Remaining stores to close, wholesale reduced to run out stock ...more

Is your business affected by Temu and Shein, and can you quantify that in any way?We have not significantly felt the effect of Temu and Shein, that being said, it is early days and apparel retailers would probably feel the effects first.How do their prices compare to yours?From what I have seen both Temu and Shein offer a low-price model, ...more

David Fox, Choice ClothingCape Town, W. Cape, SA - It’s been a pretty tough year for most retailers, I think – a weak Rand and cash-strapped consumers. Our Black Friday promotion will run from 21st November to 3rd December, with specials every day. The merchandise will be across the board – T-shirts, jeans, footwear. It ...more

Obituary: Stephan Berrill – Jack & Jill, Paul Moeller & Co., Adidas, Angels Shoes (29/03/1956-15/07/2024) ...more

Bader SA and Karan Beef have confirmed that the agreement whereby Bader SA buys all Karan Beef hides is still in place.Karan, which is a vertically integrated feedlot, abattoir and meat wholesaling business, slaughters around 2 000 cattle per day. The hides are third party wet blue tanned.Bader SA COO Robert O’Connell said the ...more

Three of SA’s biggest PPE OEMs are involved in what is – so far – a war of words over copying.On 04 September, BBF Safety Group sent a notice to its distributors and some end users claiming Dromex’s Nobuhle and Ulteco Plus styles “replicate too closely our Sisi Reese and Bova Neoflex safety boot styles” ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA - This company has been in business since 1906, and we’ve diversified to do wholesaling and retailing. At the moment, however, business is inconsistent.We used to supply a lot to government departments, but that has dried up because I think they don’t have available funds.We also used to supply a film mak ...more

Walvis Bay, Namibia - Trading has improved slightly from last year. I have noticed balanced trade across both segments, apparel and footwear. I am hoping for stronger festive trade - 4th quarter.  ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - The Southern African Vinyls Association’s inaugural “Innovation in PVC” conference will take place on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, at Sasol Place in Sandton. The programme and speakers are available here: programmeThe conference brings together industry leaders, experts, and stakeholders to disc ...more

Shelly Beach, KZN, SA – David Boulanger started out making leather sandals, belts and hats from his VW Kombi in Jeffrey’s Bay in the 1970s, and has been in business as The Little Leather Shop since 1980. He and wife, Ivy, are about to launch online retail – prompted by the slow recovery of business post-covid.   ...more

Obituary: David Sean Scott – Scotts, Brazilia Footwear (04/09/1955-26/02/2023)David Scott’s true legacy is summed up by the warmth of the memories of two women – his older daughter, Kate, and a former hawker he mentored to become an international businesswoman in her own right, Fortunate Msa Tserane of Msa Shoes.Kate Sco ...more

Nairobi, Kenya – The Kenyan Government has appointed a new board of directors for the Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) for a 3-year period.In a release on its website, the KLDC said Capt. Mohamed Abdikadir Adan is the chairperson with effect from 05 April, 2023.“Capt. Adan and his new team will steer the Council, in re ...more

Omar Hassim, Shoe BizBulawayo, Zimbabwe  – The relative stability of the Zim Dollar over the last 6 months has had a positive effect of stabilizing prices and an overall positive effect on trading over the last quarter. December sales have been fairly good up to now and hopefully those dark dreary days of the previous ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - Airways Tailors & Outfitters has adapted to trading conditions by sharing premises and concentrating on its core competence - tailoring. Owner Navin Khoosal has moved into Wayne Matthysen's Bluedot store. "He's the retailer, I'm the tailor," he said.      He said there had &quo ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Distribution of Sebago in southern Africa shifted to the Crick Group from Medicus at the beginning of 2022, in line with the change of ownership of the brand in 2017 from U.S.-based Wolverine World Wide to Italian company BasicNet S.p.A. ...more

The NRCS needs to do what it's supposed to do - Sourcing from China hasn't been a problem - Swing to lower priced boots, but demand is good. ...more

Burgdorf, Switzerland (April 22, 2021) - The nearly 100 % antimicrobial protection of Sanitized T 99-19 against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been confirmed by independent labs in France (basis: ISO 18184:2019). ...more

- The NRCS needs to do what it's supposed to dorn- Sourcing from China hasn't been a problemrn- Swing to lower priced boots, but demand is good ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (December 03, 2020) - Global NCAP and AA South Africa released their report on crash test results for 3 vehicles, the fourth round of their #SaferCarsForAfrica programme, which is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the FIA Foundation. According to the report: The three models tested, the Steed 5 pick-up fr ...more

Bloemfontein, Free State – Gavin Frances, director of 7-store men's outfitter Valortrade 150 (Pty) Ltd, t/a Madison's and B&B Trading, said it has been "a much better Christmas" than last year.      "Black Friday this year was poor, and I think it was the same for most retailers ...more

Press releaseLionRock Capital to acquire majority stake in Clarks. Clark family to remain a key shareholder in the business. Partnership will secure a sustainable future for the 195-year-old world-renowned British shoe brand. The investment from LionRock Capital is conditional on shareholder approval and on a Company Voluntary A ...more

S&V has been a window onto the soul of the leather, footwear and leather goods industries for decades, and like them, has reinvented itself many times This is an anniversary year for S&V. An 85th anniversary. I very much doubt many other industries in South Africa have a trade publication which has published continuously for ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA – Any apparel retailer can sell any item of apparel, all apparel retailers are allowed to have all members of staff at work, and the only restrictions now are hygiene - masks, sanitizers and social distancing. That's the situation as of today as far as the National Clothing Retailers' Federation understand ...more

Westmead, KZN, SA – We, as all non-essential businesses, had to close our doors on the 26th of March. We continued to work from home but in reality, as we are a manufacturing concern, all we really did was apply for TERS, Saft and the SMME Finance Relief Fund. The TERS was a nightmare to apply for as different formats were req ...more

With international travel “out of the question” for the present, footwear manufacturers and retailers are going to have to do substantially more of their pre-production developments online. Companies worldwide are scrambling to adapt to the challenging situation.       FLIC has started to loo ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA – Different lockdown levels in different parts of the country from the end of May, "could lead to some really odd situations", National Clothing Retail Federation of SA executive director Michael Lawrence said on Friday. "However, [the National Corivavirus Command Council] has given itself ...more

Germiston, Gauteng, SA – On 1 May when retail level 4 was unlocked there was frenzy in the malls.  Customers were walking around with 4 to 5 bags of purchases from all retailers, revealing that winter purchases had not yet been made. People were also wanting to get out and so there were many feet in the malls. The  result ...more

Germiston, Gauteng, SA – Unfortunately under Section/phase 4 of the lockdown restrictions, Frasers stores are not allowed to trade and we are only doing sales through our online channels. When we open - hopefully by Friday we will receive positive news - we will have a clearer view of how the travel restrictions globally, as well a ...more

Germiston, Gauteng, SA – Since restarting earlier this month, the first week started off with a good buzz, with customers eager to shop after the long recess of lockdown with all clothing stores closed. The past 2 weeks have been slow to quiet. We are far off from our usual trading patterns.        ...more

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – We started up after 2 days of preparing our factory to comply with the new OHS Act. It has been a hectic 2 weeks and the exact number of employees we are permitted to have on site has been a bit confusing. We have been operating with 30% of our staff for the past 2 weeks, which has not been financia ...more

Tulbagh, W Cape, SA – To answer you, for what it is worth;1. We got permit for L5, workers refused to start, they told me, they not interested to return to work, if not all workers are allowed to work at once! Took me more than a week, to get the essential workers in the factory.2. At the moment, my workers refuse to work. The ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (May 18, 2020) – Shareholders are referred to the SENS announcement issued on 30 March 2020 which provided an update of the impact of the Covid-19 national lockdown on the Massmart Group. As previously reported, Massmart supports the measures the South African Government has outlined to contain the sp ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - Morgan Naidoo, member of leather indent agent Alan D. Jackson, which has principals in Brazil, India and Pakistan, said most of his customers still had stocks of leather. He said the global drop in hide prices had seen the prices for Brazilian leather drop from US$2.45-2.50/ft² to $2.10, "which is a significant ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA - Unfortunately orders on the automotive side are nonexistent, and with Brazilian TR1s being offered at 0.35US$/ft², even export orders on wet blues are hard to come by and to compete with.  The majority of the wet blue plants were wet salting during the lockdown phase with the prospect of being able to pro ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA - Lockdown has in some crazy way been a hugely inspirational period for the Fusion Leather and African Gameskin team. The challenge of new and unknown, sparks energy in my team and leads to extraordinary thinking.  We are in regular contact with our customers, carving a path for the near future, along with an 18 ...more

Wellington, W Cape, SA - One has to acknowledge that the remainder of 2020 will be very tough.  Liquidity in the industry will be the largest challenge we face and all of us have to act responsibly to our customers and suppliers in this regard.   There is vast uncertainty about the medium term future and shoe manufacturers ...more

Rayton, Gauteng, SA - The hunting and taxidermy sectors are awaiting the easing of restrictions on the transport of trophies and game skins across provincial boundaries, and on a broader definition of allowed hunting, before they can resume commercially viable operations. "There are so many apparent contradictions in the rules," ...more

Baxter's: A good start, now back to 'normal'Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, SA – The first week was very busy, from Monday to Friday. Now it has slowed down to more-or-less what it was in March.       Observing the regulations has been straightforward because I don't get lots of people coming to the store at the same ti ...more

We asked a number of manufacturers: Is it now feasible for you to restart general production, or have you already restarted? What is your order position like, and have there been cancellations? Are any of your staff refusing to come back to work for any reason, and if so, what reasons? 4 have so far responded: The Little Slipper Co: ...more

As of Monday, there has been no further clarification of what constitutes 'winter footwear' in terms of lockdown regulations. Last week saw a flurry of communication between the various associations and organisations in the leather value chain seeking to define categories of footwear which will be acceptable to the National Coronavirus Co ...more

Dick Whittington Shoes, deemed an essential supplier because it makes government tender footwear, was raided by the police during 'Level 5' of the lockdown, for a suspected violation of lockdown rules. The rumour mills suggested MD Arveen Boodhoo and production manager Herman Alheit were arrested. Here the MD explains what happened.  ...more

Most companies' disaster recovery plans didn't make provision for a virus-inspired national lockdown. Many companies, across all industries, have a business continuity plan of some sort, but this time they got punched in the face and caught with their pants down. Protection of profits and defending the bottom line is now more imperative t ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA - The rules imposed on most footwear manufacturers wishing to restart manufacturing under the government's 'Level 4' lockdown "will discourage most from re-opening", SAFLIA executive director Jirka Vymetal said last week. "There are a lot of rules and requests that make it difficult," he said. &qu ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – Dr Jaywant Irkhede, Director: Leather & Footwear at the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC), last week forwarded this announcement. Dr Irkhede's contact details are +27 (0)66 301 2044, jirkhede@thedti.gov.za.COVID-19 GUARANTEED LOAN SCHEME FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISESAs announ ...more

A.P. Jones: A slow trickle, and glad of itFish Hoek, W Cape, SA – It has been a slow trickle since last Saturday. We are extremely fortunate in that we do have a slow trickle. There are so many businesses out there who have not been able to open and we feel for them. I think that it is all going to be about expectation (or the lack ...more

From today, the leather and footwear sectors, and their suppliers, may resume limited business, from manufacturing to retail, subject to various safety measures. Subject to clarification, it appears that ANY closed footwear qualifies. So far, no mention has been made of leather goods.       In Government ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA – Following the announcement that the manufacture and retail of 'winter clothing' will be allowed from May 1, a Government Gazette spelling out the conditions is expected to be published this week.       "We're busy writing a lot of motivations and product lists wh ...more

Several manufacturers have said they have yet to receive money from the UIF for their employees.Moda Shoes is a family footwear retailer with 3 stores in Pretoria.       "It seems that UIF payments have started to filter through to some factories," SAFLIA director Jirka Vymetal said, "but ...more

Talks around local sourcing also to continueCape Town, W Cape, SA – Chain retailers are expecting "some relief" from government in terms of a resumption of trade, and the National Clothing Retail Federation of SA is suggesting models which would allow that without compromising the health measures of the lockdown, ex ...more

Wholesaler/retailer London Shoes has 4 stores in the Western Cape, each with a different landlord, and each has reacted differently, director Maon Saxe said.       "Landlord 1 is Redefine," he said, "and they've been excellent. Before the lockdown was extended, they offered a 70% discount ...more

Once Government and the Health department announce the lifting or partial lifting of the lockdown and declare it safe to re-open the factories, our industry will then be allowed back to work. However, it is envisaged that to do this there will be a need to put certain new procedures and regulations in place, to ensure the safety of everyb ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (April 08, 2020) – Dr Jaywant Irkhede, Director: Leather & Footwear at the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC), last week forwarded more announcements:Due to the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to curb the spread of COVID-19, the National Treasury in support of the D ...more

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – SAFLEC and FLIC are proud to announce that they have mutually agreed to join forces on certain projects for the balance of the lockdown period. The two organizations original mandates have been partially disrupted by the lockdown imposed. Once the lockdown is lifted the two organizations will go bac ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA (August 1, 2019) – Shareholders are advised that earnings per share ('EPS'), headline earnings per share ('HEPS') and adjusted diluted HEPS for the 53 weeks ended 30 June 2019 are expected to be within the ranges reflected below:    EPS  June 2018 reported (cents): -369.5   June 2019 ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (July 24 2019) – In a release via the Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), AVI Limited issued a voluntary trading update and statement for the year ended 30 June 2019       Comparisons to prior year results in the commentary are made on a like-for-like basis, before taki ...more

Thu 11 Jul 2019, 9:15 Woolies - extracts from a SENS trading updateThe year ended 30 June 2019 ('current year') had 53 trading weeks compared to 52 trading weeks for the year ended 24 June 2018 ('prior year').       In South Africa, after a 2.0% decline in sales in the first half, Woolworths Fashion ...more

On behalf of the Southern Africa SLTC, we are pleased to invite your corporation to our yearly SLTC conference that will take place on the 26 to 28 May 2017.        The conference is held yearly to present all aspects that influence the leather industry and offer a networking environment between tanneries and suppliers ...more

Johannesburg (SA) – AVI Limited’s unaudited interim results for the 6 months ended December 31, 2016 were released this morning. AVI, which is a fast moving consumer goods group, includes A&D Spitz and Green Cross, along with food and beverages and personal care products. Extracts follow:        Gr ...more