S & V Publications
South Africa & Eastern Africa's leading footwear and leather goods, leather and PPE trade magazines and directory.
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Footwear Industry NEWS
- Hi-Tec SA demands Temu hand over counterfeit goods, pay damagesCape Town, W. Cape, SA – Hi-Tec SA is demanding unspecified damages from Temu, the handover of counterfeit merchandise, and the assurance that Temu will stop selling counterfeit Hi-Tec products in SA.In a letter dated 02 September to Whaleco Inc., the U.S.-based company that operates Temu, Strauss Daly Inc., which represents Hi-Tec ...moreSGS to host free performance and comfort evaluation webinarGeneva, Switzerland (04 September 2025) – Testing, inspection and certification company SGS will host a free webinar, ‘Footwear Comfort Evaluation and the SGS Performance Tested Mark’, on 23 September 2025.This expert-led webinar will explore key market trends, industry challenges and practical solutions in footwear perf ...moreTrading conditions - September 2025: It’s Spring, the season of new hopeJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Retail in South Africa is not for the faint-hearted. Retailers across the country have felt the strain — from potholes that go unrepaired, to water outages in our homes and in the shopping centres where we operate, to the load shedding that still lingers in outlying areas of the country. Every day b ...more
Leather Industry NEWS
- US tariffs: A blanket tariff on all goods makes no senseJohannesburg, 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 ...moreUS tariffs: We shouldn’t be targetedMossel 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. ...moreExotics: A correction, not a downturnJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Ostrich has been stable this year, Nile crocodile has been more challenging. There is still a demand in Europe for the top ostrich grades and top crocodile grades.However, the demand for crocodile in Europe has slowed down. This comes after a couple of years of high demand for Himalayan niloticus cro ...more
PPE Industry NEWS
- Dangee Carken to launch safety rangeJohannesburg, 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 ...more4Tify Africa resurrection bid withdrawnThe 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 ...morePPE: So far this year, very goodNew Germany, KZN, SA – In general, our business is up substantially, though I’m not sure where it’s coming from, because many of our customers have downsized their workforces, or even closed.I’ve tried to analyse it, and I think we’ve picked up new business since North closed. But I think the main reason is t ...more
Footwear Industry Articles
- Trading conditions - September 2025: I quit – a retailer’s response to Jo’burg’s declineJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – I’ve actually closed my store down.I was situated in Mooi Street, Johannesburg, but the city has degenerated so badly that customers were scared to come to buy high value goods as they could be robbed or stabbed. It’s just not worth it to risk my life in the slum that used to be Johannesburg.& ...morePepkor go-ahead for Retailability chainsPretoria, Gauteng, SA – The Competition Tribunal has conditionally approved the proposed merger in which Pepkor Trading (Pty) Ltd will acquire the retail brands and businesses of Retailability (Pty) Ltd i.e. Legit, Style, Swagga (including the Beaver Canoe brand) and Boardmans. Once the merger is implemented, Pepkor Trading will ass ...moreFalke: Rebuilding local demand as US tariffs take a chunk out of export
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Hosiery manufacturer Falke SA is among the handful of SA CTFL companies whose business is overwhelmingly export orientated. In its case, its products go to its parent company in Germany, which handles the European market, and to the United States, to hosiery and footwear accessories company Implus, under the ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- ‘It’s unfair to target us,’ argues Cape Karoo International – ‘there’s no alternative’
The impact of a 30% duty on exports of ostrich leather and feathers from SA to the USA ...moreHunting industry contributes R44 billion to SA economy, study says, and taxidermists contribute R500m-R750m of that
Under the headline “South Africa’s secret R44 billion weapon”, Daily Investor on 16 July publicised a study which claims that South Africa’s hunting tourism sector contributes over R44 billion and 95 000 jobs to the country.It quoted North-West University (NWU) Professors Peet van der Merwe and Andrea Saayman ...moreISTT updates tannery wastewater treatment course
Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA – Following the registration of Australian students, and as part of its conversion to a distance education/online international leather training provider, the International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) has updated its tannery wastewater treatment course.In conjunction with Johan Barnard’s Enviro ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- New noise exposure regulations promulgated
On 6th March 2025, The Dept of Employment & Labour published (Government Gazette No 52226), the new 2024 Noise Exposure Regulations which will replace the 2003 Noise-Induces Hearing Loss Regulations in 18-momths time. This 18-month period is being allowed, so we, the employers, have an 18- month period to achieve the new 2024 Noise Ex ...moreIn practice: A warm welcome in Namibia
How the operation is being rolled out in practice is explained in a Q&A session between S&V Protect and Dr. Martin Hamann, CEO of S Mile Solutions (Pty) Ltd.How many of these vehicles are in use?Currently only Prototype II on a Hilux in Namibia.How are the vehicles staffed?It is operated by an NGO and only needs a driver and a nur ...moreBush medical care – a health platform on a bakkie
A project to take basic medical care to the most remote communities – developed by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany – is being trialled in South Africa and Namibia by S Mile Solutions (Pty) Ltd, part of Stellenbosch University LaunchLab. ...more
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