The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more

The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more

Last week’s R-CTFL Masterplan meeting between retail, manufacturing, labour and government, with a concentration on footwear and leather goods, showed that the gulf between retail and the rest hasn’t narrowed.A follow-up meeting is planned for 08 May.The Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC), the SA Footwear & ...more

There are many factors other than reluctant chain buyers that contribute to the SA leather value chain’s problems ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – The R-CTFL Masterplan – at its most visible level – has come to a halt.The government-funded contract for the project co-ordinators, B&M Analysts (BMA), ended at the end of last year, and has thus far not been renewed.That has meant that the weekly and monthly PMO meetings, the interface betw ...more

As part of the R-CTFL Masterplan, the Industrial Development Corporation funded 2 ‘subnational clusters’ to enhance local manufacturing capabilities. In Durban, the Mr Price Cluster involved Labora Shoes and Smiley’s Footwear, and in Pietermaritzburg, Eddels was the manufacturing partner in the Foschini Cluster. Both are being wound up. Tshepo Ramodibe, IDC Head of Corporate Affairs, replies to S&V’s questions.  ...more

Several SA raw materials make it into H&M’s value chain, but so far, no finished goods ...more

All the South African-owned factories who speciaiise in supplying volume orders to chains, and who agreed to comment, said volumes had dropped and that some of their chain customers openly said they had gone back to China.There have been casualties: In KZN, Nikkita Footwear Manufacturing, Prisaan Footwear, De Javw/Footech and Everstrong S ...more

‘Temu and Shein need to be dealt with quickly as they have to play on an equal footing’ ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – In response to criticism that the R-CTFL Masterplan has not delivered benefits for footwear manufacturing, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel, who attended the virtual PMO core meeting last week, asked the footwear representatives, representing SAFLIA and SAFLEC, to compile a full list ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – The group monitoring the progress of the R-CTFL Masterplan – the PMO Core – “does not have a mandate to engage with the media”, according to Michael Lawrence, who represents the National Clothing Retail Federation of SA (NCRF) on the PMO Core.He was responding last week to the report ...more

Has the R-CTFL Masterplan, launched 5 years ago, done anything to increase local procurement of footwear and leather goods by the chains that agreed to be part of it?It depends on who you ask, and the answers are very different.In the ‘yes’ corner is Michael Lawrence, who wears 2 hats – as director of the National Clothi ...more