Newsletter No. 09 / 19 March 2021                          

Click this link to access your Sourcing Directory https://newsbriefs.co.za/index/

Click on any ad to go to the advertisers website..

Loskop Cotton Gin under new management

 Johan Wolhuter, Jannie Terblanche and Louis Olivier

The management of Vaalharts Cotton, located in Hartswater, officially took over the management of the Loskop Cotton Gin in Marble Hall on Friday 12 March 2021. The cotton gin in Marble Hall will, during this transition period, be known as Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton. Vaalharts Cotton’s managing director, Louis Olivier and the chief financial officer, Johan Wolhuter, will also fulfil these respective roles at the “new” Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton. Louis Olivier has nine years of experience in running a cotton gin. He is a qualified agriculturist with 30-years of experience in the cotton industry, both as a farmer and a businessman. Johan Wolhuter is financially qualified and has been handling the financial management function at Vaalharts for the past two years.

All liabilities up to and including 12 March 2021, which were served under the previous management, will be managed accordingly on merit. The gin will continue to operate without any interruption in any of the services. The current rumours that Loskop Gin is closing its doors are therefore unfounded.

Vaalharts Cotton and Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton will be managed as two independent business units, each with its own board of directors.

Louis Olivier says he is well aware of the historical challenges that need to be addressed. However, he is optimistic that the South African cotton industry is core healthy, and with the application of a successful Vaalharts business model, they will once again develop the gin in Marble Hall to new heights. The Loskop Cotton Gin was upgraded in 2018. This upgrade brought its own challenges, which, along with Covid, forced the board to rethink the management of the gin. The board of directors, chaired by Jannie Terblanche, is satisfied that the processes to sort out the problems are in place and that relationships will be restored to stimulate the growth of the local cotton industry anew. Mr Terblanche said that he and the board of directors are grateful for the expertise Vaalharts Cotton brings to the table and for their willingness to assist the Loskop directors with their new strategic journey. He looks forward to the collaboration for the benefit of the greater cotton industry.

Louis Olivier believes in a transparent management style with open communication between the gin, the producers and all the role players in the cotton pipeline. He is convinced that cooperation and trust between role players is the basis on which the industry must build its success.

Advertorial

Connecting the Indian Ocean & African Textile & Apparel industry to the world

Abana is a new online textile and apparel platform for the Southern African region, the main objectives of which being to leverage the digital space to connect buyers and sellers, develop local and international trade, and grow demand for local, regional, and African production whilst taking advantage of Africa’s duty-free entry into the EU, US & African markets.

The Abana Digital Marketplace, therefore, consists of a database of buyers and sellers from across the world creating a virtual space for buyers and sellers to advertise opportunities & post requests.

Why Africa?

Economic – Diversify your supply chain & protect it from geo-political risks.

Environmental – Consumers & investors are demanding ethical practices. Africa is a dynamic opportunity to re-imagine the supply chain with emerging compliant and forward-thinking players in the region.

Social -Africa has a wealth of textile expertise & cultural heritage waiting to be tapped into. Be on the forefront of social change & provide opportunities to positively impact communities

Countries part of Abana

The following countries are currently part of the Abana network:

Producing countries

Mauritius, Madagascar, Morocco, South Africa,

Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Tanzania,

Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia

Coming soon: Kenya, Uganda

Buying Markets

USA, UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,

Benelux, Scandinavia, Italy, Eastern Europe,

Russia, South Africa

Coming soon: France, Portugal

How can Abana work for you

The Abana digital marketplace will enable South Africa manufacturing companies to access a new international customer network and to develop new export markets and client opportunities in both the clothing and footwear sectors.
This includes local companies who currently are, or are looking at developing their export potential such as: local manufacturers, fabric suppliers, accessory suppliers, and other service providers.

Manufacturers-

Search our worldwide database consisting of Buyers, Input suppliers & Service providers (logistics, finance, QA, consulting, etc.)

Connect with the whole apparel ecosystem

• buyers
• garment makers
• raw material suppliers (yarn, trims, accessories)
• service providers (logistics, insurance, finance, etc.)
• Discover new non-traditional small & medium local retailers
• Digitalise your business to expand operational effectiveness & accessibility

Retail companies-

• Source suitable new local, regional, and African suppliers.
• Access new product ranges through the Abana drops and tailor-made ranges suitable in your preferred order quantities.
•  a continuous seasonless offer of responsibly sourced sophisticated styles in low MOQs that are ready-to-ship.

In addition to accessing the Abana supplier database, you will also be able to access value added services for on the ground support like compliance management, QA, In-line QC, AQL, critical path management, merchandising, sourcing – all these can be tailored to your specific needs / requirements.

What is needed to be part of Abana

In keeping with Abana’s social compliance vision of supporting and promoting sustainable development in the African apparel ecosystem, the Abana supplier validation process ensures that all suppliers marketed on the platform are properly screened, vetted, and based on buyer’s requirements, the platform ensures that all the necessary compliance and qualifying criteria is met and maintained.

Thus, to become a member as a garment maker or input supplier, prospective businesses should have an up-to-date compliant certificate.

Certifications recognised are listed below, whilst any other valid certificate will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

BSCI, B Corporation, SMETA, SA8000, Fairwear, ISO, WRAP

The Abana platform and solution could not have been launched at a better time and we are sure this can be of immense benefit to retail companies by developing their local and regional sourcing footprint while offering new export markets for local manufacturing companies in this new digital environment.

For more information log onto www.Abana.mu

Woolworths – completion of the sale

Further to the announcement published by the Company on the Stock Exchange News Service on 21 December 2020 with regard to the sale of the David Jones Properties Pty Limited Elizabeth Street property (Property Sale), WHL is pleased to announce that the condition precedent to the Property Sale has been fulfilled and the transaction has been completed.

In accordance with the previous announcement, the proceeds of the Property Sale have been applied towards the repayment of debt in Australia, pursuant to the WHL Board’s review of the capital structure of the Australian entities. In addition, the Property Sale and refinancing have facilitated the separation of the combined Australian debt and financing facilities of the David Jones Pty Limited (“David Jones”) and Country Road Group Pty Limited (CRG) groups, inclusive of the termination of the cross guarantees between the two groups. The David Jones and CRG groups are now financed separately, save for immaterial support from David Jones to CRG as a result of the total proceeds of the Property Sale being received in David Jones. This support is expected to be unwound in the near term.

Mr Price – acquisition of Yuppiechef

Mr Price announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of the issued share capital of the group of companies comprising the Yuppiechef business (“Yuppiechef”), a privately-owned South African omni-channel retail business primarily focused on kitchenware.

Yuppiechef was founded in 2006 with a vision to build a platform for the distribution of aspirational kitchen and homeware brands. The business has two primary operations, namely: Yuppiechef Online, the retail division comprising the online platform and 7 stores, as well as a wholesale division, which develops, and imports branded goods for wholesale distribution. It commenced operations as a pure e-commerce company and since 2017 has transitioned into an omni-channel retail platform. The retail division represents 85% of turnover (70% via e- commerce) and has been a pioneer of online retail in South Africa, consistently winning awards throughout its history. Most recently in 2019, Yuppiechef was voted ‘Digital Company of the Year’ at the South African National Business awards and ‘Best Independent Retailer Store Design’ at the SACSC Retail Design & Development awards.

Strategically aligned
In November 2020, Mr Price communicated its ambitions to invest in growth opportunities in specific segments of the market through both organic and acquisitive growth avenues. These opportunities are informed by an extensive period of research which the group believes will shape its future growth trajectory. Within the homeware market, the opportunity to gain access to a higher LSM customer base, enabling growth of its share-of-wallet through aspirational value spending, was identified.

Meets investment criteria
The group’s strict investment criteria, which have been previously communicated, continue to guide its capital allocation decisions and have been applied with the same disciplined approach in the case of Yuppiechef. This will enable Mr Price to expand in South Africa, in line with its strategic objectives, through an established, high-growth omni-channel brand. Profitability is a key factor in the group’s consideration of any venture, and it is satisfied with Yuppiechef’s positive bottom-line performance and prospects for margin expansion.

Implementation
The purchase consideration, which represents approximately 1% of market capitalisation, will be settled in cash. The targeted effective date is subject to the fulfilment of both regulatory and commercial suspensive conditions which includes competition authority approval. The Yuppiechef management team will continue to run the business with the full support of the group’s executive team.

Did you know……..

“Volume-based business models simply cannot become sustainable” (Los Angeles Times, 2019)

It’s no secret that fast fashion’s modus operandi is to produce as much as possible as cheaply as possible. To make the fast fashion industry eco-friendly, it needs to focus on quality rather than quantity. You know, like its much nicer counterpart, slow fashion.

“Less than 11% of brands are implementing recycling strategies for their items” (Peppermint Magazine, 2019)

Some fast fashion retailers have introduced recycling programs that give customers a store discount in exchange for their old clothing. Most of these items never get recycled. But, offering discounts does act as a stimulus to drive more sales …