SA: South African Designers Are Giving Chinese Brands A Run For Their Money
Simple slip-ons have been the secret ingredient in Rachmat Thomas’ success story. The fashion entrepreneur’s shoe factory used to employ 90 people, but these days demand from South Africa’s largest apparel retailers is so high, she needs the skills of 300 workers.
“The success story about this pump is that it is all handcrafted,” says Rachmat Thomas Managing Director at Chic Shoes Manufacturers. “And the secret about this pump is that you can actually fold this pump up and put it into your handbag.”
When she started the company in 2005, the team produced 600 pairs of shoes a day. As demand declined, Thomas had to lay off some workers to deal with overhead costs.
Refusing to give up, Thomas approached the Woolworths chain and secured a contract in 2010 to produce 5000 pairs of shoes. Since then, demand has shot up.
“Now we are now currently delivering 13 to 14 thousand pairs [of shoes] per week,” Thomas says, proudly.
Clothing Trends
After perfecting their footwear, the company qualified for a program sponsored by Woolworths which helps local suppliers with technical and financial support. Programs like this one are aiming to reverse a trend in South African apparel manufacturing.
Over the past 10 years competition from China has hit South Africa’s clothing manufacturing sector hard. As factories closed, market share dwindled. At major department stores like Woolworths in Cape Town, only about 25% of the apparel on the shelves is produced domestically.
But signs are showing that the made in South Africa label may soon be coming back.
“South Africa is in a very fortunate position,” says Anita Stanbury, CEO of South African National Fashion Council (SANFC). “National government has earmarked the clothing and textile sector as an important sector for them to fund because they understand the job creation potential that exists in that sector.”
Price War
And this kind of government backing is needed to keep the home grown products competitive.
According to The National Clothing Retail Federation of South Africa (NCRF), which represents six of the largest clothing retailers in the country, the key hurdle to overcome is cost.
“We have to respond to what the consumer is looking for,” says Michael Lawrence Executive Director at NCRF. “The reality is that other countries provide a better quality and price product for certain market segments than what South African manufacturers can provide.”
But for some manufacturers, the extra expense may be worth it.
“We are not looking at the long lead times that are usually 6 to 9 months in advance when cutting, styling and color decisions are made,” explains SANFC’s Stanbury. “We want to shorten that to 6 to 8 weeks. And that means that a retailer can retain 12 to 30 percent of their gross margins because they are selling more of their product at original selling price and not having to mark it down because it’s not what the consumer wants.”
As more retailers buy into that philosophy, more opportunities will arrive for manufacturers like Chic Shoes.
“The next step for Chic Shoes is to see more jobs created and to increase our output of production,” says Thomas. “Going from 3500 to 5000 pairs a day. But that depends on the growth of the company as well as the demand of the chain stores.”