S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.12 No.1, January 5 2026

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Retail

Hoping to cash in on upswing in athletics – and that weather-delayed stocks arrive

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – “I wasn’t instore today, but back-to-school has apparently started in earnest,” The Sweat Shop member Jax Snyman said on Friday.
     School sport accounts for the bulk of athletic shoe sales, and he said athletics “have had a bit of a boom”.
     “Schools sport shoe sales, especially boots, are price sensitive, but netball, and lately carbon-plated track spikes, are bucking the trend. Prices for the latter are in the R3k plus range only.”
     His main concern is the late arrival of stocks because of offloading delays in Cape Town harbour caused by adverse weather.

Good start to January follows busier than usual December sales

Benoni, Gauteng, SA – Many customers “woke up earlier” and bought school shoes in December, Graham Butler, manager of Ekspa’s Benoni store, said on Saturday. “We had a much busier than usual December, and January has started the same,” he said. “I have positive vibes going forward.”
     He said stock would always be an issue “because the algorithm of which sizes to buy isn’t an exact science – but if you don’t sell out, you don’t make money”.
     He said he had doubled his Hush Puppies order to 600 pairs and still sold out. The brand is a relatively small part of Ekspa’s footwear range.
     Sports shoes – hockey, rugby and soccer boots, and running shoes, normally only start selling when schools reopen, he said.

Consumers buying school shoes earlier

Port Shepstone, KZN, SA – “We had an unusually good December because people started buying school wear early,” said Raj Sukai, director of Fair Price Store/Workwell Tailors. “So far, the season is better than last year.
     “Stock hasn’t been an issue, and I hope it stays that way, because by next week we’ll be out of certain sizes.”

Waiting for pickup after slow December

Newcastle, KZN, SA – Luggage Centre proprietor Yunus Hansa said he expected business to pick up from this week. “People haven’t got over Christmas and New Year yet,” he said.
     He said December trade had been 5%-10% down on the previous year.

They Said It

"The footwear industry forecast for 2026 points to steady growth, driven by e-commerce, sustainability demands, and shifting consumer tastes towards comfort and style, with the global market projected to exceed $420 billion, seeing strong trends in versatile performance shoes, sustainable materials, and personalized designs, while luxury segments also expand due to rising incomes. Key drivers include tech innovations, direct-to-consumer models, and growing health/wellness focus, though economic factors remain a consideration." - This is what AI had to say when asked for ‘a footwear industry forecast for 2026’. Hedging lots of bets, wouldn’t you say? I keep having to remind myself that AI commentary is a summary of what it finds on the Internet – not an original opinion. It’s an extraordinarily quick summary, which is why a techno retard like me thinks I’m communicating with a person.

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

05/01/1950: Roger Durrbaum, retired, Barker Footwear (now part of Bolton Footwear), Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
05/01/1952: Charles Poole, Design Unique Belts, East London, E. Cape, SA.
05/01/1957: Herman Alheit, Dick Whittington Shoes, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
05/01/1965: Jay Lalloo, Decofurn, Durban, KZN, SA.
05/01/1983: Andreas Lambrakis, Europa Art Group, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
05/01/1963; Hugo Zuanni, Leather Link, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
05/01/1977: Peter Lin, C.Y. Lin, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
06/01/1947: Allan Harris, Woodheads, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
06/01/1968: Gavin Kisten Pillay, Topline Manufacturers, Durban, KZN, SA.
06/01/1970: Neville Walters, ACA Thread, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
06/01/1976: Michael Gounden, Michelle Footwear, Durban, KZN, SA.
07/01/1941: Dieter Zettler, retired, formerly PMC group, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
07/01/1977: Hannelie Scholtz, Fabulous Fashions, Vryburg, N.W. Province, SA.
07/01/1970: Ingo Fleischer, Johnson Controls SA, Uitenhage, E. Cape, SA.
08/01/1944: Kishor Mistry, Shoe Junxion, Sasolburg, Free State, SA.
08/01/1972: Imtiaz Butler, agent, Durban, KZN, SA.
09/01/1962: Ming-Ter Tso, Mingfay International Trade, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
09/01/1987: Nazia Parsad, On Q Trend Online Store, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA.
10/01/1947: Pieter de Villiers, Shoes & Do’s, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
10/01/1955: HR Hassim, Suliman Jooma & Son, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
10/01/1980: Edward Althorpe, commission agent, East London, E. Cape, SA.
10/01/1982: Arnold Britten, Zambezi Tanners, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
11/01/1954: Dilip Merchant, Merchant’s Outfitters, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
11/01/1958: Michael Prinsloo, Shoelettes (closed), Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
11/01/1983: Karen Lewis-Williams, Intershu Group, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.

In memoriam this week

05/01/1996: Henry Ogus (b. 09/02/1944), Bata SA, Shoes for Africa, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
05/01/2025: John Watt (b. 09/12/1944), Bresan Footwear, Howick, and Bata SA, Greytown, KZN, SA.
06/01/2000: Alan Palmer (b. 02/09/1946), Medicus, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA.
06/01/2010: Minty Kock (b. 15/06/1950), Meroda Footwear (closed), Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
07/01/2010: Danie Du Toit (b. 22/02/1948), Carca Footwear (closed), Lesotho.
07/01/2015: Rob Thompson (b. 06/08/1948), agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
09/01/2021: Elaine Coy (b. 30/10/1951), Afro Leather, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
09/01/2022: Ron MacNiven (b. 24/09/1944), Bata Zimbabwe, Decofurn, Durban, KZN, SA.
09/01/2023: Anthony Pearce (b. 31/05/1954), Woods Tanning, Uitenhage, E. Cape, SA. Formerly Swartland Tanning and Gringo Leather.

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) (buying)

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

4. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) (buying)

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

5. Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG)

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

Note: For previous rates, see HERE

ABSA Agri Trends: Hides & skins prices

NOTE: THE NEXT HIDE PRICE REPORT WILL BE IN THE SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY.

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:

Integrum Global Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. PPE reseller.
International Colours (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Luggage and leather goods distributor.

THIS WEEK LAST YEAR!

Back-to-school: Retailers report good start

Italian footwear exports dropped in first 9 months last year

READ IT HERE - S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.11 No.1, January 6 2025

THIS WEEK FIVE YEARS AGO!!

Business
- Botswana
-- JB Sports: Starting 2021 with confidence
-- Kopano Stores: Long promotion period paid off

- South Africa
-- Mr Tekkie: December up, January may be tough

Changes: Cobus Loubser, former CEO of MoreSport, left the company and the industry

Death Notices
- Neville Dodo
- Pierre Cardin

READ IT HERE - S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.7 No.01, Jan 4, 2021

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

All the past S&V Weekly Newsletters from January 2016 onwards are available in the newsletter archive.
VIEW THE ARCHIVE - CLICK HERE

Contact us

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

Next newsletter: Monday 12 January, 2026. Ad and editorial deadline Friday 09 January.

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