Sadly, Denis Manning passed away on Tuesday, 18 March after a battle with cancer, 11 days before his 71st birthday.Denis arrived in South Africa with his wife, Jane, in March 1976 and settled in Pinetown. He joined Kronies as a trainee factory manager and worked there for many years, firstly with Hans Krohn and Doug Roberts and then ...more

Steelmaker Arcelor Mittal – Iscor in the good old days – announced the imminent closure of 2 plants, in Newcastle and Vereeniging. While Vereeniging is a major industrial area, Newcastle has been dependent on the jobs provided by coal mines – many now closed – and the steelmaker. We asked leather and apparel busine ...more

Howick, KZN, SA – John Watt of Bresan Footwear, and before that of Bata SA, died on 05 January following a stroke on 02 January. According to his son, Alistair, He had been struggling with a number of health issues over the past 6 months and had been in and out of hospital a number of times in recent weeks.     An obi ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – Reunion Footwear had a slow start to the year, as did most local shoe manufacturers, with elections slowing the retail trade.However, the second half picked up nicely and in particular our Angelsoft sandal production increased to 600 pairs per day and the brand/product is growing nicely year-on-year.  ...more

Obituary: Michael Lambrakis – Scotts Group, Frame Group, Poly-Soles, OG Footwear, Kalistos Footwear, Lambella Footwear, Andreoli Shoes, ShoePairMarket (04/04/1945-20/09/2024) ...more

The journey of BanziFeet began in 2015 with research to compare the foot measurements of German and South African children and adolescents. Research revealed significant differences in foot shape and size between the 2 groups. It also found that 91% of South African participants grew up habitually barefoot, and 67% of their school shoes w ...more

Rapid Expansion BackfiresDrip Footwear, a once-promising South African sneaker brand, is facing a severe financial crisis that has sparked intense scrutiny and debate. The company’s rapid expansion into shopping malls has backfired spectacularly, leaving it with a R20 million debt, a foreign exchange blunder, and the looming threat ...more

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – Footwear manufacturer Paragon Footwear (Pty) Ltd has launched a PPE division, trading as Paragon PPE, and headed by director Dione Govender.Paragon PPE is an online reseller of a large range of leading brands of safety footwear, workwear, and branded corporate clothing and accessories. – Website www ...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

Durban, KZN, SA – Angel Footwear cc is developing a stitchdown boot for distributor Gredale to supply Harley Davidson-franchised stores in the U.S.“We’re still in the development stages,” member Ashley Ramlakan said. “It’s a highly technical product, requiring waterproof materials and construction and h ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – Brandon Ganesh, formerly with the Nikkita Footwear, in February started a new factory with a very different business model.Aldora Footwear (Pty) Ltd targets the independent market with a small range of women’s, leather upper, stitchdown construction shoes and sandals.Current production is 200-250 pairs/day.&l ...more

Alfonso Smerilli has had a long and varied career in the South African footwear industry and now, just shy of his 52nd birthday, and in a sector which is mostly struggling, he’s embarked on his most challenging role yet – as a factory owner, blazing a different trail.His start in the footwear industry was with a factory owned ...more

  Joins the footwear division of Feltex Industries – later R. Faulks & Co. – as a teenaged apprentice under the watchful eye of his father, Andy Patterson-Roberts, in about 1958. Studies via the SA Institute of the Boot & Shoe Industry and qualifies in 1965. Becomes a supervisor on the production floor in ...more

Blantyre, Malawi – My father, Mussa Hajat, passed away in the early hours on Monday 22 January 2024, aged 90.He was still fully active and working up until Christmas.He was affectionately known as Mussa Footwear and was a true giant in the footwear scene in this country ever since he left Bata and established his own business in 196 ...more

For the first time, the Las Vegas Magic show featured an African Textiles and Apparel Pavilion, hosting 68 exhibitors from 35 countries, and organised and sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Africa Trade and Investment programme (USAID ATI) and theProsper Africa US Trade & Investment initiative.The ...more

Allan (Shaky) Norman died, aged 78, in Bournemouth, UK, on 13 December. He was born in 1945 at 26 Townsend St, Waterfoot, Rossendale, where he lived until emigrating to South Africa in 1973 to work for Shoe Corporation, Durban.  When Shoe Corp. closed, he moved to Pietermaritzburg to start Sandals Ltd. with Jeff Adley for Eddels and ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – When they started, in 2016, they had no footwear background at all. By last year, they were responsible for between 13% and 18% of SA’s footwear exports by pairs, and probably at least as much by value.Anyone who knows much about SA’s footwear exports will know the reference is to Veldskoen (Pty) ...more

Volontè System Conveyor director Felice Volontè believes South African footwear manufacturers have the potential to increase production “substantially”, and to grow their export business, but that they must upgrade their products, and diversify their production.He was an annual visitor to South Africa before covi ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – We have changed our name to Certo Sports (Pty) Ltd as an over-arching company. Under this name, we incorporate Olympic Footwear & Apparel and Racefood, the nutritional food bar brand.Olympic Footwear & Apparel We have made inroads into the likes of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Totalsports, The Athlet ...more

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - Jumbo Footwear group subsidiary Foothills Trading & Investment 2 (Pty) Ltd’s distribution agreement with Kangol ends on 31 December, Dionne Prinsloo of Allied Agencies confirmed on Friday.”We are currently in the process of winding down our involvement,” he wrote. “We have no idea wh ...more

An “influencer” who promotes Jim Green Footwear on YouTube has made the claim that it is “one of the only if not the only” South African shoe manufacturers that pays 100% of the prescribed [wage] rate. He said others paid 65% of the rate.The influencer, who operates under the name Rose Anvil, made the claim in a pr ...more

I was in Italy last week, sponsored by Assomac Servizi to attend the Simac/Tanning Tech fair, and technical reports will follow in the October issues of S&V African Leather and S&V Footwear & Leather Goods.My indelible memory of this trip isn’t of the fair, however. It is the apparent affirmation of the grumbles I’ ...more

The pre-race Comrades Expo is growing again. Mr Price Sport was the major sponsor and the biggest footwear exhibitor. The only running shoe exhibitor was Hoka distributor Ikhambi. The DTIC sponsored a pavilion which included 2 non-athletic shoe manufacturers. ...more

Export via chain retailers, export via brands, export via fairs – all roads that lead to export growth are worth exploring. ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - In general, our sales are on par with last year for the same period (January to July). We are, however, in a much better position when it comes to stock availability to service our customers in full and on time.It is very difficult to determine regional sales as chain stores count for more than 50% of our business ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - In the last issue you had an article from proudly South African focusing on job creation. Unfortunately, it will not work if government doesn’t get involved and start cleaning up the illegal imports and fakes that are sold for billions of rand that are affecting manufacturers and retailers who work by the book.&nb ...more

Michael Wyatt, Country Manager, Bata South AfricaPinetown, KZN, SA - Overall Back To School was extremely successful from a manufacturing, distribution, and retail perspective. We saw double-digit growth vs. plans, and a strong January top-up demand despite 2022’s inflationary pressure on raw material costs and gross margin. The maj ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Hitherto little known top end manufacturer Caralli Footwear (Pty) Ltd is the company negotiating with the Industrial Development Corporation to buy Eddels Footwear.      Caralli is wholly owned by B&B Media, which is also the major shareholder in Buka Investments, a holding com ...more

Idris Pandor, director, The Gem Group of CompaniesDurban, KZN, SA - Sales are up by approximately 15% to 20% over last year, although I have heard of a higher increase in the market place.      Issues with procurement? Proper planning, like ordering/purchasing 6 to 9 months in advance, makes a HUGE difference ...more

Iqbal Hajat, Director, Footwear Centre Ltd, in Blantyre, Malawi, answers our questions.Month-by-month, how trading this year has compared with last year AND pre-covid.Generally, we are seeing approximately 20% increase in sales value over last year, but this does not mean we are doing a higher volume of sales; rather it could be due to th ...more

Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA - 2022 has most definitely been one of our most challenging years in a long time. The year started off positively, and we have had a few busy months, but overall we are trading way down on previous years.        Staff absenteeism, material supply problems and rising costs a ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - "We're waiting for something to take off," said Garth Ribbink of synthetic upper materials supplier A. Greenaways (Natal). It's all dull. Summer is starting now but the build up has been slow."Durban, KZN, SA - Sales are still quiet, said Rowan Allison, who sells for Midland Leather. "A couple of the ...more

If local manufacturing is to grow, it must find a way of getting into this market ...more

Q&A with Michael Wyatt, MD Bata SA ...more

Q&A with Nick Bryant, national sales manager, ProFit Safety Footwear ...more

More than any other footwear category in South Africa, safety footwear has so far survived the pandemic relatively unscathed - no life support from government, and apparently no casualties. It helped that its status as part of PPE, and therefore an essential service, allowed it to operate, albeit on a reduced scale, during the strictest p ...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

Q&A with Ndlela Mazibuko, BBF Safety Group sales managerHow well has the safety footwear market held up over the past 18 months? Are there any noticeable changes in the quantities your customers are buying, in the price points that they're buying, or in the end customers that they're supplying? (e.g. is mining down but some other sect ...more

Eugene du Toit, BBF Safety Group technical managerTo start, we’d like to acknowledge the work the NRCS is doing with regards to safety footwear and the PPE categories they regulate.  The enormity of the task is sometimes overlooked but, taking into account that safety footwear only came into the NRCS portfolio a few years ago, ...more

Q&A with Michael Wyatt, MD Bata SAHow happy or otherwise is your business with the NRCS? Do you have numbers for all your styles? What are the problems, for safety footwear suppliers, with what the NRCS is doing? Bata has a good relationship with NRCS. However, South Africa would benefit from speeding up the turnaround time of ne ...more

Q&A with Nick Bryant, national sales manager, ProFit Safety FootwearYou have said that ProFit Safety Footwear has secured 18% growth year on year through Covid-19. How do you get shipping berths? This is the crystal ball part of the game. The “Magic 8 Ball” gets a shake as we ask the question…will the vessel be ...more

Mirriam Moswaane, head of communications and marketing at the NRCS, responded to our questionsHow does the NRCS view its relationship with the safety footwear industry in terms of compliance and co-operation? The relationship is good. How does the NRCS react to criticisms such as:Why do approvals take a long time? This is due to the ...more

Blantyre, Malawi - Mussa Hajat, founder of Footwear Centre, is pictured above receiving an Omega watch from Bata Rhodesia MD, Dr Fiksel, at Bata's head office in Gwelo, in 1957. He started work with Bata in 1950 as a salesman in Bata's Blantyre shop, and rose to become sales manager of all Bata's retail shops in Nyasaland. He finally left ...more

Durban, KZN, SA - Shoe machinery expert Brian Wallis died unexpectedly on April 09, aged 75. Born and raised in Port Elizabeth, he entered the footwear industry in his early 20s when he joined British United, at that time by far the dominant force in footwear machinery in SA, where he trained as a machinery technician. There he also met h ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA - The Lemaitre Maxeco - now part of the BBF Safety Group's footwear range - has shod generations of South African workers over the last 30 years, and almost 10 million pairs have been produced - a very rare achievement in this country. Every legacy has to start somewhere. It’s a story based on the recollections of ...more

Spurred by the unlikely combination of athleisure and lockdowns, comfort footwear has become a category for every brand. Comfort footwear, comfortable footwear, wellness footwear, health footwear - different names and shades of meaning - but until fairly recently, in South Africa, mostly footwear for one category of end consumer, dominated by a few brands and a few specialist retailers.rn ...more

Windhoek – Most businesses had expected an improvement in the economy at the beginning of the year, but in fact conditions had continued to decline, said commission agent Neurath Botha, who represents Bolton Footwear and Kaytex Belts.      "One of the most important economic drivers here is touris ...more

How long will stitchdowns be a fashion item this time around? It’s hard to predict but I believe stitchdowns current popularity will continue for many more seasons, especially locally due to price and the versatility of the traditional Veldschoen silhouette.  Fashion fluctuates depending on the times so the Vellie demand w ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - We on-boarded Woolworths just before lockdown and successfully delivered their first shipment under their own label in July this year. Since then the relationship has grown and we are currently working on another repeat delivery for January 2021.There are more styles in the pipeline for the first half of 2021 and ...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

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

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

Edcon, once the biggest fashion retailer in SA, went into business rescue at the end of April. CEO Grant Pattison, in charge for the past 2 years, blamed the lockdown as the final straw in the long slide which began in 2007 when it was acquired by US private equity firm Bain Capital for a - with hindsight - unsustainable R25 billion and d ...more

Dangee Carken: Perhaps this will be the catalyst for changeRobby Stoller, MD. Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA- Retailing is restricted to winter footwear. Do you have stock which you believe would qualify?Of course we qualify. We have brought in boots and closed footwear for the winter season. Most of our stock has been delivered to the trade a ...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

What's in a name? A group of outsiders show the footwear industry how it's done.It's probably fair to say that Digital Online Retail Platforms (DORP) - better known as Veldskoen - is South Africa's first global footwear brand. The genius of its creators has been to take a generic South African name, tap into an international market create ...more

Saeed Bux, MD, Elahi Footwear (Pty) Ltd. Moccasin and stitchdown footwear manufacturer.Durban, KZN, SA - Our turnover is significantly down. We're affected the same as everyone else by the fact that consumers have no money. Added to that is that industrial relations are difficult. We're keeping our prices as low as possible and our margin ...more

Boksburg, Gauteng, SA - Regardless of whether you speak to retailers, wholesalers, end users or even manufacturers across all industrial sectors, at one time or another over the last 10 months – they’ve stated that it’s been a very rough-and-tough year of trading. A few patches of good business have made up for the quiet ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA – Former Bolton Footwear sales development manager Jody Henry has left Bolton Footwear to join The Basic Group.       Bolton group sales & creative executive Stuart Hopwood said no-one had taken over his specific portfolio as it had been restructured. The Jordan and Reneg ...more

Jacques Pretorius, head of group sales, Bolton Footwear Cape Town, SA – Despite a tough trading period in South Africa for all fashion manufacturers and retailers, we are very optimistic about the future. We learned some hard lessons in 2016 and are now capitalizing on the growth opportunities that we have created with our newl ...more

Pretoria (SA) – Following response to its earlier announcements about sports footwear design and manufacturing technology in China, the Department of Trade & Industry is keen to attract applications from a wider group of footwear factories. The offer is also open to major retailers.        The criteria would ...more

Pretoria (SA) – The Department of Trade & Industry has arranged with China for 30 South Africans, who are already in the footwear industry, to be trained in sports footwear design and manufacturing technology in China.The 28-day course will be paid for by the Chinese Government. Successful applicants will need to pay for their ...more

Melbourne (Australia) -  Trade magazine Footwear News Australia has closed after 37 years.        In a mail to readers, publisher/editor Vicki Hatton, who took over the magazine founded by her father, Bob Grant, blamed declining advertising and subscription revenues and increased printing and distribution costs.&n ...more

Cape Town (SA) – The India Leather & Footwear Trade Show will be officially opened by Dr Ivan Meyer, Minister of Finance, Western Cape Government, on Wednesday, 8 March at 10:00am in Hall 4B at the CTICC in Cape Town. The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) and Mr Puneet R Kundal, Consul General, Consulate General of India, Cape ...more

Johannesburg (SA) – Stuttafords’ creditors will meet next Monday to hear progress on efforts to rescue the company. In the meantime, they’re being encouraged by business rescue practitioners Neil Miller and John Evans of Mazars to accept 1 of 2 alternative plans to restock the company: a consignment agreement, or an ag ...more

Milan (Italy) – Simac Tanning Tech, the international exhibition of machinery and technology for the footwear, leather-goods and tanning industry, closed with a two-figure increase in visitor numbers compared with 2016, which had already been a record year for the event, and recorded longer exhibition visits. Increases were also se ...more

Prices of ‘run-of-the-mill’ synthetic upper materials out of China rose by around 3% in December and a further 4% this month, according to A Greenaways (Natal) member Garth Ribbink. He said more expensive materials had risen more. He said Chinese suppliers had warned of more increases ahead.        “T ...more

Durban (SA) – There are no formal charges at this stage against Nikkita Footwear cc or its members, following a raid last Wednesday by the SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs, Sid Singh of Pather & Pather Attorneys Inc said today.He said at a court appearance on Thursday, the prosecutor had declined to place the matter on th ...more