S & V Publications

SV Q&A With David Cohen, CEO of Superbalist Group of CompaniesQ. Please confirm the acquisition, including when it took place.A. We recently acquired The Athlete’s Foot South Africa in September 2025; we’re really excited about it. It’s a strong, well-loved brand and it fits into what we’re building across the ...more

In the Americas, the shoe brand has recently expanded to Shop Simon and Walmart, with Target joining the line up in December.Clarks is doubling down on its digital presence with a number of new launches on online marketplaces around the world.And some of the U.K.-based footwear company’s new partners, including Shein, TikTok Shop, W ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – SAFLIA is to have a change of executive director next year when Jirka Vymĕtal retires after a handover period to Zamani Oliphant.Vymĕtal joined SAFLIA in March 2014. He said the aim was to retire by end April to ensure “a smooth and thorough handover”.Oliphant, who is an attorney, will start on 01 Feb ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – In response to “one of the most persistent and damaging waves of foot and mouth disease (FMD) the country has seen in decades”, the Department of Agriculture plans to vaccinate the entire national cattle herd, according to a press release on 26 November.FMD affects the leather value chain because ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – FINALLY, someone (SAFLEC in this case) has seen the light. From DAY 1, I have been at pains to explain to people that a "blanket" system to the tariff structure makes zero sense. The HS system has to be used. e.g. I can import alligator skins (raw / crust or dyed finished) at 0% duty from the US ...more

Mossel Bay, W. Cape, SA – Around 20% of our ostrich leather sales are destined for the USA. Our clients use the leather to manufacture exotic leather cowboy boots. Because our clients in the USA cannot buy the ostrich leather from local (USA) tanneries, we feel that this raw material should be exempted from tariffs.  ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA – BBF Safety Group (Pty) Ltd has appointed Ndlela Mazibuko as MD, effective 01 November 2025. He will work alongside the BBF Safety Group CEO, Brian Kuhnert, together with the Beier Group CEO, Warren Sachs, “in growing the customer centric focus of the business”, according to a release.  ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Fashion group Dangee Carken is launching a PPE division.An initial range of imported safety footwear and locally made workwear, branded GrittGear, will launch in October.Director Robby Stoller said the group had been working on the project for over 6 months. He said an industry specialist would be joining ...more

The application to resurrect 4Tify Africa – formerly North Safety – and other subsidiaries of African Boomerang Holdings, was withdrawn following the death in March of former CEO Craig Garvie, attorney Kobus van Niekerk, of JI van Niekerk Inc., has confirmed.“The business rescue applications were withdrawn,” he wro ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – Zamani Oliphant has been appointed as the incoming executive director of the Southern African Footwear & Leather Industries Association (SAFLIA). She will start on 01 February 2026, and will work alongside outgoing executive director Jirka Vymĕtal for a handover period.An attorney, she joins from LexisNexis, w ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Range launches – complete with shelves and shelves of samples, showings in the major centres, models, snacks, and invitations to a cross section of retailers – are so from-days-gone-by, so out-of-date, so ‘pre-Covid’ – and so welcome, it turns out.Bolton Footwear group sales, de ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Sports energy products and sportswear distributor Pure Endurance Solutions has become the Southern African distributor of Hong Kong-based basketball and running shoe brand, 361°. In footwear, it previously represented Mizuno.361° was previously distributed locally, for a short period.On a much smalle ...more

There are a number of legal instruments working their way through the European Union’s (EU) parliament. Like many EU instruments, these statutory guides have a way of working their way into legislation that the rest of the world adopts. Like US legislation, especially the California Proposition 65 legal example, these laws sometimes ...more

As per coincidence, the day that S&V published the October Pill about the Development Aid which was focussed on the results obtained by UNIDO in Ethiopia, I was able to access a document published by UNIDO on their website called "Independent Evaluation of LEATHER INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT CREATION (LISEC) – ...more

On more than one occasion I have reported on brands being caught using illegal labour in their supply line. From what I understand several brands regularly, but indirectly, use illegal labour and of course always deny their knowledge of this happening. The problem is that everybody knows and nobody can prove this because the brands buy fr ...more

The fire in Hong Kong which affected 8 32-storey residential towers in November will lead to scrutiny of the bamboo scaffolding which encased the buildings.There will be pressure to ban it, or at least modify it perhaps to the point where it loses the properties that have made it an attractive option for so long.Bamboo scaffolding is wide ...more

Show report from Messe DüsseldorfDüsseldorf, Germany (7 November 2025) – The theme for A+A 2025 was ‘People matter’.2,340 exhibitors from 70 countries presented a spectrum of products, technologies and innovations for a safe, healthy and sustainable world of work in 13 exhibition halls. There were 67,000 trade ...more

Head and Hearing Protection 3M™ PELTOR™ WS™ ALERT™ XPV Headset: This solar-powered headset features a patented film that charges the battery using both sunlight and indoor light, providing approximately 78 hours of working time. Photo: https://za.rs-online.com/3M™ Speedglas™ G5-03 Welding Helm ...more