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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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