S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol. 12 No. 03, January 19 2026

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Back-to-school retail

‘Good run’ for school shoes

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – “Overall, we’re having a good run with uniforms and shoes,” Asmall’s director Yuunus Asmall said on Friday. “All the brands are selling well,” he said. He said there were no problems with stock.

School shoes ‘sold out’, sports sales starting

Benoni, Gauteng, SA – “We’ve just put our spikes and rugby boots on display, and customers have seen them, felt them, touched them, so we’re starting to kick off there and we’ve had some sales,” Graham Butler, manager of Ekspa’s Benoni store, said on Saturday. “School shoe sales have been amazing. We’re basically sold out on all our brands. I don’t know how other retailers are doing, but we’ve been blessed.”

Cricket, running biggest sellers now

Queenstown, E. Cape, SA – Mid-December to end March are the busiest selling periods for sports footwear and equipment, Jerome Kent, trustee of Louis’ Sports, said on Friday.
     “Cricket is quite big at the moment, soccer is starting to pick up, and running is picking up nicely,” he said.
     Schools are the biggest part of his business. “We cover a broad area,” he said.
     Asics is his biggest brand overall, but several others have growing.
     He said there had been no issues with receiving stock.

Business

Veldskoen ‘alive and thriving’

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Veldskoen Shoes, which went into business rescue in July last year, “is alive and thriving”, BR practitioner Julian Empedocles, of Almaz Consulting, said on Friday.
     He said the company was focusing on tour groups “and on the South African market generally”, and that its financial position was improving.
     “In the coming months, we’ll change the board of directors to ensure it’s a long lasting business, and we expect it to come out of business rescue during the year.”

Appointments

Hi-Tec Sports Distributors

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Ed van Wezel, son of Hi-Tec Sports Distributors (Pty) Ltd founder Frank van Wezel, has been appointed CEO following the departure of former CEO Gary de Vogel. Former national sales director Mike Farrer has returned as MD. Esmé Coetzee remains CFO.

Berzacks

Durban, KZN, SA – Berzack Brothers (Pty) Ltd has appointed Michael Ball as GM of its Coats division following the retirement of Ashley Naidoo at the end of December.

In case you missed it!

The January issue of S&V African Leather Magazine

CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT ONLINE

S&V African Leather Magazine Vol20 No1 January 2026

IN THIS ISSUE:

03 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.

05 Upfront
- S&V African Leather turns 20 this year.
- Stahl/Muno split complete: ‘No change in day-to-day business in SA.’
- Foot and mouth disease: Crisis mode for agriculture, but tanning industry so far relatively unaffected.

11 An Eclectic View
- Press self-destruct: Even biodegradables need the right environment to, well, degrade, writes correspondent H. Procter.

13 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- SLF objectives for 2026: Advancing credibility, capacity, and global representation, writes the Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor.
- One 4 Leather is a group of manufacturers and suppliers, active in the automotive leather supply chain. Here, they present a point-by-point refutation of the arguments against leather.

19 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.

20 Statistics
- Preliminary South African trade statistics for November 2025.



Advertisers in this Issue
Authenticae (02), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (09), Mimosa (04), Rolfes Leather Division (06), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (10), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (07), Sustainable Leather Foundation (OFC).

They Said It

"The ‘They Said It’ from Carol Mentor on days gone by was so accurate. The days gone by were awesome. I’m sure many of the older generation will have lots to say about the industry. So sad that the current powers that be don’t have a clue what it meant to us back then." - Brian R. Zyster, retired.

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

New subscribers last week

Joan, Technician, Munocorp, Spain
Richard Magombo, Leather Technician, Trickers Ltd, Northampton, United Kingdom
Jaco, Director, Nakara, Windhoek, Namibia

Birthdays this week

19/01/1943: Richard Šantrůček, retired, formerly Conshu (closed), Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
19/01/1960: Saleem Khamissa, His Place, Port Shepstone, KZN, SA.
21/01/1976: Mickey Walker, McCullough & Bothwell, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
23/01/1943: Pat Ward, left industry, ex-RPM Shoes [closed], Durban, KZN, SA.
23/01/1944: Gerrie Botha, Steps Shoes @ Barclay, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
23/01/1964: Lesley Williams, Lesley Williams Agencies, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
24/01/1969: Yolander Lotter, Comfy Feet Shoes, Jeffrey’s Bay, E. Cape, SA.
25/01/1951: André Pelser, retired, formerly Mossop-Western Leathers, Wellington, W. Cape, SA.
25/01/1973: Reggi Xaba, Zetu Shoes, Durban, KZN, SA.
25/01/1979: Gareth Mouton, African Leather & Skins, Paarl, W. Cape, SA.

In memoriam this week

19/01/2005: Thomas Anthony (Tony) O’Sullivan (b.08/06/1928), Vogue Shoes (closed) and others, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA.
20/01/2010: Johan Bester (b. 08/11/1936), ProGlove, King William’s Town, E. Cape, SA.
21/01/2021: Mohamed Farouk Kader (b. 20/11/1952), Kaytex Belts, Pretoria, Gauteng, SA.
22/01/1997: Charles Lintner, Bata SA, Pinetown, KZN, SA.
22/01/2024: Mussa Hajat (b. 27/09/1933), Bata Malawi and Footwear Centre, Blantyre, Malawi.
23/01/2024: Roland Brian James ‘Roley’ Rogers (b. 11/09/1938), Bata SA, footwear agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
23/01/2024: Sandy Campbell (b. 27/07/1948), Dalbac, Prestige Components (both closed), Pinetown, KZN, SA.
24/01/2025: Zelton Wiskin (b. 24/03/1958), agent, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
25/01/2014: Barry Kruger (b. 20/06/1944), Richleigh Shoes (closed) and Corrida Shoes, Pietermaritzburg, 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.

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

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (16 January 2026) - The current average hide price increased by 0.42% to R2.336/kg from R2.326/kg a week ago. The current price is 0.58% higher than the average price a month ago and was 16.8% lower than the average price a year ago. The range of prices reported was as follows: Minimum price: R2.25 Maximum price: R2.86. 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, 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:

Intershu Group, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA. Footwear and leather goods distributor.
Intobrands, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA. Footwear distributor.

THIS WEEK LAST YEAR!

Back-to-school: Good wrap-up for the season

2024 stats don’t make good reading for local footwear industry

Prosper Africa/USAID trade promotion offer

Kyrie Irving’s Anta Shoes see surge in demand after Nike split

Richemont sales up 10% for third quarter

In case you missed it!: The January issue of S&V African Leather Magazine

READ IT HERE - S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.11 No.3, January 20 2025

THIS WEEK FIVE YEARS AGO!!

Business
- South Africa
-- Jumbo: 'You have to be nimble'
-- Kingsmead: Okay, 'all things considered'
-- Pick 'n Wear: Aiming to halt decline
-- Sportscentre: Adapting to different activities

Stock Exchange News Service (SENS)
- Truworths

Death notices

READ IT HERE - S&V Weekly Newsletter Vol.7 No.03, Jan 18, 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 26 January, 2026. Ad and editorial deadline Friday 23 January.

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