S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine

S&V Shoes & Views Magazine Vol92 No8 August 2026

IN THIS ISSUE:

03 Timeline
- Historical highlights: How Rockshoes became Trailmix Trading.

07 SAFLEC AGM
- A year marked by resilience, writes chairman Tavonga Gonyora.
- Strengthening of relationships between industry organisations and government a key development, writes director Nerisha Jairaj.

14 Product News
- Stokies: New owner plans to resurrect a homegrown brand.
- Wayne’s Phambili range: Practical boots from non-safety to full protection.

18 Sustainability
- Plastics SA ‘celebrates 30 years of inspiring South Africans to take action against litter’ – but so much more is needed.

22 Quality Control
- Performance testing: Building credibility in the modern apparel and footwear market, by Tony Lai, Technical Manager, Softlines, SGS Connectivity & Products.
- The showroom pair is not the order, writes Yinghang Wu, founder of ChinaBrandPath.

24 Noticeboard
- Those who can, do, those who can do it even better, teach. In memory of Ken Riches, by his friend and admirer, Richard Kushlick.
- Obituary for Colin Battle. ‘Our sales trips were a whole life experience,’ by his friend and one-time principal, Richard Kushlick.

21 Statistics
- Preliminary trade statistics June 2026.



Advertisers in this Issue
Arena Trims (13), BBF Safety Group (OFC), East Asian Import & Export (25), eThekwini Leather (09), Freestyle Genuine Handcrafted Leather (06), Haesloop Agencies (16), Hi-Tec (02), iSync Solutions (14), Kaytex Belts (21), Leather Finishing Products (28), Saddler Belts (08), SAFLEC (18), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (19), Shotland Packaging (23), Trailmix Trading/Savoy (03).