Southern Africa’s business-to-business magazine for the sport, outdoor and leisure industries • Vol 39 No 1 • Q1 2018 Kitting out the hiker How did 2018 start for retailers? What’s happening in winter team sport? Vol 39 Nr 1 Q1 2018 www.sportstrader.co.za Highlights: How did the retail year start? Soccer, netball, rugby and hockey boots, balls and participation numbers On the cover Kitting out the first-time hiker The hunting market is boom- Winter team sport p24. Photo: Reg Caldecott. ing and the demand for cam- ouflage clothing with it. Regulars posted on their platforms. Wildebees, locally distrib- People on the move uted by Crown Footwear, is a News about people in the industry. Wearables watch over you leading brand in this category. 2 Wearable technology now share all aspects of life. “Wildebees is not here Brands on the move 54 to play it safe — you can’t News about brand activity in the industry. Clothing & footwear tame it ... embrace it,” says 4 the developer of this brand. Companies on the move Footwear and clothing for hikers News about recent company changes. “All men are born equal, 8 What to recommend for new hikers. but some men are born 16 more wild. Wildebees is not Industry Team boot uppers on trend Retailers share what features their customers merely a trademark “but a Wiltshire wins a Stevie award 34 prefer in team boots. challenge to every man to be Pat Wiltshire Sports partner, Michele Wiltshire, true to his creator, to be wild 9 has won a presitigious international award. Clothing trends ... without making excuses.” The colours, styles, materials trend forecasters For trade enquiries con- ASICS SAs new GM arrives in SA 50 predict will be the next hot trend. tact Crown Footwear on Barry Mellis, the new general manager of ASICS 031 700 1601. 10 SA, is looking forward to working in South Africa. Outdoor Kerby leaves good team at ASICS SA What to stock for water-savers Brian Kerby has left ASICS SA in good shape. Sport and outdoor brands offer many innovative 11 14 products that can help people to save water. Publisher: Nicol du Toit Editor: Carin Hardisty Why Kloppers lasted 50 years Managing editor: Trudi du Toit Industry members give reasons for Kloppers’ 50- Kitting out the new hiker Proofreader: Liz Milburn 12year success in the industry. Hiking is becoming very popular and there are Features: Antoinette Muller, 16 many first-timers who need advice. Carin Hardisty, Trudi du Toit Shop Talk: Somerset Sport Design: Carin Hardisty, Trudi du Toit This independent retailer moved into new Leatherman celebrates 35th year Photography: Nicol du Toit 43premises because it needed more space. To celebrate its 35th birthday Leatherman Advertising: Nicol du Toit 22 introduced interesting new products. Subscriptions: Carin Hardisty Holiday sales no reason to rejoice Printing: Novus Print Solutions Industry customers were still spend-shy despite No ruling yet on firearms act Distribution: InsideData 44positive changes in the country. The Constitutional Court should rule on the 23 constitutionality of the firearms act in March. Sports Trader is published quarterly by Rocklands Communications cc. Retail news Reg. No: 1997/057165/23. The latest trends and results from retailers. Sport Members: N. J. & G. C. du Toit & 46 C. Hardisty How to ensure your store’s future Team sport failed in schools Contact details: A trend forecaster explains why some stores will The number of learners participating in team PO Box 12197 Mill Street 8010 48survive, and others not. 24 sport fall far short of the potential 12-m. 22 Rocklands Avenue, Vredehoek, Cape Town 8001 Masterplan for manufacturing Team ball market Tel: 021 461 2544 Fax: 021 461 2549 A plan is in place to help grow footwear and An overview of the inflatable ball market. Website: www.sportstrader.co.za 49clothing manufacturing output. 28 Facebook: SportsTraderMagazine Hockey is cultivating new markets Twitter: @SASportsTrader Who should control social media? One of the best-sellers in sports retail, hockey, Blog: sasportstrader.wordpress.com 36 can grow even more by developing new markets. Advertising: [email protected] Companies and governments are campaigning Editorial: [email protected] 52 for social media to take responsibility for what is SA cyclists shine on world stage Subscribe: [email protected] Will the excellent performances by South African 38 cyclists inspire a new generation? Publication information: The title and contents of Sports Trader are protected by copy- Commonwealth Games prospects right. It is a business to busi- What to expect from team SA. ness publication compiled to 40 inform, entertain and educate Sport news retailers, distributors and man- News from sports brands. ufacturers of sports and out- 42 door equipment, footwear and clothing. It is available only to Trade shows members of the sport, outdoor and activewear industries and Trade show news is published quarterly. News from local and international trade shows. © Rocklands Communications. Kitting out the hiker. p16. Photo: Kleen Kanteen. 56 p2 :: Industry People on Timothy Vermeulen, a mem- ber of the design team for Bolton Footwear’s Bronx men ranges, comes from a family that has deep roots in the footwear industry. “Three of my grandparents worked in the footwear industry, mostly in factories,” he ex- plains. Currently he is mainly involved with the CAD design Photos Dom Barnardt. Barnardt. Dom Photos department for Bronx men, a Usain Bolt showed South Africans PUMA SA appointed Bolt as principal brand he feels very passion- why he Is a global super star with far of the School of Speed when the con- ate about. wider appeal than on the athletic track cept was Introduced last year. “PUMA Before joining the Jordan he so dominated. At the PUMA SA has been involved with the Jamaican footwear team in Cape Town, School of Speed he visited in January Boys & Girls Championship since Vermeulen gained valuable Bolt became the world's most popular 2002, so it was logical to bring a simi- experience at Barker Foot- school principal when he charmed and lar concept to South Africa,” explains wear, a division of Bolton electrified the stands full of hopeful Marketing Director Brett Bellinger. Footwear, where he spent time in each National Diploma at CPUT, he worked athletes — posing for selfies, striking Thando Roto, South Africa’s second department over the past three years. at Southern Cape Regional Footwear his famous lightning pose and Inspir- fastest man ever, is vice-principal of During his studies at Cape Peninsula for two years. He also studied overseas ing them with phrases like "my motto is the South African school. University of Technology (CPUT), he at the Ars Sutoria school for footwear anything is possible". “always gravitated towards designs and bag design in Italy and has done Dressed In ripped that required hands-on skills and the an introductory course on footwear jeans, t-shirt and cap ability to create functional 3D forms.” manufacturing at Sanming University (PUMA, of course) the After he finished his Surface Design in China. Photo supplied. learners who came to join his school thought Thomas Cawood, Bolton Footwear’s him the coolest princi- Plant and Production Operational pal ever. Manager, was one of the competi- Then It was off to a tors in the BUCO Origin of Trails MTB training session with event sponsored by, among others, Mamelodi Sundowns Olympic International (owned by Bol- — giving him a taste of ton Footwear), Thule, Totalsports, what to expect when Under Armour and Specialized. He he joins Borussia Dort- cycles in Olympic International’s mund for a training ses- Traction shoes, “designed for the sion in March. PUMA is South African man who generally technical apparel spon- has wider feet than our European sor for both teams. counterparts.” This is the second After training for about time that Cawood took part in the 40 minutes, he joined MTB event, which he describes as Percy Tau and his team quite technical with much climb- in a match – and even ing. He also completed the Wine- scored a goal. His am- s2Whales and says “I’m also very bition is to become a proud of my finishing time at the professional footballer Cederberg 100 miler this year. That Bolt said (joked?). race is not for the faint hearted.” The founder of Buff and the father of seamless head- and neck- Gert Boyle (above) was honoured for her lifetime achievements and presented wear, Joan Rojas, passed away from cancer at the age of 71, 7 with the ISPO Cup at the VIP Dinner held during ISPO Munich in January this year. days into the new year. His family had a textile company in Bar- The brand’s 93-year-old chairman built Columbia into one of the leading outdoor celona and “with a rich knowledge and understanding of textile brands after the banks just about wrote the small manufacturing company off following the unexpected death her husband. Her quip “for that amount I’ll run it manufacturing that dates back to 1927, when the Rojas family into the ground myself,” has become famous in the industry. With her son Tim, founded their factory, Joan would continue the tradition of inno- now Columbia CEO, she pioneered technical all-in-one layers in outdoor clothing. vation when he founded BUFF”, explain the brand. He developed She also appeared in several campaigns for the brand as the tough, no nonsense, the idea for the first Buff multi-functional headwear that pro- Ma Boyle who oversaw the creation of innovative, durable product that passed the toughest tests. The hilarious video campaigns in which she put her son, Tim, tected against sun, wind and cold while touring the country roads through vigorous product testings, contributed much to Columbia’s popularity.