’ Kelly, 4seeable Trading, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA. He was referring to sourcing meat to feed crocodiles at the Zimbabwean crocodile farms he works with.

"I am semi-retired. I still do some designing for Tom and Richard Bassage at CC Leather. Hell, who can afford to totally retire these days? My wife is still running her picture framing business." - Kevin Cockcroft, veteran shoemaker, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, 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

Birthdays this week

29/04/1951: Elizabeth Loubser, retired, formerly Bolton Group, Great Brak River.
29/04/1980: Mark Fraser, Claw Boots International, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
30/04/1959: Gustav Franzsen, Vinaco, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
30/04/1964: Hayley Roberts, Retailability, Durban, KZN, SA.
30/04/1985: Gert Bosch, TST Agencies, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
01/05/1931: Bill Ramage, retired, formerly Apeco [closed], Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
01/05/1932: George Wilkens, emigrated, formerly Martin Johnson [closed], Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
01/05/1961: Ronell Nieuwoudt, Suzi Q, Phalaborwa, Limpopo, SA.
01/05/1962: Tanya Vosloo, Greystone Trading 387, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
02/05/1956: Dave Robertson, emigrated, formerly Bushy Marketing, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
03/05/1949: Sam Wells, Malome Leather Technologies, Boksburg, Gauteng, SA.
03/05/1951: Ron Rink, retired, formerly Puma, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
03/05/1953: Alex Leith, left the industry, Durban, KZN, SA.
03/05/1964: Rafique Vahed, Fashion Extreme, Estcourt, KZN, SA.
03/05/1972: Afzal Deedat, Speed Zipper, Durban, KZN, SA.
04/05/1940: Isaac James, retired, formerly Step High Shoe Boutique, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
04/05/1948: Martin Nefdt, agent, Port Elizabeth. E. Cape, SA.
04/05/1954: Norman Zoghby, Atlantic Protective Clothing, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
05/05/1963: Pradeep M Bhoola, Hardy's Outfitters, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
05/05/1967: Vernon Lotter, Comfy Feet Shoes, Jeffery’s Bay, E. Cape, SA.

In memoriam this week

30/04/2012: Ebrahim Aboo (b. 07/08/1948), MG Shoes [closed], Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
05/05/2001: Raj Kallichurum (b. 23/02/1954), Shoe Component Supplies, KwaDukuza, 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.

Directory entries updated this week

A&E Hyperworld [Ahmed & Ebrahim (Pty) Ltd], Trichardt, Mpumalanga, SA.
Vellie Boutique (Pty) Ltd, Boksburg, Gauteng, SA.

3. Malawian Kwacha (MWK)

Source: https://www.rbm.mw/

4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW)

Source: https://www.boz.zm/

5. Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWL$) (average) / Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG)

Source: Source: https://www.rbz.co.zw/

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (25 April 2024) - The average hide price increased by 0.02% to R3.216/kg from R3.215/kg a week ago. The current price is 7.3% lower than the average price a month ago and 4.8% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R3.00 Maximum price: R3.20. 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:

Style Mode, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Online clothing retailer.
Sublime Clothing, Knysna, W. Cape, SA. Women’s online clothing retailer.

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: May 06, 2024. Ad and editorial deadline Friday 05 May.

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

Our website www.svmag.co.za