Langenfeld, Germany – Kaija Korolainen was appointed Group Chief People Officer (CPO) on 01 July and Samer Al Jabi was appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on 01 September.Kaija has a strong track record of strategic HR leadership across multiple industries and geographies. At TFL, she is responsible for ...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

Note: This article is about the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition’s master plans as a concept, not about the R-CTFL Master Plan specifically. ...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

Durban, KZN, SA – Lou Harvey – the company – is, surely, the only business in South Africa’s CTFL exporting community which has had its products SOUND tested. And Lou Harvey – the person – is, surely, alone is receiving 800 WhatsApp messages in 1 day from the same person. You would be correct if you gue ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA - The National Consumer Commission (NCC) is asking CTFL sector importers to attend 'engagement sessions' in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town to discuss the compliance of their products with the Consumer Protection Act.      The sessions will be on 15 February in Pretoria, 17 February in Du ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng SA (02 November 2022) – According to a release, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) have gone ahead with their scheme to donate tons of seized clothing, blankets, and footwear to flood victims in KwaZulu Natal.     & ...more

The Southern African Footwear & Leather Industries Association (SAFLIA) had already lost confidence in the SARS. Late last year executive director Jirka Vymetal told the CTFL Industry Forum – a body chaired by SARS and intended to discuss illegal/undervalued imports and similar issues – that he would no longer attend its m ...more