Sports Trader November 2016

Southern Africa’s business-to-business magazine for the sport, outdoor and leisure industries • Vol 37 No 6 • November 2016

Xmas stocking gifts to make tills ring What you need to know about diving masks Does cycling participation growth equal sales?

Vol 37 Nr 6 November 2016 www.sportstrader.co.za

Highlights: Tips on selling tents Xmas stocking highlights Cycling numbers are on the rise, but are sales keeping up?

On the cover

Publisher: Nicol du Toit Editor: Carin Hardisty Managing editor: Trudi du Toit Proofreader: Liz Milburn Features: Carin Hardisty, Chilton Mellem, Linza de Jager, Trudi du Toit Design: Carin Hardisty, Trudi du Toit Photography: Nicol du Toit Advertising: Nicol du Toit Subscriptions: Carin Hardisty Printing: Novus Print Solutions Distribution: InsideData Sports Trader is published bi-monthly

by Rocklands Communications cc.

Reg. No: 1997/057165/23.

Members: N. J. & G. C. du Toit & C. Hardisty

Photo: Tobias Ginsberg Especially mountain biking has seen a boom in interest p30

Regulars

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Publication information: The title and contents of Sports Trader are protected by copyright. It is a business to business publication compiled to inform, entertain and educate retailers, distributors and manufacturers of sports and outdoor equipment, footwear and clothing. It is available only to members of the sport, outdoor and activewear industries and is published bi-monthly. © Rocklands Communications.

News about people in the industry.

Brands on the move News about brand activity in the industry.

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Photo: Messe Friedrichshafen

Trade show news

It can be daunting to sell tents — here are some tips p46

News about trade and industry shows.

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Industry

Contact details: PO Box 12197 Mill Street 8010 22 Rocklands Avenue, Vredehoek, Cape Town 8001 Tel: 021 461 2544 Fax: 021 461 2549 Website: www.sportstrader.co.za Facebook: SportsTraderMagazine Twitter: @SASportsTrader Blog: sasportstrader.wordpress.com Advertising: nicol@sportstrader.co.za Editorial: trudi@sportstrader.co.za Subscribe: carin@sportstrader.co.za

People on the move

Fila relaunched in South Africa Fila is launching its Heritage and Lifestyle headwear, footwear and apparel collections.

Retail news News from and about retailers.

Tekkie Town is sold

Tekkie Town, has been bought by Steinhoff International Holdings.

New deal for Edcon Will Edcon’s debt restructuring agreement put the retailer back on track?

Xmas stocking Suppliers recommend their top gift ideas.

Humane manufacturing Being a responsible brand also extends to how the people and animals lower in the production chain are treated.

Clothing & footwear

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Footwear news

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Cycling: What came first?

There is an increase in cyclists, but this isn’t reflected in retail sales.

Cycling range information Range news from cycling brands.

Product knowledge: dart boards The ins and outs of dart boards.

Dart ranges The latest dart news from brands.

School athletic fields events strong

Track is the most popular, but field events that offer sales opportunities are on its heels at school level.

Outdoor

22 46 48

Whose role is what?

Whose role is retailing and whose is importing and distributing? We want to know about your challenges.

Economy deflates cycling sales

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Outdoor brand news News from outdoor brands.

Selling tips: tents A top sales person gives tips on how to sell tents.

20 years in the outdoor industry Over the past twenty years Ram Mountaineering has been part of a major shift in the way outdoor equipment had been distributed in South Africa.

Product knowledge: diving masks What you need to know when selling masks to your diving and snorkelling customers.

Diving and fishing news

News from diving and fishing brands.

News from footwear brands.

Technical running vs crosstrainers How has the economy affected running sales?

New in running shoes

Photo: Nicol du Toit

As the Afrikaans name implies, Kakiebos is a true South African leisurewear brand, locally available from Crown Footwear, consisting of t-shirts for men and women and shirts for men.

Their t-shirt designs have an old school edge, with designs taking strong inspiration from post-war style prints.

Some of the ladies prints have a youthful quality with flowers and hearts appealing to their feminine senses.

The range is manufactured from top quality material.

For trade enquiries contact Crown Footwear on 031 700 1601 or visit www.kakiebos. co.za.

Next season’s running ranges.

Sport What came first: participation numbers or excelling performances on the global stage?

Hurdles is one of the athletics events offered at schools, which could translate into sales for retailers p60

get it perfect today. there’s a whole new script tomorrow.

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1. Texas Vest - R109.95 2. Americano Bermuda Shorts - R229.95 3. Supa Dupa Nubuck Sneakers - R289.95

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www.facebook.com/Dickies | @DickiesAfrica | @DickiesAfrica Available at selected retailers. For more information call 087 940 4664.

Recommended retail prices.

It’s not every day that an employee reaches the 25-year milestone at a single company.

Yet, the 16th of September marked Esme Coetzee’s quarter of a century milestone at Hi-Tec SA. Coetzee is the brand’s South African financial manager, and says she sees her colleagues as her extended family.

“Hi-Tec became a way of life and, lovingly so, my extended family. When meeting up with acquaintances, they would often only recognise me when I say ‘Hi, I’m Esmé from Hi-Tec!’”. Over the 25 years, she has seen her share of ups and downs, but the good times always come up tops. I have made lifelong friends and have fond memories.”

Weldon Kirui, the Skechers Performance athlete who won the Los Angeles marathon on Valentine’s Day this year, was among the top international athletes who set a record-breaking pace at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, sponsored by ASICS in September. “I was very happy to have run the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in South Africa, and I am very grateful for the support I received from my sponsor, Skechers Performance, for giving me the opportunity,” said Kirui. “The city of Cape Town is beautiful, the race course was great, and the people were fantastic. Unfortunately, the race didn’t go as well as I had planned. I trained hard and I was fully prepared

to run a great race like I did in Los Angeles. The race started well and we were running at course record pace.

However, at about the 17km mark I started having problems with my left hamstring. This slowed me down.”

Kirui, who despite his injury, finished 9th in the field of top international runners, wore GOmeb Speed 3 – 2016 running shoes from Skechers, which also took him to victory in LA. As the naming sponsor of the inaugural 2016 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon, brand representatives had been on the spot to give their Kenyan running star a brand new pair shoes for the race when his luggage failed to arrive from Kenya.

Dane Vilas, son of Gunn & Moore distributors Opal Sport owners Anne and Doug Vilas, is one of the five South Africans to earn the title “Cricketer of the Year” in the 2016 South African Cricket Annual.

The Cape Cobra wicketkeeper and batsman with the highest average (69.18) in the Sunfoil Series, has been included in the 15-man Proteas squad touring Australia.

He earned five test caps against India and Bangladesh and another against

England.

A player may only be named a Cricketer of the Year once in the 680page annual first published in 1952.

Vilas shares the 2016 honours with Proteas fast bowlers Sisanda Magala and Hardus Viljoen, and spinners Dane Piedt and Tabraiz Shamsi.

The annual, edited by Colin Bryden, is a record of all representative cricket played under the auspices of Cricket South Africa (CSA) during the year.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

People on

Kelly Vroon isn’t even finished with high school yet, but she has already been chosen to be a friend of the brand by Olympic International, distributed by Jordan & Co. “Kelly is a remarkable young athlete,” says Stuart Hopwood, head of group marketing for Bolton Footwear. “We chose her because she is a multidiscipline athlete and shows enormous potential. She can definitely grow with our brand.”

As a keen participant in athletics, swimming, cross country, bi- and triathlons, and cycling, Vroon says her biggest achievement so far is third place at last year’s Biathle World Championships in Batumi, Georgia. “I broke my ankle in November 2014 and it was a great comeback for me to achieve a bronze medal at an international competition with many other competitors from all over the world, just 10 months after having ankle surgery. I was also a part of the South African girls’ team that took gold at this competition.” Olympic International is sponsoring Vroon with cycling, running and lifestyle footwear. “She encompasses the same values and has a great passion for the brand,” says Hopwood.

The Blue Bulls jersey was lucky for some, but not for captain Arno Botha. Before their Currie Cup and CAF Champions League finals the captains of the PUMA-sponsored Blue Bulls and Mamelodi Sundowns teams exchanged shirts. The Bulls shirt was lucky for Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana who clocked an historic win in Egypt, but the Bulls lost to the Cheetahs. “What an incredible achievement for this team,” Brett Bellinger, Marketing Director for PUMA SA said of the Sundowns’ win. “This is a team with vision, passion, pride and performance — we couldn’t be happier to place a star above the badge on their CAF Champions League shirts for the future.

We are Forever Yellow. KaBo Yellow.”

Jeep Team’s Hank McGregor (left with French competitor Victor Doux) won the 7th edition of the French Breizh Ocean Race, a World Surfski Series Race in Morbihan, at the end of October. While braving freezing weather conditions and wind speeds of up to 25-knots, the eight time World Champion was able to beat his competitors with an impressive 3 minute gap in a time

of 1:04:41.

Image: Epic Kayak

p2 :: Industry

the move Former South African and KwaZulu Natal Dolphins cricketer Gary Gilder has been appointed by Bolton Footwear as the new Sales and Development Manager for Olympic International. He will assist with the range development as well as sales of this iconic South African sports brand.

In addition to his experience as a professional cricket player – he played for the Dolphins during the 1990’s, for Somerset in 2003 and represented South Africa A on tours of England in 1996 and Sri Lanka in 1998 – Gilder has extensive knowledge of the schools sport and wholesale footwear markets.

Before joining Olympic International, Gilder had been sales manager for Barker Footwear’s Barker and Crockett & Jones brands for six years. This footwear company became globally famous when they made the Crockett & Jones shoes former President Nelson Mandela wore when he walked to freedom from Victor Verster prison in 1990.

Barker Footwear became part of the Bolton Footwear group in 2013, of which Jordan & Co became

Industry :: p3

another division at the end of 2014. Jordan & Co founded Olympic as a multi-sports brand in 1973 that used to be worn by the likes of Springbok rugby players like Morne du Plessis and Peter Whipp, among many other athletes.

The cycling shoe range has been especially successful.

“What I’ve come to enjoy the most is being able to assist and develop ranges for the market, as well develop sales and marketing strategies,” says Gilder.

Before entering the footwear wholesale industry, he was the boys’ sports director at Fourways High School in Gauteng, where he also taught economics, business studies and accounting. Prior to that he was sports director at Crawford College in KwaZulu Natal.

Born in Harare (then Salisbury), Zimbabwe, Gilder was educated at Northlands Primary and Northwood Boys High in Durban. After matric he studied business management at the Natal Technikon, before becoming a professional cricketer.

He still enjoys watching and playing sports, camping and spending time in the outdoors for relaxation.

Manchester United’s Paul Labile Pogba is the star of the latest adidas brand campaign, Football Needs Creators, which conveys the message that all athletes are #HereToCreate. A film, Football Needs Creators, follows Pogba’s journey from his childhood in Roissey-en-Brie to his groundbreaking return to Old Trafford, showing how he always did the unexpected. It serves as a call to players around the world to harness their own creativity to think, act and perform in new and unique ways. “Creativity has always been the difference maker for Paul Pogba in all facets of his life, on and off the pitch,” said Ryan Morlan, adidas' VP of Brand Communications. “Since childhood, his imagination has been the catalyst to defying the norm in the world of football.” Fans can view Football Needs Creators at www.youtube.com/adidas and follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram via @adidasZA #heretocreate.

PUMA’s twin athletes Lebogang and Diana-Lebo Phalula just keep on winning — the most recent titles they earned were in the 21-km and 10km Diepkloof Half Marathon, their home township. They were also ambassadors for the Metropolitan ‘I Run This’ campaign, highlighting the success stories of community members. In September Lebogang won the women’s race at the PUMA-sponsored Heritage Day FNB Joburg 10K Cityrun through the streets of Johannesburg. Lebo was fourth in this city run that introduces Joburg runners to areas of their city they might not otherwise encounter.

Photo: Tobias Ginsberg.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

Fila relaunched in South Africa

p4 :: Apparel & Footwear

The iconic global brand Fila is launching its global Heritage and Lifestyle headwear, footwear and apparel collections in South Africa.

CARIN HARDISTY explains why retailers can look forward to this

T

he Filamily (Fila family) is grounded in Italian roots, yet internationally revered as a fashion trendsetter, says South African distributor Footwear Trading of the brand they have proudly represented for roughly a decade.

They are therefore proud to launch the Fila global Heritage and Lifestyle headwear, footwear and apparel collections in South Africa.

Due in November, the headwear range consists of three styles that are on-trend with the current 90’s revival bucket hat trend (see below).

“For 105 years, Fila has believed that beyond activity, sport has an ever-expanding identity, fuelled by a passion for excellence, adventure, competition and pleasure. Fila is a confident style leader and a true fashion icon.”

The brand, known for its sports apparel and footwear, has been present at iconic moments that involved extraordinary individuals in pursuit of true style and sport.

“Some of the most legendary hip-hop artists and fashion players have embraced the street-savvy shoe and apparel collections,” says Footwear Trading.

“It has become clear to all that Fila is syn-

onymous with the courage to create a lasting mark in whatever world you compete. The brand never betrays its belief in pioneering design.”

A brand older than a century Fila was founded as a family business by the four Fila brothers in Biella, Italy, in 1911. They started by creating quality textiles for local townspeople that combined luxury, art and utility in products as exquisitely textured and evocative as the Italian landscape.

Thirty-one years later, it merged with the Fratelli Fila company. Business had grown so much that it now served more than just the local townspeople. By 1972, the company sales exceeded a billion lire and they employed more than 250 people.

The same year the brand also premiered its first sport clothing: the White Line collection, named as a respectfully irreverent jab at the traditional all-white garments that had long dominated sport and especially tennis apparel.

The designers of the sports line understood that sport is life expressed through motion, and that sportswear must complement, not overpower, the athlete. They therefore cre-

ated fabrics that mirrored, rather than restricted, the movements of athletes. The White Line collection made the statement that classic doesn’t have to mean conservative, and timeless designs can still be contemporary.

On the tennis courts Fila stormed onto the tennis courts in partnership with tennis greats such as Adriano Panatta, Paola Bertolucci and Björn Borg.

“We followed Borg as he ascended to the pinnacle of sports history, the F-Box logo proudly displayed on his signature polo and headband, winning five consecutive victories at Wimbledon and firmly establishing his legacy as tennis’ most dominant and unique player of his time, both in terms of technique and style.”

Tennis is one of the few popular spectator sports where a brand can dress the athlete — in most other sports they have to wear a uniform, Fila North America president Jon Epstein told Inside Tennis earlier this year.

“We’re constantly trying to find new fabrics, new colours, and new ways to create tennis fashion.”

In 1982 the brand started its 22-year reign as the tennis US Open sponsor, and its asso-

The latest collection from Fila encapsulates class and style, with cool 70’s retro nostalgia.

The quality and finish of the products are still in tune with Fila’s Italian heritage, dating back more than a century to 1911.

“Fila likes to work hard, but play harder. It started out in sport, lives in fashion, and will always be the Style Shaper,” says local distributor Footwear Trading.

After the

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

successful launch of the exciting Fila headwear and a capsule Heritage Footwear collections in iconic global retailers like Urban Outfitters, ASOS, Footlocker, JD Sports, and others, the collections are making their way to our shores. The headwear will be arriving first in November.

The collection embodies style — the vibrant, effortless and sophisticated kind — and is sporty and urban in the same breath. Strikingly simple and novel in aesthetics, the brand has learnt: any place, anywhere, life in motion is a beautiful thing.

The Casper is a reversible white/navy bucket hat made from 100% cotton twill. It boasts the iconic Fila F logo, with navy and red stripe details to accentuate the branding.

The Delta is a navy nylon bucket hat with ad-

justable drawstring and bold branding, which is sure to make a statement with any street inspired outfit.

The Urban is a white 100% cotton twill bucket hat with navy ribbon and the Fila logo repeated all round. It is clean, versatile and will complement any athleisure, street or casual outfit.

The new headwear is available as of November this year, and the new Fila Heritage and Lifestyle footwear and apparel will be delivered in March 2017.

The reversible Casper.

The Urban bucket hat.

Exciting headwear collection from Fila arrives in SA

Apparel & Footwear :: p5 ciation with some of the biggest tennis names In 1995 basketball player Grant Hill, who was NBA rookie of the year in 1994/95, collaboratcontinued.

Who can forget Boris Becker, who proudly ed with Fila on a basketball shoe collection.

Runner German Silva won two consecutive wore his Fila while winning the French Open, US open, and Wimbledon — all in the same New York City Marathons — the first after recovering from a wrong turn seven-tenths of a year (1989).

Monica Seles — three-time French Open, mile before the finish that put him 40 yards two-time US Open, and four-time Australian behind Benjamin Paredes. He ran a 5:15 final Open champ — was the youngest player to win mile, including the detour to beat Paredes by two seconds. Fila featured the Silva Racer in the French Open ... dressed by Fila.

There was also Guillermo Vilas, and Fila was its collection in 1997.

The turn of the century saw Fila branch out on court in 2009 when Svetlana Kuznetsoza into the world of superbikes, sponsoring the won the French Open.

Wearing Fila, Kim Clijsters won the US Open Ducati Superbike team in 2003.

“Fila is also associated with top athletes back to back in 2009 and 2010, after an 18 month such as the Kenyan running team, as well as retirement. She also gained headlines by becomThe brand has also been associated with ing the second mother to win a Grand Slam — fellow Fila athlete Evonne Goolagong-Cawley was some genuine nice guys such as sailor Giovanni Soldini, who was leading the 1998/99 Around the first to do this.

Clijsters was also the only tennis player to be Alone Race, yet stopped to rescue a capsized featured in Time magazine’s Time 100 in 2011. competitor. Soldini still went on to win the That year (Fila’s 100th anniversary), Clijsters race — and he even set a new world record. won the Australian Open while wearing a repIntroducing footwear lica of one of Goolagong-Cawley’s decadeIn 1983 Fila entered the footwear market with iconic outfits from the early 1980’s.

In 2009 US #1 James Blake signed with Fila. its Original Tennis sneaker, which featured He had won the ATP Comeback Player of the a bold slash of the brand’s colours along the side. Homer Altice of Year in 2005 after sufMaryland, US, was sold fering a broken neck The designers of the sports the exclusive license to and shingles, and was line understood that sport is produce the sneakers. awarded the ATP’s ArDespite the manufaclife expressed through mothur Ashe Humanitarian turer almost going banktion, and that sportswear of the Year award, which acknowledges outstandmust complement, not rupt the following year, by 1986 the business ing humanitarian contrioverpower, the athlete. had recovered so much butions, in 2008. that Altice was named More recently, the Maryland’s Small Busibrand is worn by John Isner (#15), Jelena ness Person of the Year. In 1991 Altice sold his Jankovic (#23), and Karolina Pliskova (#18), to license back to Fila and retired. name but a few.

With the footwear back in its own hands, Fila started expanding ranges, soon catering Other sporting codes for running, basketball, lifestyle and outdoor Today, tennis remains a significant heritage of footwear, in addition to its tennis footwear. the brand: in the US, for example, they have The Cage, a popular basketball sneaker in its 850 accounts and a dedicated sales force just collection, was designed for basketball played for tennis. in the streets. The name references chainlink But, Fila has also made its mark in many fences that often surrounded outdoor courts. sports, from motor sports to mountaineerTheir hiking boots, Fitness Hikers, used their ing, to sailing, to baseball, to golf. Since the sneaker design with a heavier tread added.

1980’s, Fila’s sports apparel lines grew rapidly, representing a wide variety of activities.

New ownership Its logo was prominently displayed on the In 2007, almost a century after the Italian breast of Tom Watson when he made history by company was first started, the brand and all coming from behind and winning the US Open its international subsidiaries was bought by title with a magnificent shot in 1982. Fila was Gene Yoon — creating the largest South Korean also there when he won the British Open and sportswear company. Two years later Yoon was two Masters Titles. named an honorary citizen of Biella.

When Reinhold Messner became the first One of the first signings Yoon made was for climber to reach the summit of Everest with- Fila to become the official footwear licensee out the aid of oxygen in 1986, he wore high- for Wimbledon in 2008. tech mountain gear designed by Fila. Not satIn 2011, Fila celebrated its centenary. isfied, he proceeded to climb 13 peaks of the The following year the Fondazione Fila MuHimalayas in Fila gear. seum was opened in its home town of Biella.

Skier Ingemar Stenmark, who won 86 World It has several exhibitions, informing visiCup titles, wore special anatomically-shielded tors of the brand’s rich history, such as Fila jackets with hard plates, designed specifi- some of its most classic and iconic styles. cally for his style of acceleration and for his This is the ideal place to see why Fila has habit of pushing away posts with this elbows not only survived over a century — but has and shoulders. flourished.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

Retail news p6 :: Industry

Eco-friendly Menlyn Park largest mall in Africa When Menlyn Park Shopping Centre relaunches on 24 November, it will be the largest mall in Africa, with 170 000m2 lettable floor area and room for 500 stores.

The redevelopment of the Tshwane-based centre has cost R2.5-bn, and added an extra 50 000m2 floor area and 200 stores to the centre. It will also offer parking for 8 250 cars.

Designers took Pretoria’s sunny climate into account when designing the building: natural light is allowed to shine into the inside of the building, and the crown jewel of the centre, Central Park (above), is an open-air piazza flanked by restaurants.

“The development and professional teams involved went to great lengths to ensure that every aspect of the construction and final building followed sustainable guidelines,” says Charl Marais, development manager of Menlyn Park Shopping Centre. It was awarded a 4-star Green Star Retail Design rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa for the first building phase.

The new centre has expanded several of its key areas, including a new fashion wing, and it will offer a more spacious area for tenants to house their flagship stores.

“We wanted to enhance our shoppers’ over-

all experience, from creating multiple access points to VIP customer lounges,” says Olive Ndebele, general manager of the shopping centre. “We remain the base to the majority of national flagship stores.”

“The redevelopment of Menlyn Park Shopping Centre was driven by a strong demand from retailers, as they are enjoying robust trade results year-on-year,” says Malose Kekana, group CEO for Pareto Limited, which purchased the centre in 2015.

Menlyn Park was first constructed in 1979 and today employs more than 3 000 people.

New customers: the black middle class is growing ...

South Africa’s black middle class has almost trebled over the past twelve years and there are currently more black than white households among the highest and middle level spenders per month.

Since 2004 the number of black middle class members has grown from 1.7-m to 5.8-m, report the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing. In the same period the number of middle class whites dropped from 2.9-m to 2.6-m.

The middle class in South Africa is relatively small and has not grown much since 1993, according to the latest findings of the National Income Dynamic Study (NIDS), which defines middle class as people with a monthly per capita expenditure of R2 920 to R10 678, based on January 2015 prices. According to this criterion about 15% of South Africans are middle class.

The Bureau for Market Research, however, classifies about 18% of the South African working age population as middle class: adults with an income of R9 084 to R19 500 per month are classified as emerging middle class, those earning R19 501 to R31 500 are lower middle class and South Africans with a monthly income of R31 501 to R65 250 are upper middle class.

The demographic profile of the middle and

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

upper classes is also changing: there are now 1 012 000 black households with a monthly household expenditure of more than R10 000, compared to 988 000 white households, data from the Institute for Race Relations show.

Among the middle level spenders (R5 000-9 999) are 1 315 000 black and 302 000 white households.

More than 2.4-m households — 15% of South Africa’s 15.6-m households across all race groups — now spend more than R10 000 per month. A further 12.5% (1.9-m) of South African households spend R5 000 to R9 999 per month, bringing the total number of middle to high spending households (above R5 000 per month) to 4.3-m, or 28% of the total.

The potential customers for the sport, outdoor and athleisure industries will therefore come from these households with some disposable income.

The average South African household comprises of five family members (averaging seven in black households) says the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PACSA).

They estimate that in August 2016 it cost R1 942 to feed a family of five, if the bare minimum is bought. To feed a family of five nutri-

tionally (again, bare minimum to stay healthy) it would cost R3 126 per month and R4 325 for a family of seven.

More than half of South Africa’s households can therefore barely feed their families — and will therefore not have disposable income to spend on sport or leisure equipment, clothing and footwear.

... but less than 20% employed Just over 9-m people South Africans were employed in the formal sector (outside agriculture) in June this year — 17% of the total South African population of 55-m. This represents a loss of 67 000 jobs in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported.

Jobs were lost in industries across the board — manufacturing lost 7 000 jobs, or 6%; trade lost 4 000 or 0.2% jobs; transport and communication lost 7 000 or 1.5% etc. according to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) report. Manufacturing jobs were lost in textiles, clothing and leather goods sectors, as well as the manufacturing of food, beverages and tobacco products. The construction industry, however, gained 1 000 jobs (0.2%).

Tekkie Town finds suitor in Steinhoff

Industry :: p7

One of the sport footwear industry’s biggest retail success stories, Tekkie Town, has been bought by Steinhoff International Holdings. But, until the Competition Commission rules, the details stay under wraps

T

he details and implications of the Tekkie Town sale to Steinhoff International Holdings can only be discussed after it had been approved by the Competition Commission. In the meantime, nothing changes from their side, says Tekkie Town founder and CEO Braam van Huyssteen.

Apart from saying that the Tekkie Town head office will remain in George and that he will be involved in the business “as long as my health allows it”, Van Huyssteen would not divulge any more about the deal concluded on 29 August 2016 — until the Competition Commission ruled on the acquisition.

Two years ago Tekkie Town received a substantial investment of $65-m (R720-m) from UK private equity firm Actis for a minority (42.5%) stake. At the time the athletic shoe retail chain had 265 stores and was valued at R1.7-bn. It now has 302 stores and it is therefore understood that the 100% stake Steinhoff bought will be worth considerably more.

The change of ownership came to light during Steinhoff’s annual results presentation earlier this month, where CEO Markus Jooste also did not divulge further information about the transaction. According to an announcement in their report, Tekkie Town will complement and provide further scale to Steinhoff’s general merchandise segment.

The general merchandise division includes Pepkor, which Steinhoff last year bought for R62.8-bn. Van Huyssteen could not confirm if Tekkie Town will be run alongside their Pep, Ackermans and Shoe City stores as “those details still have to be ironed out after we receive approval.”

At the presentation Jooste also said the group (Steinhoff) had grown its network in South Africa and in Africa, and the expansion plans of the year to come are in line with similar growth patterns that we had last year. The general merchandise retail division earns nearly two-

The World Economic Forum selected Tekkie Town as one of the 16 African global growth companies with a clear potential to become global economic leaders thirds (64%) of its income from Africa.

The Steinhoff group last year grew revenues 33% to R202-bn, with 73% of its operating profit earned in Europe. Tekkie Town expansion into Europe, for example, Poland, is therefore also a possibility.

Since Van Huyssteen opened the first Sport City store in George seventeen ago, the subsequently renamed Tekkie Town chain has been on a rapid growth run. During the past seven years they have been opening between 25-30 new stores per year across the country and

Namibia. Their policy had always been to fund the stores from within the company.

The unique business model that stimulated this growth — a large warehouse space, an offer that footwear brands with large numbers of over-runs and returns could just live with and advertising certain styles at prices that attracted customers — had won Van Huyssteen the Ernst & Young South African Entrepreneur of the Year award at the end of 2011.

The following year he represented South Africa at the global Entrepreneur of the Year awards in Monaco in 2021, where he and his wife Charmaine met Prince Albert and fellowSouth African Princess Charlene. He was one of 50 global competitors for the title.

In 2013 the World Economic Forum selected Tekkie Town as one of the 16 African global growth companies with a clear potential to become global economic leaders.

These accolades had earned Tekkie Town many suitors in recent years. All went away disappointed, until they said yes to Steinhoff.

Representing South Africa in the global Entrepreneur of the Year awards, Braam van Huyssteen (right) and his wife Charmaine met Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p8 :: Industry

Is the debt deal the magic wand Edcon needed?

Suppliers can but hope that the recent debt restructuring agreement signed by Edcon will put the retailer on the path to regaining its former glory as a retail leader

D

oes the Edcon Holdings debt-restructuring agreement that came into effect in October, reducing their gross debt from R26.7-bn to R6-bn, signify the start of a happy and prosperous new era for the retailer? Or is it a cliff-hanger in a story with many episodes still to follow?

For close to a decade the ups and downs of our largest non-food retailer has been as riveting as watching episodes from Suits, and for many in our industry it will be a huge relief if this is finally the happy ending they have been hoping for.

Judging by the actions and comments of Edcon CEO Bernie Brookes, this could well be the turnaround. Since he took over from former CEO Jurgen Schreiber in September last year, several bold moves resulted in a new credit deal for the retailer with an annual turnover of close to R30-bn. This spells the end of Bain Capital involvement and 80% of the other major creditors are stepping in as shareholders in exchange for a substantial cut in debt repayment.

This did not happen without some hard negotiating that would have made the Suits lawyers proud. In March this year it almost looked

The result was a retailer losing customers and market share to competitors because they had ageing inventory and low sales productivity as if Edcon would be shutting up shop when Brookes told major creditors that they were unable to repay their debt.

It would have been very bad news for the brands in our industry that supply stock to the 180 Edgars Active, 203 Edgars and 7 Edgars Shoe Gallery stores. It would have been worse for the 48 000 employees at the 1 500 stores in the group and more than 12-m Edcon loyalty card holders who bought on credit. The drop in consumer confidence could have impacted badly on other retailers as well.

A series of carefully-worded Edcon press releases written in legalise do not do justice to the dramas that must have played out behind the scenes. The presentation to investors of the 2016 financial year and first quarter (Q1) 2017 financial results give an indication of

Brookes’ plain speaking approach that would have swayed the 80% creditors that eventually signed the restructuring deal.

Instead of trying to put a spin on the 1.3% retail sales drop (to R27.15-bn) reported in 2016 and 8.1% drop in Q1 2017 sales to R5.97-bn reported by the group, he listed what went wrong — and, more importantly, how they were going to fix it.

Incidentally, in 2016 the Edgars Division (Edgars, Edgars Active, Shoe Gallery, Boardmans and their mono-branded stores) did not drop (nor gain) overall sales, but like-for-like sales were 2.8% down. During the period they opened 10 new Edgars and 14 Edgars Active stores, but closed 7 Edgars and 4 Edgars Active stores, while another 3 Edgars stores were closed and one new store opened in Q1 2017.

The 203 Edgars stores started Q1 badly with a 10.2% drop in sales for the division (12% drop in like-for-like sales). Cash sales were 4.7% down and credit sales dropped 15.3%. The Specialty Division (Edgars Active, Shoe Gallery, Legit, CNA, Boardmans) reported a 3.6% drop in retail sales in Q1 (7.8% like-for-like). One new Edgars Active store was opened during the quarter, bringing the total to 181.

Burning platforms

Former Edcon CEO Jurgen Schreiber and current CEO Bernard Brookes.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

Two burning platforms were identified in the Executive Summary that formed part of the 2016/Q1 2017 results presentation: #1 was the high financing costs, which spiralled from R2.5-bn in 2011 to R4.2-bn in 2016; #2 was the decline in trading profit, dropping from R1.9bn in 2011 to R1-bn in 2016.

When Brookes took over, Edcon had a gross debt of R26.7-bn — dating back to 2007 when the retailer was acquired by US politician Mitt Romney’s private equity firm Bain Capital for R25-bn. Ironically, at the time this private equity deal was hailed as a major coup for the retailer … until the global recession struck the next year and the Americans demanded their pound of flesh — in dollars. This created an

Industry :: p9

Since 2011 the group opened 181 Edgars Active stores, stocking athletic and athleisure brands. Combined with the 203 Edgars stores, this represent a considerable stock investment for industry suppliers.

immense debt burden due to the severely devalued Rand.

This was followed by what analysts bluntly describe as blunders. For example, Bain’s insistence that Edcon sell their credit book to improve cash flow in 2012 resulted in a flow of customers used to buying on credit taking their business elsewhere, with the result that credit sales dropped from 60% to the current 38% of the business.

Then, Edcon’s internationally trained management team responded to the threat of top global retailers entering South Africa by stocking up on a lot of international brands like Lucky (jeans retailing at R2 400), TM Lewin, Topshop, Dune, etc. Management might have known the brands, their South African customers didn’t.

Unattractive employer In 2013-14 about 3 000 Edcon workers were retrenched and many experienced and competent managers left. Brands were invited to set up, and man, stores-within-stores, but few took up the challenge.

Due to the bad press generated by the debt burden, Edcon became an unattractive employer with a high turnover of key management personnel, with their competitors targeting the most talented managers, Brookes commented in the 2016 Executive Summary.

Suppliers, conscious of the risk, began running out of patience and many limited their supply, especially between payment periods.

To make matters worse, said Brookes, banks were advising suppliers against Edcon exposure and weren’t providing enough forward cover. Nervous landlords were giving preference to less risky competitors when allocating retail space.

The result was a retailer losing customers and market share to competitors because they had ageing inventory and low sales productivity, due to the fact that there wasn’t money to train staff properly.

Brookes to the rescue After Brookes, an Australian with top-notch retailing experience, took over last year, negotiations to save — or close — the struggling retailer started in earnest. He made several saves, like negotiating debt repayment holidays, securing R1.5-bn bridging finance and most importantly, the restructuring agreement (probably reluctantly) signed by significant creditors, now shareholders. This included a commitment from creditors to fund up to R2.82-bn and provide R575-m revolving credit.

They’ve been working on rebuilding the credit book sold to ABSA for R200-m, started training senior managers again and introduced shopping experience enhancers like hand-held scanners. They also initiated the sale of the Legit chain of more than 200 urban fashion stores to the Retailability retail chain (e.g.

Beaver Canoe) and Metier private equity for an estimated R637-m.

Brookes drew a map of the planned Edcon

recovery strategy in the presentation to investors. It will be based on three pillars: • Customer centricity with a good understanding of the target customer and focusing on service and providing a good customer experience; • Simplicity, which will include simpler product proposition with less brands, a simpler way of working and a restructured, leaner head office to provide clearer reporting structures and less overlap. A downsized head office already resulted in 35% cost reduction; • People empowerment through recognition for top performers and removing bottlenecks created by past decisions.

To control costs they plan on focusing on local sourcing and eliminating excess use of agents and brokers. To improve margin growth, they want less reliance on promotions and better control of markdowns, rationalisations of SKU and more focus on entry price points and decluttering of merchandising and marketing.

In the Edgars Division they will specifically concentrate on improving store performance in terms of service, presentation and pricing and better category management.

In Edgars Active, they will review product assortment to ensure we have a differentiated offer and fix poor store performance. They also plan on reviewing promotional strategies.

The next season’s buy-in has begun and the industry can just hold thumbs that these plans will indeed come together.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p10 :: Industry

Footwear Equilibrio for ladies from Hi-Tec

Thabo Matlaba wears the X16.

Stellar adidas soccer boots Stellar is adidas’ latest soccer boot pack, which follows in the wake of the Mercury and Speed of Light packs. As the name suggests, the design was inspired by the light side of the moon, with the X16 and Ace 16.1 boots available in a white and gold colourway.

“The boots are designed to assist players to dominate on the pitch and improve their team’s chances of winning silverware this season, while looking stylish,” says Adrian de Souza, Head of Football at adidas South Africa.

The boots aren’t only trading on their good looks. The X16 features a techfit collar with dynamic compression material that moulds around the foot, a white Non Stop Grip (NSG) finish that features an updated star design, and the gold lightweight Sprintframe outsole offers stability during high-speed movements.

X16 will be worn internationally by Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez, and locally by Khama Billiat and Thabo Matlaba.

Ace 16.1 has a CTRL SKN upper, NSG technology for an unrivalled surface for close ball control in all playing conditions, and Sprintframe in the outsole.

International players such as Paul Pogba and Mesut Ozil, and Bidvest’s Thulani Hlatshwayo locals Thulani plays in the Ace 16.1.

Hlatshwayo and Travis Graham will play in Ace 16.1.

Crazy Explosive basketball Crazy Explosive: an exciting name for the new adidas basketball shoe that is aimed at “players with explosive moves that play above the rim,” states adidas in a press release. “The introduction of Crazy Explosive is part of the brand’s new design and collaboration strategy that combines unique design and style elements that stand out from the crowd.”

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

What better way to stand out on the court than in adidas’ Solar Red mid-top basketball shoe, which features their Boost technology from heel to toe and their Primeknit upper, for enhanced comfort, fit and durability? It is designed to “challenge the look of the conventional basketball shoe and make a style statement on and off the court”. For this, the brand has also incorporated a full-length infinity-shaped torsion plate and a TPU roll cage for stability, a new traction pattern for added grip and stability, dynamic lacing, an internal bootie construction for enhanced comfort, and Geofit foam in the tongue.

The shoe, which was launched in the US in July, “allows players like Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins to change the game, propel slashing drives to the basket and embarrass defenders in the air.” Other players that wear Crazy Explosive include Harrison Barnes, Iman Shumpert, Serge Ibaka, Marcus Smart and Justise Winslow. “adidas came to me with a shoe to make me more explosive on the court,” says Wiggins. “When I tried this shoe for the first time, I really felt the difference when attacking the basket. And we all care about style. You haven’t seen adidas shoes like this before; these shoes are dope.”

“We designed Crazy Explosive to stand out from every other basketball shoe ever released,” says Jesse Rademacher, design director, adidas Basketball. “As players get bigger, faster and stronger, they need footwear that harnesses their raw power and explosiveness.

For Crazy Explosive, we tuned our best Boost and Primeknit technologies to meet the needs of these players that are too versatile to be contained and thrive on unpredictability. We packaged it with an equally stunning silhouette and Crazy Explosive was born.”

The Equilibrio Bijou Mid I waterproof from Hi-Tec is a comfortable, everyday, women’s urban-outdoor shoe with a sleek look that’s ready to take on the city or the mountain.

It is waterproof and repels dirt thanks to technologies like Dri-Tec and i-shield — an invisible protective layer that repels water and dirt.

The OrthoLite Impressions insole provides comfort, whilst conforming to the shape of the wearer’s feet over time to create a customised fit.

The MDT technology outsole ensures traction, both up and down hill, with strategically placed flex points to help the foot move as naturally as possible. A perfect shoe for active ladies, says Hi-Tec.

Escape with Hi-Tec Tortola

As the name implies, the multi-functional Tortola Escape is ideal for escaping to the mountain, the beach, rivers and then making your escape on the city streets, or any where else their summer activities may take your customers.

The combination sandal/shoe has a high performance upper for support, durability and performance. Coupled with an easy to use toggle it creates an excellent customised fit. The removable footbed adds to the comfort, while the MDT outsole ensures great grip on any surface — whether at the beach or in the park.

Keep going with Hi-Tec Tundra The salmon-coloured Hi-Tec Tundra W for ladies may have a feminine look, but it is packed with functionality that will appeal to the active woman who likes to keep fit. And look

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good, while doing it!

The synthetic and mesh upper provides durability and breathability, while a moisture wicking lining keeps the feet dry during all activities.

An aggressive carbon rubber outsole provides improved traction.

The woman constantly on the move, who needs a secure fit, will appreciate the convenience of the speed lacing system.

A compression-moulded EVA midsole provides long-lasting cushioning.

Hi-Tec Wildlife goes anywhere

The urban-outdoor V-Lite Wildlife Low i hiking shoe is true to the Hi-Tec motto: Comfortable Anywhere.

The well-known Hi-Tec V-Lite and impact-absorbing, high rebound XLR8 technologies make this lightweight boot comfortable enough to wear in town as often as in the bush. Waterand dirt-repelling i-shield ensures that it stays good looking even after a trip on muddy trails.

Not that it lacks performance functionalities.

These include a high performance synthetic and mesh upper for support, durability and breathability, while a moisture-wicking fleece lining keeps the foot dry even during a long hike in summer.

A molded heel chassis to lock the heel in place for a secure fit, an Ortholote Impressions sockliner with slow recovery foam for good cushioning, and anti-odour properties, are just some of the comfort features. A multidirection traction outsole improves grip when walking both up and downhill

Industry :: p11

Keeping true to the core of the original silhouette, Levi’s selected more premium materials for the modern ALFIE style.

The design inspiration comes from an unlikely source for Levi’s: the world of sport, more precisely, the design of the football boots of the day. This unexpected marriage of performance and casual came long before the modern athleisure trend became so popular, keeping Levi’s at the center of culture and proving yet again how in tune Levi’s is with the needs of its fans, say local distributors Footwear Trading.

“When you think of Levi’s the classic 501 jean comes to mind and the ALFIE is no exception. To celebrate the rebirth of this classic, Levi’s placed the 501 logo on the back of the heel, to stay true to the Original.”

Features like the Comfort Tech insole, merges comfort and style.

It is available in two colours, white/navy and black/white.

PUMA evoPOWER kicks barefoot The new evoPOWER boot from PUMA fits so snugly and comfortably around the foot, that it would almost feel like kicking barefoot. Increased flexibility results in the boot moving in tune with the foot to provide more kicking power.

The boot makes an immediate impact on field with a striking colour gradient of blue in the toe, morphing into an orange heel, with a white form stripe and detailing.

It is be worn by the likes of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, Italian striker Mario Balotelli and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak.

“The colourway of this new evoPOWER is great, and the design of the boot is also very

Levi’s ALFIE inspired by best seller ALFIE takes its inspiration from a 2002 international Levi’s footwear best-seller, with only some minor changes to enhance comfort.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

Footwear

p12 :: Industry

nice,” says Giroud. “The transition from blue to orange looks very powerful. It is an excellent complement to the technology in the boot.”

“I like this new colour style,” says Griezmann. “It’s an interesting design and definitely stands out, which is a quality of a football boot that I like. ”

Response from PUMA evoSPEED

PUMA King returns

South American style toe that brings the foot closer to the ball.

It has subsequently undergone several enhancements. These boots, which might become collectors’ items, will be available from February 2017

Comfort, fit and quality from Reef

The evoSPEED boot from PUMA is light and responsive to enhance speed and manoeuvrability on the field. The new model has a white and orange base design with a black form stripe.

It is worn by players like Antoine Griezmann, recently named the best player in La Liga, Manchester United striker Sergio Agüero, and SPORTS TRADER midfielder HALF PAGE AD NOVEMBER Dortmund Marco Reus. ISSUE (210mm

x

A special edition PUMA King M.I.I., handmade in Italy, is reviving the tradition of the legendary boot that has been worn by the kings of soccer over nearly half a century.

Handmade by Italian craftsmen who paid careful attention to every detail, the boots are works of art.

Since its inception in 1968, the PUMA King 148mm).pdf 1 2016/10/13 2:15 PM had been known for its quality materials and

Reef has given a whole new meaning to the term slip-on sandals: their innovative functional features have taken them to a whole new level of fit, quality and comfort.

“The Fanning sandal (above) is an ever popular standout in terms of comfort and functionality features suited for the most discerning customer,” says Brenton Jessop of local distributor Because I Can. These features are embodied in the sandal’s water-friendly

REEF ROVER: INNOVATIVE DESIGN FOR SUPREME COMFORT, SUPPORT AND TRACTION.

news cont. synthetic nubuck upper and contoured compression moulded EVA foot bed with built-in anatomical arch support. “This contributes to the overall comfort,” says Jessop.

The Fanning sandal also has a full 360 degree heel airbag, enclosed in soft polyurethane, and a grippy outsole that makes it ideal for use on wet slippery surfaces.

“A church key bottle opener comes in handy on most occasions,” adds Jessop The Slammed Rover LE (right) is a sleek new

Industry :: p13

men’s sandal that combines a premium full grain leather upper with a soft padded jersey liner and Reef’s signature Swellular technology footbed with a grippy rubber outsole.

Reef’s Swellular technology consists of three layers: the super-soft foam deck that provides instant comfort, followed by a medium-density midsole that provides long-lasting support and a high-density rubber outsole that provides traction, protection and durability, explains Jessop.

“The cork insert in the upper strap adds to its sophistication as an all-time winner for the summer,” he adds. The Slammed Rover is also available with synthetic nubuck straps, instead of leather, for an even more versatile option.

Back to the future with adidas Adidas is inviting consumers to step back into the future with the first custom-made high performance shoe created by their Speedfactory in Ansbach, Germany. This adidas Futurecraft M.F.G. (Made for Germany) running shoe was made for the specific fit and functional needs of a consumer … just like cobblers of old made custom-fit shoes for their customers. The difference is the speed that the new technical shoe can be manufactured – by machines.

Sneakerhead stores hit South Africa Archive, an international retail chain that caters for sneakerheads looking for limited edition and exclusive kicks for men and women, has opened seven stores in malls in Gauteng, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Apart from limited editions, they also stock sneakers from a wide variety of brands like Nike, adidas, PUMA, New Balance, Vans, Converse, Reebok, Asics, and Timberland. They also stock Jordan’s iconic Retro collection and introduced the Reebok Classic x Kendrick Lamar Perfect Split pack to celebrate their South African launch.

Though Archive’s main focus are sneakers, they will also stock a selection of clothing and accessories in their stores in the East Rand Mall, Festival Mall, Vaal Mall, V&A Waterfront, Canal Walk, Promenade Mall and Greenacress.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

Brands on the move p14 :: Industry

Diesel launches #forsuccessfulliving campaign DIESEL SOUTH AFRICA will be launching a campaign to encourage the brand’s fans to follow their philosophy and put #forsuccessfulliving into practice.

The campaign made its debut in Japan on 6 September when Diesel celebrated 30 years’ trading in the country with a landmark fashion event comprising an archive exhibition, seenow-buy-now catwalk show, brand project with Terry Richardson and special ready-towear collaborations, exclusive to Japan.

It was a night — and a party — to remember, fusing pop and the underground, Italy and Tokyo, and the accelerated, digital viewpoint of artistic director Nicola Formichetti.

The evening culminated in a premiere of the exhibition #forsuccessfulliving, Diesel’s upcoming project with audacious fashion photographer Terry Richardson. A series of 50 motivational phrases relating to the Diesel philosophy: each #forsuccessfulliving visual is a tip from the brand to customers about living

well, staying true and doing things differently.

For example, #9 tells them to Be Brave, #13 to Never Tire and #40 exhorts them to Have Fun. Diesel South Africa introduced the campaign to media, bloggers, customers and friends of the brand at their Mall of Africa store on 27 October 2016.

Performance styles star among the 1 600 Skechers SKUs on show Retailers who visited the latest Skechers quartributors Brand Folio LLC as Skechers’ South African terly range presentations in Johannesburg at the brand manager — a role he became very familiar with end of last month could see that Skechers takes at the former distributor, Footwear Trading. their Performance ranges very seriously. Among the Vadi has more than 25 years’ experience in the 1 600 SKUs that could be viewed in local distributor South African footwear retail trade – first in his inBrand Folio LLC’s new showrooms in Melrose Arch, laws’ shoe business, where he worked for 15 years Johannesburg, special attention was paid to Skechafter completing a BCompt degree. He then became ers Performance. a ladies footwear buyer for Edgars for five years, Over the past few years Skechers’ running shoes before joining Footwear Trading, where he worked have won acceptance by elite athletes who wear on the Soviet brand and later managed Skechers. them in top races — including the winner of the Another face that was familiar to some visitors at 2016 Skechers Performance LA Marathon (see p2) — the presentation belongs to young Waseem Mayet, and elite events like the Olympic Games. who joined Brand Folio LLC in June this year as key Their road, as well as trail shoes, have won their accounts manager. fair share of accolades from respected publications He grew up in the footwear retail industry in Jolike Runners World (see p41). hannesburg, where his father used to run a numThe limited edition GOmeb range, first introduced ber of stores, and then managed and consulted on in October 2013, commemorates elite runner Meb Retailers remember Yusuf Vadi from his role as a number of stores in South Africa and Dubai. “I Keflezighi’s wins in both the 2009 New York City Mar- Skechers brand manager at Footwear Trading. have a passion for footwear and fashion,” he says, athon and 2014 Boston Marathon — the first American adding that he believes he can excel in the industry in more than 30 years to achieve this. The comfortable Skechers GoWalk due to his knowledge and experience. “Brand Folio is a company where walking shoe propelled the brand to the #1 sports walking shoe brand I can learn a lot of things from my peers.” in the US — and inspired numerous speed walking athletes in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Seven-time PGA Tour champion Matt Kuchar played an important advisory role in the development of the Skechers GO GOLF range of golf performance footwear, which he wears on course.

Visitors to the range presentation were greeted by a familiar face: Yusuf Vadi recently joined dis-

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

Brands on the move Akani Simbine.

Wayde van Niekerk.

Kagiso Rabada in the ZNE Hoodie.

p16 :: Industry

adidas Athletics launched with help of local athletic stars Adidas has drawn upon game changing names local names like Wayde Van Niekerk, Akani Simbine, Kagiso Rabada and Sikhumbuzo Notshe to launch their brand new category — adidas Athletics, providing fashionable athleisure wear to their top athletes and their fans.

While adidas has always focused on providing performance product to top athletes, they decided to provide athletes, who are also icons, with a very fashionable athleisure range they can wear on the way to the stadium, or after the event, adidas SA Head of Training Brett Burgess told Warren Harding in a radio interview for Bizcommunity.co.za.

The campaign was launched globally in September with over 3 000 athletes putting on the white ZNE (Zero Negative Energy) Hoodie, and South African sport stars played a pivotal role.

When Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates took to the field in Cape Town in September both teams walked on wearing the oversized, double layered, adidas hoodies that block out any distraction.

The hoodie is aimed at giving athletes a mental advantage over their

opponents: it zips up higher to block the mouth, reduces noise distraction and blocks distractions from the front and distractions from the side, Burgess explained.

Athletes like Wayde van Niekerk, Akani Simbine and Kagiso Rabada starred in videos explaining how they find focus wearing the ZNE hoodie, which were shared on a global platform.

The video campaign hones in on their mental preparation before an event, which give them an extra edge. Olympic star Wayde van Niekerk, for example, says that he submerges himself in music to blot out his surroundings to stay focused. Similarly 100m star, Akani Simbine explains that he has to focus “to be ready to explode out of the blocks”.

Kagiso Rabada, South African Cricketer of the Year 2016, mentally prepares for his lethal fast bowling attacks by focusing on keeping things simple and not getting sidetracked. Stormers flanker Sikhumbuzo Notshe maintains that he focuses on the battle ahead when trying to get into the right frame of mind for a game.

Manchester United replica shirts remain top sellers Manchester United official replica shirts outsold all others in European football. During the period 2011-12 to 2015-16, 1.75-m Man U shirts were sold, which is the most shirts sold of all teams at the time, reports the sportingintelligence website.

Its closest rival in the Euro league, Real Madrid, sold an average of 1.65-m shirts per year over the period.

In the UK PSL Man United sold 850 000 more than the second team, Chelsea, which sold on average 900 000 shirts per year.

For adidas, the supplier of the three top replica sellers in both leagues (Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea), this would have meant quite a few bumper seasons.

In European football, Barcelona shirts sold the third most (namely 1 278 000), Bayern Munich (1.2-m per year) fourth and Chelsea (899 000 per year) fifth most jerseys.

Jerseys from Liverpool (852 000), Arsenal (835 000), Paris Saint-Germain, (526 000), Juventus (452 000), and B Dortmund (393 000) are the other top 10 sellers.

In the English PSL league Liverpool sold the third most jerseys, namely 852 000, fourth was Manchester City (342 000), fifth Tottenham (268 000), with Everton (80 000), Leices-

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

ter (50 000), West Ham (45 000) and Stoke City (40 000) completing the top ten.

Researcher Dr Peter Rohlmann and his team at the consulting bureau, PR Marketing, collected data of official shirt replica sales over a five-season period from 2011-12 to 2015-16, which was recently published on the sportingintelligence website. They did not take possible counterfeit sales into account.

New kit deals to pass €100-m?

Above: Paul Pogba in the lucrative Manchester United shirt. Right: the Real Madrid home kit.

It therefore comes as no surprise that Nike is allegedly offering Real Madrid an annual sum of €120-m to switch their allegiance from adidas, reports Spanish newspaper Okdiario.

According to the newspaper the club’s current contract with adidas, worth €45-m per year, runs until 2020, and the German brand has already made a new offer to retain the lucrative kit deal.

The current agreement between Real Madrid and adidas is less than half the €100-m Nike will be paying FC Barcelona until 2028, or the €94-m that adidas will be paying Manchester United until 2026, reports ISPO.com.

They also report that the new FC Bayernadidas kit sponsorship, which runs to 2030, is worth €60-m, slightly more than the €59-m New Balance is paying FC Liverpool until 2019.

Advertorial :: p17

adidas Urban Football Boot Hits the Streets adidas South Africa has unveiled the Urban Football Boot, an interpretation of the X boot, specifically designed for the cage and the streets.

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ntroduced in 2015, the X boot was created for the player who causes chaos, the spark that ignites the game and the one who defies the rules. The new Urban Boot is for the X player who creates magic in the cage and brings fire to the streets.

The Urban Boot is designed for the player who dominates at Fives Futbol, takes over the streets, or bosses the cage.

“We have seen an increase in the number of players who don’t only play the game in traditional surroundings like grass pitches and stadiums, but have taken the game to the streets. This boot is made for them,” says Adrian de Souza, Head of Football at adidas South Africa.

An unique Fives Street Pop Up launched the boots to the public in the Johannesburg metro on the 12th November 2016. The event — which boasted urban activities such as Breaking, Graffiti, Freestyling

and Street Soccer — played host to twenty 3v3 soccer teams competing in a Winners-StayOn, one-goal-and-off, street tournament. This format provides a fast, tactical and exciting football experience that brings the game back to its roots.

This year, for the first time ever, Fives Street introduced an adidas steel cage. The likes of Youngsta, DJ Switch, Ginger Bread Man, DJ Speedsta and DJ Yanga performed at the event. For more information on the event, please go to www.fives-street.co.za.

Follow @adidasZA on Twitter and Instagram to join the conversation #FirstNeverFollows.

For trade enquiries contact adidas SA on Tel: 021 442 6200.

Brands on the move p18 :: Industry

Unique artistic launch for historical Italian kit

PUMA and the Italian Football Association (FIGC) introduced the new design of the Italy away kit in a very unique way.

They asked renowned artists, 3D Joe and Max, to paint a large public 3D mural in Southern Italy showing players Marco Verratti, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini wearing the new kit. This drew a big crowd to Bari’s Piazza del Ferrarese.

“Italy is such an icon of world football, it was a real honour to create this 3D Street Artwork to show the new shirt design,” said Joe Hill of 3D Joe & Max. “PUMA has great vision for unveiling new products and is a brand we admire for that. We were very happy to give Bari and Italy a taste of our work and hope they enjoy it,”

The Azzurri will be wearing the kit with its innovative design in the away matches of the qualification campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Instead of the traditional Azzurri blue, navy insets are visible under the V neck collar, sleeves and bottom of the shirt. The shirt also has a carbon fibre sublimation print that depicts the essence of speed and power.

On the chest is a structured jacquard graphic, derived from the FIGC crest, with a chevron effect. Longer sleeves complete the sleek and modern look.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup in Berlin in 2006, the broad design of the kit is similar to the away kit worn during that historic tournament.

Team SA athletes not measured for their kit worn at the 2016 Olympics in Rio though adidas SA is the technical SASCOC admitted that they had sent some of the Team SA athletes to compete partner of Athletics SA and ASICS in the 2016 Rio Olympics without measursupplied the hi-tech custom-made ing them for the team kit from Chinese kit in which the Blitzbokke qualified brand 361 Degrees they had to wear. But, for the Olympics. they had seamstresses on site in Brazil to "But, irrespective of how the make alterations to the athletes’ clothtracksuits turned out, they were ing, SASCOC president Gideon Sam asrecognized as favourites at the sured members of the Parliamentary ComOlympics by many international mittee for Sport. sport magazines and channels such SRSA Director General Alec Moemi conas Fox Sports, Huffington Post, and ceded that apparel sizes differed from the like, when measured against one manufacturer to another, but argued Despite their ill-fitting clothing, athletes like Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keel- those of other countries with sponthat since the different sporting codes ing made us proud. Photo Christiaan Kotze/SASPA. sorship from the likes of Armani, were located in different training facilities Stella McCartney and other famous nation from SASCOC how and why this conacross the country, some of the athletes names,” said Moemi. tract was prematurely ended. could not be measured in person (as would Readers of the satirical news publication have happened if there was a local repre- • The Department (SRSA) was in talks with Huffington Post were actually asked to vote the Department of Trade and Industry for sentative - ed). for the best and worst dressed teams in the connections with sponsors or companies If the athletes had sent through their measopening ceremony: South Africa got 196 votes who might support South African sporting urements close to the departure date, the as best, and 403 as worst. Burundi, who wore codes with sponsorships for uniforms (!) said clothing would not have arrived on time from long ethnic kikois, got most votes as the best Moemi.

China, Moemi explained. dressed. US publication E! News, which Moemi Committee members grilled SASCOC and • The sponsor (361°) had essentially been chosen in the absence of any other local cited as an example of a publication that adSRSA delegates about the ill-fitting tracksuits sponsor willing to step up to the challenge, mired the Team SA uniforms, wrote: “If the the 81 members of Team SA — 45 athletes, 22 the parliamentary committee was told by Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers combined officials, 7 general team managers and 7 mediSam. As long as this company was sponsoring their wardrobes and then had a super power cal staff — wore at the Olympics. and there was no competitive bidder, SAS- that included swaggy dance skills, this is what ‘There was nobody else’ COC had no choice but to use them, he said. we’d get. Fox news commented on the retro They were, however, not required to explain style of our tracksuits.

During the parliamentary briefing it transpired While the committee members were unhapwhy any company or brand from South Afrithat: • The brand 361°, unrepresented in South ca would approach SASCOC when they knew py because the badly fitting tracksuits worn Africa, has a contract to sponsor the team there was a contract with another brand in during the opening and medal ceremonies did sport clothing for South African athletes place … nor why they kept it such a secret that not project a good image, Sports Trader has argued that the lack of care that went into in multi-coded events until 2020 ... unless the contract with Erke was no longer valid. the performance kit, placed our athletes at the contract is prematurely ended, as was an unfair disadvantage. Especially since they the case with the previous Team SA sponsor Recognised as favourites?

Erke. The R31.5-bn deal signed before the As before the London Olympics when Erke was had to compete against athletes wearing hiLondon Olympics gave the Chinese brand appointed sponsor, we could not find any in- tech clothing developed over several years, the right to sponsor SASCOC athletes until ternational brands represented in South Africa in many instances with direct input from the 2017. We have been unable to get an expla- who had been contacted by SASCOC — even athletes they were intended for.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

.co.za | 0317001601 www.kakiebos.co.za | brands@natalsa

p20 :: Industry

Brands on the

Mikasa again supplies FINA water polo balls

Mikasa has extended their agreement with the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) to be the exclusive supplier of water polo balls for all the FINA-governed water polo competitions until 2020.

The new four year agreement includes competitions for men and women, such as the FINA World Championships, held in Budapest in 2017 and Gwangju in Korea in 2019. World Leagues, the Junior World Championships in 2017 and 2019, the Youth World Championships in 2018 and 2020 and the World Cups in 2018 are other competitions that are part of the package.

“Mikasa has been a successful partner of FINA and plays an essential role in the development of the first Olympic team sport, water polo,” says Julio Maglione, FINA President. “The quality of its products and the modern and dynamic design of its balls are precious tools that contribute to enhance the beauty and exposure of this spectacular game, thus bringing a strong added-value to this discipline.”

“We look forward to a partnership lasting well into the future,” says Yuji Saeki, President of Mikasa Corporation. “With this renewed partnership, we sincerely hope that Mikasa Corporation will play an effective and productive role in the continued growth of water polo around the world.” Mikasa is locally distributed by Pat Wiltshire Sports.

Dukes to supply Australian Sheffield Series ball After extensive testing, Cricket Australia decided that the Dukes Special County A–Grade 1 red cricket balls will be used in the second half of their domestic first class tournament, the Sheffield Shield Series, from Round 6 to 10, as well as in the final played on 29 March 2017.

“We are very pleased to achieve this very important milestone,” says Dilip Jajodia, MD of Dukes Cricket UK. “We are dedicated to producing a product that is fit for purpose in the modern game. We passionately believe in the traditional integrity of the product and work tirelessly to ensure unrivalled shape retention, a traditional fully hand stitched seam and bespoke surface finishes to suit variable playing surfaces around the world.

“We are confident that this bespoke approach to making cricket balls of all colours for the highest level of cricket will result in adoption by many more countries. We are also very pleased that we have been given the opportunity to provide six Dukes County International A balls (three red and three white) to each of Australia’s 87 Premier Cricket

Clubs to experience the playing qualities of an equivalent product to the one currently being used, and compare at first hand the quality and value for money it represents,” he continued.

“We hope that this will encourage the various Premier Leagues around the country not to enter into long term contractual agreements with any ball supplier, as it stifles competition, leads to higher prices and does not encourage product improvement or development. Dukes intends to fully support the Australian consumer by providing superior products at competitive prices.”

Adventure Inc grow their cycling brand portfolio Adventure Inc has added the brands POC and Muc-Off to their portfolio through a merger with DB Multisport) that came into effect on November 1 this year.

These brands are now also distributed from Adventure Inc’s Cape Town office, and will no longer be available from DB Multisport in KwaZulu Natal, as the company will not continue trading as before.

“It will allow us to use our combined contacts and our well established back end to service clients better, and hopefully grow the brands strongly over the short and medium term,” says Adventure Inc founder Christo Snyman.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

“For Adventure Inc it was a case of broadening our product offering to complement our existing range within the cycling stores.”

Craig Mills, Graham Daniel and Patrick Cawood, formerly from DB Multisport, will continue being integral to the management of the brands, and on that front not much will change over the short term, says Snyman.

“They will also now operate under the Adventure Inc banner.”

POC is a Swedish brand that offers protective products for gravity sports athletes and cyclists. Founded in 2005, it introduced its first product for the ski racing market at the ISPO trade show.

Since then POC has received more than 40 prestigious international safety, design, innovation and busi-

ness awards. It has subsequently expanded into 25 countries.

The brand has been in South Africa for three years and this year both the male and female winners of the Cape Town Cycle Tour — Clint Hendricks and An-li Kachelhoffer — wore POC eyewear and headware.

Muc-Off is a brand from the UK specialising in care and cleaning products for bicycles, cars and motor-bikes. It is now used by top riders and racers, including the likes of Team Sky to Atherton Racing.

They will join Adventure Inc’s stable of international brands that include Buff, Sea to Summit, Mountain Hardwear, Hilly, Bridgedale, among others.

DB Multisport was established in 2013 when Patrick Cawood and Craig Mills wanted to start a business in South Africa in order for them to return from the UK, where they had seen the growth of these brands.

move

Industry :: p21

ECLIPSE Dirk Klopper of Kloppers Sport and Donald Gedye, MD of TFG Sports Division attended the launch.

Under Armour launch with a bang Twenty years after Kevin Plank founded Under Armour, the full breadth of the brand that seems to be pushing the limits was introduced to retailers, media and sports people at a launch party in Cape Town.

There was nothing shy about the showing of the ranges that will be available locally over the coming season by the new South African distributor, Apollo Brands. But then, the appeal of the brand amongst the youth is that it steps up, rather than back.

Fast-paced videos told the story of the brand’s growth from an undergarment sold from Plank’s grandmother’s garage to one of the biggest brands in the US — Gareth Kemp, GM of local distributor Apollo nipping at Nike’s heels in certain Brands, welcomed guests. categories. The short film Rule Yourself, capturing the intensity of the training by Olympian Michael Phelps, sums up the brand’s philosophy.

Austin Paule from Under Armour’s New Markets Office showed the variety of product categories now carrying the UA label – from training, running, basketball, golf to women, in clothing, footwear and digital fitness apps.

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Speedo helps swimmer conquer Oceans 7 A Speedo cap, goggles and swimsuit are Toni Enderli’s only protection against extreme water temperatures, choppy waves and sharks, in his quest to conquer seven of the world’s toughest long-distance open water swims. The Capetonian hopes to become the first South African to complete the Oceans Seven — he has already swam the English Channel (34km) and Strait of Gibraltar (12.5km), and he esti-

mates that it will take him a further 160 000 swim strokes to complete the other five swims.

He aims to raise $1 per stroke for the charities he supports.

They Habitat for Humanity, and Generosity.org which supplies clean water to disadvantaged communities. In South Africa he is raising funds for the National Sea Rescue Institute’s water safety programme for children.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

SPRINT » Breathable upper » Hard-wearing phylon-rubber outsole » Sporty outdoor look For enquiries:

GARY GILDER Email: garyg@jordan.co.za Tel: 021-590-7117 olympic-sport.co.za Olympic-International Olympic_international

Outdoor brand news

p22 :: Industry

Coreban International adds Silver Cord leash brand Following the signing of a recent partnership, Coreban International now has the rights to distribute Silver Cord leashes for SUP, surfing and body boarding.

The distribution rights are for Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands, Australia, Israel, Dubai, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Greece, Brazil and Japan.

Silver Cord’s new surf leash is designed to make the leash strong and safer than regular leashes. It features inner-cord technology, an emergency bail safe device, and three interchangeable components — leash, rail saver, and ankle cuff — that will be available in different colours so that the user can customise his Silver Cord. The inner-cord is activated if the normal functionality of the leash fails.

To help reduce costs to the consumer, components will be sold both in packs and individually.

“The Silver Cord range has revolutionized a stagnant leash market and I firmly believe that every surfer and SUP’er will embrace these products out there — from South Africa, the United States to Down Under and beyond,” says Coreban International owner Gary van Rooyen.

“Well done to the boys on restyling and creating this amazing and exciting range. I have known Craig Drysdale and his business partner Craig Jarvis for decades, from when we were little groms down at Muizenberg, when we were still using nylon rope and an old school sock to secure our boards, and I have watched them grow up as kids to become great family and businessmen,” says Van Rooyen.

It was critical for Silver Cord to appoint the right distributor in South Africa, says Craig Drysdale. “We needed a national footprint, a high level of professionalism and a motivated partner in a complex market. The global footprint and distribution offered by Coreban is an added benefit. It allows us immediate access to markets and regions through a vertically integrated structure that already exists.

“Gary is hugely respected and highly experienced in the industry and is a great fit for our brand,” adds Drysdale. “Furthermore, the brand is made more accessible to the wider SUP market. We are excited about the future prospects and rolling out before Christmas 2016.”

Left to right: Gary van Rooyen of Coreban International with Craig Drysdale of Silver Cord and Coreban brand manager Tyran Cooper.

Ledlenser to catch the perfect moment With their Catch Your Perfect Moment campaign for the XEO19R headlamp, Ledlenser and world-class PRO team rider Darren Berrecloth, one of the best freeride mountain bikers in the world, are hoping to inspire mountain bikers to experience and record their own perfect moment during their night time downhill rides. Eight winners will have the opportunity to spend four thrilling days exploring the surroundings of Mascota, Mexico, with the racing legend himself and fellow PRO team rider Julia Hoffman. Cyclists could share their perfect moment on www. ledlenser.com/mtb until November 3. Then a five member jury selected their top 30 perfect moments, from which mountain bikers across the world will be able to vote for their favourite. Ledlenser is locally distributed by Awesome Tools.

Triathlons through the winelands

Sportsmans Warehouse and Brooks (locally distributed by SBR Agencies), among others, offer MTB triathletes the opportunity to experience the scenic beauty of the Cape winelands with the Slanghoek and Jailbreak triathlons.

The Slanghoek Triathlon in October offered four different routes to choose from, catering for both novice and experienced athletes: a MTB and road triathlon, each with a long and short course.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

For the first time, the organisers, Iqela Events will also be presenting the Jailbreak Triathlon. This year’s event, which takes place on 10 December, also offers athletes a new route. Staying with the name’s theme, participants are known as prime suspects, vying for their freedom as they strive towards the finish line, and sponsors are parole officers.

Participants can choose between two entry options, both of which takes them through the Doran Vineyards.

Entries open for Merrell Hobbit and Whale of Trail Beautiful scenery await those planning to embark on the Merrell Hobbit or the Merrell Whale of Trail trail runs next year, both sponsored by Merrell, locally distributed by Medicus Shoes.

Only 30 male and female runners will be allowed to participate in the Merrell Hobbit Journey in Hogsback, which takes runners through the indigenous forests of the Eastern Cape’s Amathole, past cascading waterfalls, streams and vistas, ending back in Hogsback.

There are four options: the two day 90km Journey, a staged run of the Amathole Hiking Trail, takes place 28-29 April, and the 38km, 16km and 5km runs on the 29th of April. The shorter 38km run is consistently noted as offering the “most value per kilometre,” says organisers Mountain Runner Events.

Only 175 athletes will be allowed to take part in the Merrell Whale of Trail, held in July 2017 in partnership with Cape Nature, which takes place in De Hoop Nature Reserve. It offers the only opportunity for athletes to run this trail through the reserve, and probably spot some whales.

The 53km route takes runners from the Potberg nature reserve to Koppie Alleen in De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Entries for both events are now open.

www.rockysa.co.za | brands@natalsa.co.za | 0317001601

p24 :: Industry

Ideas for Xmas stock

Times are tough and people are clamping down on unnecessary expenditures. Christmas time, however, is one time when people are more likely to spend money, and it can bring that much-needed extra income to sport and outdoor retailers. We asked suppliers to tell you which of their products they think will make excellent Christmas or holiday time presents. The options are vast: products for sporting activities for youngsters, skating products, lighting options, etc. There is bound to be a product you will want to stock.

Holiday fun with Summit SUMMIT’S KIDS IN SPORT range is designed both for tomorrow’s sports stars, as well as kids who just enjoy to be active and kick a ball around. Its bright colours and fun take on sport is bound to captivate children for hours on end — and give mom and dad some rest time. These products will make excellent choices below the Christmas tree — or a special gift for a youngster over the school holidays.

Products are designed with vibrant, bright colours (sure to catch kids’ attention) and are available as sets, each with the necessary products to practice the activity. They are also designed with children in mind: the majority of products are soft, in the shape of the adult product.

One example, is the cricket set, which features a soft cricket bat and ball. Parents will be happy to know that their windows are safe from this ball. The set also includes a ball launcher, for when dad’s arm gets tired from bowling to little Johnny.

The baseball set too has a soft bat and ball, specifically designed for children, and a ball launcher.

The tennis set also features a ball launcher, in addition to its soft racket and ball.

This soft design is safe, and parents can feel comfortable letting their kids play the sporting activities.

With South Africans’ love of soccer, this set is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It consists of a 2-in-1 pop-up soccer goal that can be used in two different ways: the one side is a goal net and the other is a target area, where children can practice accurate shooting. It also comes with a soft soccer ball. If only some of our local soccer players had this when they were growing up!

The future Baby Jake could be a youngster right this moment, begging his mom for a boxing set for Christmas. Well, Summit has a set that will provide an injury-free workout. The soft, safe bag features target zones and the set also includes child-size boxing gloves.

Rumours about the demise of golf has been vastly overrated and Summit has a set to grow the interest in the next generation. It’s designed to replicate the real equipment (complete with ball, clubs and putting hole), while allowing children to learn and have fun at the same time.

The packaging of these Summit products, available locally from Opal Sports, has been designed to stand out in your store. The cardboard outer has bright graphics, and the eye-catching products are visible.

Cape Union Mart gets festive with gift ideas WITH CHRISTMAS around the corner, Cape Union Mart was ready to show Santa a thing or two with their annual Cape Union Mart Festive Season Media Day. The outdoor retailer gave some insights into what they believe consumers will yearn for during the coming holiday season, with gift and holiday product ideas ranging from high tech equipment to apparel.

“Many people cannot afford to go overseas this holiday season so we catered our clothing for the local tourist,” says Ryan Weiderman from Cape Union Mart.

Instead, many people are doing things like camping or hiking. It is important that people wear the appropriate clothing for the climate, which is usually warm that time of the year. The K-Way Talus Floppy brimmed hat not only protects the eyes from the glaring sun, but is also constructed out of quick drying material. This is one of their number one sellers, informs Weiderman.

Their caps and hats also have an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), which is approved by the Cancer Foundation.

The international brand Kühl was also on display with its anti-microbial material, which prevents bad odours from being trapped in the fabric. Another benefit is that they are wash and wear as well, with some of the products made from a quick drying material and others from a hydrophobic material, which repels water.

For a multipurpose gift, Paul Frier To p26

A box full of gift ideas.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

3 Piece Cricket Set

3 Piece Baseball Sets (Catch-and-Hit or Hit Set)

3 Piece Boxing Set

3 Piece Tennis Set

5 Piece Golf Set

2 Piece Soccer Set (Target and Goal Shooting)

Trade enquiries: Opal Sports Tel: 011 695 9640 | nigel@opalsport.com

High Bounce Balls (Smooth or Dimpled)

p26 :: Industry

Xmas stock ideas cont. from p24

EZ Cruiser

recommends Gear Ties by Nite Ize, locally distributed by Awesome Tools. They can be contorted to hang a lantern from, or to hold cables together, for example. They are also available in a variety of sizes to fit to different tasks.

For a handy corporate gift, Frier recommends the Doohic Key by Nite Ize (previous page). It is a compact multi-purpose tool that has a ruler, wrench, flat screwdriver, bottle opener, box cutter and caribiner clip. They are ideal as corporate gifts because you can customise them with your company’s logo with every order of 500 and more, says Frier.

Longboard

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LEGACY SPORT & LEISURE HEAD OFFICE loretta@legacysl.co.za | pat@legacysl.co.za T: 011 474 2245 Western Cape KwaZulu Natal Johannesburg

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SKATEBOARDING IS a passion among many South Africans — those young-in-age and those young-at-heart — and with Airwalk your customers won’t have a problem finding gifts for these enthusiasts this holiday season.

The Airwalk skating and lifestyle range is no new-kid-on-the-block. Since it was launched in 1986, it has entrenched itself in the action sports community, catering for their footwear, boarding and accessory needs. “We are fuelled by passion and progression, driven by people pushing innovation, supporting the scene, and taking risks,” says the brand.

In South Africa, Airwalk is available from Legacy Sport & Leisure.

The latest exciting footwear range features the new sub fade collection, in addition to comfortable insoles and canvas protection that enhances the durability. The range offers a selection of colours: red, royal blue, maroon and grey that fade to black.

Airwalk’s 31” Uncontested Series Silver Crown skateboard is aimed at intermediate

skaters. Its deck is made from 7-ply Canadian Maple, the double kick tail measures 31x7.75”, the 127mm pro trucks are made of 356 aluminium, and it has 53mm urethane street wheels.

Its EZ Cruiser skateboard’s 28.5” deck is made from sturdy maple wood, and has 60mm PU wheels for speed on the road and tricks in the air, and 5” lightweight aluminium trucks for stability and quicker turns.

Airwalk’s longboards, made from sturdy 9-ply maple wood, feature graphic anti-slip grip tape on the top of the deck. The 61mm wheels are ideal for streets and sidewalks, and the polyurethane bushings and pivot cups offer stability and quicker turning, while keeping the board lightweight.

Eat and drink with GSI DURING THE December holidays, South Africans go travelling — whether it is to the nearest camping site, or on foot over scenic routes, to visit tourists spots in our own or surrounding countries, and also overseas.

Extras for adventurous travellers FOR THE customer on the go, the Vango Pac 15 offers a compact solution for everyday use at the destination as it easily folds into its front pocket or clips onto the main rucksack. The AirMesh back panel keeps the user cool while keeping zip access at hand for easy access to pack contents. “When not in use it can pack into it’s own pocket — the size of a base ball,” says Simon Larsen of local distributor Ram Mountaineering.

Another handy

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

gadget from Vango is the USB Eye Light (below) with its 40cm bendable arm, which can be attached to almost anything. It’s one LED bright light is recharged via a USB connector and is able to rotate 360 degrees.

Bringing comfort to a possibly uncomfortable environment, the self-inflatable Hood Pillow in stretchable soft touch fabric from JR Gear is a great accessory for a sleeping bag. With its compact size and light weight (170g), it makes packing a breeze and is a great accessory on those long overseas flights, says Larsen.

Industry :: p27 Wherever they go, it would be out of their normal comfort zone and these customers will want to stock up on products that will make their journey, and stay, more pleasant.

Ram Mountaineering has suggested several products from their GSI range that should appeal to travellers. There is, for example, an array of interesting new products to make and hold drinks like freshly ground coffee, tea, wine and other beverages.

The Commuter Java Press (left) has a clever design that offers a freshly pressed cup of coffee or tea in a handy travel mug, without the need for a plunger rod, which is kept warm with an extra wall of insulation. “What a great gift for that coffeeholic in the family,” says Simon Larsen of Ram Mountaineering.

The Java Mill with its strong and durable ceramic burr grinder will keep your customers’ caffeine craving satisfied. The comfortable, foldable silicone handle and nesting design makes it convenient and compact to pack, even in a backpack.

No matter where your customers are planning to go, the 1l GSI stainless steel vacuum bottle is sure to keep their beverages hot or cold for up to 30 hours, whether on a picnic, watching sport, or enjoying the beach.

For those who enjoy relaxing with a glass of wine, the FDA approved polycarbonate wine glass sets (stemmed or unstemmed) from GSI will be ideal as a gift, as they are both lightweight and cut resistant.

Cooking on the trail or in the campsite is made so much more convenient with the 11-piece GSI Gourmet Kitchen Set (above right) that conveniently stores away in a zippered soft case. The entire full size cook set, which is ideal for cooking larger meals, weighs just over 500g when packed in the soft-sided case.

Nobody needs to get confused again as to whose cup is whose with the multi-coloured Glacier Stainless Steel Pint set. Each high-grade 18/8 stainless steel cup comfortably holds a pint and is durable enough to last for years.

Lighting gifts from Black Diamond HEADLAMPS AND other lights are constantly evolving with features coming to the fore that customers didn’t realise they needed — and then can’t do without. They are therefore handy gifts, because even though the recipient may have a headlamp, it is unlikely that they would have the latest model with features aimed at their favourite activity.

Not only does the Ember Power Flashlight (right) give 150 lumens of light with its triplepower LED, but it is able to keep your customer’s other handheld devices charged with its USB port. The Lithium polymer battery has a power meter with a lock mode to prolong the shelf life.

Compact enough to fit in a pocket, simple to use, but

Need affordable camp cooking solutions?

bright enough to give off 100 lumens, the Moji lantern (below) is ideal for campers and travellers who need a light that is instantly available. The triple power LED even has a dimming switch to adjust the brightness of the light.

Whatever the weather conditions, the water resistant Cosmo Headlamp S16 provides super-bright 160 lumens of power. With just a touch of a button, it easily transitions through its six lighting modes, which include a red night-vision mode as well as a white light mode.

Giving a powerful illumination of 200 luC mens, the Spot Headlamp is also waterproof M up to 1.1-m. It will therefore appeal to fishermen and kayakers, to early morning Yhikers and those active in low light conditions.

CM Should water seep through to the battery compartment, the Spot will remain functionMY al. The lock mode makes sure that the CYuser does not waste unnecessary battery life.

CMY With a three hour burnout time, the compact K Iota fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.

The lithium ion battery has a rechargeable time frame of three hours via a USB port and has a three level power metre, which displays the battery life. Through the PowerTap technology, transitioning from full brightness to dimming and strobe is easy.

Black Diamond is available from Ram Mountaineering.

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Kaufmann offers seating comfort AGRINET’S KAUFMANN range of outdoor furniture is the ideal range for the holidays: for campers who will be travelling by car, as well as those who will be lounging at home.

Kaufmann offers a variety of seating options. One example is its khaki Fisherman chair that is available with, or without, a backrest. Both have a storage compartment underneath the seat, a To p28

2016 November :: Sports Trader

View our full range of stoves and pots:

traversegear.co.za

p28 :: Industry

Xmas stock ideas cont. from p27

powder-coated steel frame, and can take maximum 85kg static weight.

Its Deluxe camping chair (above) promises “five star living in the great outdoors”. The heavy duty padded high back chair has an adjustable cushion and drinks holder — perfect for enjoying sundowners around the camp fire. The chair has a sturdy steel frame with a Hammerite coating for extra protection, durable 1200D fabric, and a 5cm wide adjustable arm rest webbing for extra comfort.

This comfortable chair is available in khaki and grey, which will blend in well with the outdoor environment and won’t be an eyesore.

The Spider Deluxe chair, which can take a maximum of 150kg, has a comfortable foam padded seat and backrest. “This is the

ideal comfort chair for camping and the outdoors,” says Agrinet.

The chair also offers a zipped pouch that becomes a comfortable neckrest if something is stored in it — for example, the chair’s carry bag. Its insulated cup holder can fold away for storage purposes.

The Heavy Duty Spider chair, which can hold 150kg, has a comfortable padded foam seat and backrest, which “makes this the ideal comfort chair for camping and outdoors”. The carry bag doubles as a headrest (when zipped up in a pouch on the chair) when not in use. The chair also features insulated cup holders and folds away compactly — easy for storage and carrying.

The Hi Back chair has an adjustable reclining option, a padded seat, a high adjustable backrest,

FIVE STAR LIVING IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

and an adjustable cushion — all held together by a sturdy 22mm steel frame, which can take 150kg.

The extra large Jumbo Moon chair is a foldable, lightweight, round chair that is padded for extra comfort. It comes with a carry bag and can hold up to 140kg.

The Sofa chair, equally at home on the stoep as at a campsite, offers comfortable padding, has a steel frame, can hold up to 150kg, folds up compactly for storage and it comes with a carry bag.

Dakota is “strong enough to withstand the demands of the most adventurous outdoor excursions”. Its powder-coated steel frame with telescopic supports resists corrosion and combines with a rugged, dual-layer, 600-denier polyester fabric to provide a 140kg weight capacity.

The hard-arm design increases support, while still maintaining easy-to-fold capabilities. It has a stable foot design and comes with a handy carry bag.

Lay Back is “the ultimate padded chair for laid back comfort,” says Agrinet, which points out the chair is ideal for camping, patio or pool. The armrests offer extra comfort, and have a cupholder.

The chair folds up to a compact size for easy storage, has an insulated storage compartment, and comes with a carry bag. It can take up to 140kg.

For a sturdy and well-padded chair, consider Kaufmann’s Compact Recliner, which has an adjustable back rest for even more

comfort. It folds up, comes with a carry bag, and is ideal for camping and the outdoors. It can take up to 150kg.

For your customers who will be staying at home, but taking it easy, Kaufmann offers a comfortable lounger chair that also folds up into a compact size for easy storage and comes with a carry bag.

The lounger can take up to 130kg.

The King Sport chair is meant for taking along: it’s foldable and comes with a storage bag. The storage bag will also double as a head rest if it’s stored in the zipped pouch at the top of the chair’s back. The chair is also a heavy duty, lightweight, comfortable chair, with a padded seat and backrest that are made from 600D UV coated polyester fabric. With a steel frame and aluminium armrests, the chair is sturdy and can handle 150kg.

Did you think Kaufmann forgot about the little ones? Of course not! There’s even one for baby: “Baby High chair is a practical solution for active families on the go with small children”. It is easy to transport, and stands freely, so it can be taken anywhere and everywhere. The lightweight, flexible, one-piece design doesn’t need any assembly, is easy to unfold, yet locks into place and folds up in seconds. A lap belt keeps baby securely in place, and the chair is ideal for children ages three and older. With its durable polyester canvas material and clear vinyl

GO VISIT KAUFMANNOUTDOOR.CO.ZA TO VIEW OUR RANGE For more information on the range, contact the Agrinet team. Samrand: T. +27 12 657 2000, Bellville: +27 21 959 5420 or enquiries@agrinet.co.za, www.agrinet.co.za Exclusively distributed by

Industry :: p29 tray cover, it is easy to wipe clean.

The bright blue or pink of the Kiddies Spider chair will gain the kids’ attention. It’s foldable, lightweight and comfortable, has cup holders in the armrests, and comes with a carry bag.

Archery for the whole family DESPITE ITS dangerous appearance, archery is an activity that just about anyone in the family can take part in. Therefore, you won’t go wrong by stocking archery equipment this holiday season, when people are more likely to have time and opportunity to practice their favourite activity.

Some might even convert their kids to the sport.

To cater for these consumers, R&S Traders offers a variety of bows, from crossbow to compound, for different ages.

Because of its construction, MKCB015 is a good introduction to archery, and is ideal for children and young people. It has a draw weight of 12lb, achieving an arrow speed of 75fps (82.3km p/hour).

The MK-CB008 compound bow is also aimed at the youth market, and has an arrow speed of up to 70fps.

Both are 86.3cm long with a draw length of 61cm.

The new MK-180 crossbow, for example, has a 130lbs draw weight and has a limb that folds flat against the handle, making the bow easier to carry and store.

It is a lightweight, compact bow, yet powerful. It is even suitable for big game hunting as it can achieve an arrow speed of 165fps (190km p/hour).

The MK-150A1H pistol crossbow has a classy wooden handle and a 150lbs draw weight — and an arrow speed of 210 fps (230km p/hour). This is an accurate shooter, which has a hi-tech fibreglass bow limb and a mounting rail for a scope or red dot.

Both MK-XB53-BK and MK-XB55BK compound crossbows can take a slightly heavier draw weight (185lbs) and are available in black. The MK-XB55-BK features Picatinny and Weaver rails, onto which your customer can add optional sights and accessories like bi-pods or lasers, and its string suppressor means quiet shooting.

MK-380GC is a green camo compound crossbow that draws 175lbs, and shoots 170lbs (395km p/hour).

Because of its stiffness, it can achieve higher impact, and the ergonomically-shaped stock and

2016 November :: Sports Trader

built-in string damper offer a comfortable shoot.

The camo should appeal to your hunting customers, or those who wish they were out in the bush, but are instead trapped in the urban

Right and below: The MK180 crossbow in its opened and closed states.

jungle. Its cam-pulley system ensures optical power transmission and delivers performance, even at longer

distances, and the 19mm mounting rail caters for a rifle scope, red dot or a laser.

Yes Sirree, cycling is the new golf p30 :: Sport

C

ycling has experienced a boom in participation numbers over the last few years, says William Newman, president of Cycling SA. “It has definitely grown exponentially, with still a lot of untapped talent to be unearthed.”

The growth in participation has been across the board, with increasing growth numbers seen in both the competitive and recreational side, says Newman.

Cycling SA currently has 19 919 registered members; 16 074 male and 3 845 female. Of these, 2 538 are elite riders who take out licences and compete. Amongst the elite riders men also dominate with 2 135 men holding licences, compared to 403 women.

The participation number split for road and mountain bike cycling is unfortunately not available.

The figures for recreational cycling look very different; with a guesstimate of participation numbers ranging in the hundreds of thousands.

Recreational cycling has seen “a massive increase in interest and participation over the past few years,” agrees Dr. Veit Hammer, Head of Marketing and PR for Team Dimension Data.

“With events like the Cape Town Cycle Tour, Absa Cape Epic and the 94.7 Cycle Challenge, South Africa has three of the biggest mass participation sporting events in the world, which appeal directly to the general public.

“Recently, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, Louis Meintjes, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Daryl Impey have given South Africa a solid presence in professional cycling globally and this in turn is inspiring younger African

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

riders.”

Newman agrees that the success of our riders on the world stage is one of the two participation growth factors — the other is the desire to be fit.

“Team Dimension Data has inspired the youth by daring them to dream as big as the team and to also one day be part of the Tour de France,” he says. “Success breeds success.

So the performances of our top cyclists have sparked a lot of interest, not only amongst the cycling fraternity, but amongst the general South African public.”

Newman mentions several inspirational achievements that have helped create an elevated awareness of the sport — for example, Daryl Impey at the 2013 Tour de France,

A healthy lifestyle has become a fashion and so people are riding because everyone is doing it where he wore the yellow jersey, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s consistency on the UCI Women’s Tour and winning the bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Louis Meintjes’ exceptional performances at the Tour de France and Tour of Spain in 2015 and 2016, Team Dimension Data’s unbelievable success on the UCI World Tour circuit, and Greg Minnaar becoming the most decorated Downhill MTB rider.

“Para-cyclists such as our iconic Ernst van Dyk (fresh from winning Gold in Rio), Justin Asher, Pieter du Preez and Goldie Fuchs have

further inspired many with their great performances,” he adds.

Newman points out that Van Dyk, Asher and Du Preez are “perennial medallists at the Para-cycling World Championships”, whilst Nolan Hoffman and Bernard Esterhuizen have won medals at the Track World Championships.

Boom time Although there is no actual participation figures, stakeholders agree that the biggest participation growth has been in mountain biking.

This is thought to be the result of concerns over dangerous roads, as well as an increased interest in being out in the bush.

The hike in mountain biking can also be attributed to its appeal to the entire family as a sociable weekend-away option, says Hammer.

Wolf Stinnes, head of the team that provides technology support to the Absa Cape-Epic, gives the following example of mountain biking growth: “In my own backyard, I was involved when the Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club started with about 25 members twelve years ago — it now boasts a membership of 6 000 riders of all ages, shapes and sizes, with 100km of single track and connecting green corridors providing hours of pleasure to all skill levels.”

Mountain biking is genderless as well as nonageist, adds Angie Bonser of Club100 in Johannesburg. “In the last few years the growth in mountain biking has far exceeded that of road cycling.

“This discipline caters for all age groups and is far safer due to the numerous bike parks in and around Gauteng. More and more women are also taking up mountain biking.”

Apart from inspiring athletes, the desire to

Sport :: p31

Golf has lost its status as the sport that everybody enjoys — and cycling has taken its place.

Participation is flourishing as top riders like Louis Meintjes, Darryl Impey, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Ilna Lemmer, Greg Minnaar and Team Qhubeka Dimension Data inspire others to follow in their steps ... or maybe we now have these top international competitors because our pool of cyclists has skyrocketed as everybody is now cycling. LINZA DE JAGER asked cycling clubs and other administrators

socialise and fit in also draw people to cycling.

“In South Africa cycling can definitely be called the new golf,” says Nicky Gilliomee, chairman of Maties Cycling. “It’s becoming something that everyone now does, like they used to play golf in the old days.” According to Gilliomee men still dominate the sport but the number of “ladies is growing at a steady rate too”.

Cycle stores are at their busiest around the Cape Epic, Cape Town Cycle Tour (former Cape Argus) and Tour de France — not because our riders are performing well, but because cyclists are inspired by the events, he says, and people want to join in.

“A healthy lifestyle has become a fashion and so people are riding because everyone is doing it,” he adds.

Healthy lifestyle The number of cyclists is growing because people are becoming more health conscious, agrees Bonser. “Many medical aids now reward their members for being active, gaining fitness and staying healthy.”

But, health is not the only driving force, points out Stinnes. “I think the general trend and awareness of healthier lifestyles as well as easy accessibility to scientific training knowledge, systems and programmes combine to quickly elevate the capability of the average rider.

“I see many middle-aged people taking up cycling, often because previous sports at high level have become prohibitive, whereas cycling is generally friendly on the body. And it still allows for that healthy level of competitiveness amongst peers!”

Future growth Cycling SA intends to focus a lot on BMX in future, as “this is the discipline with the lowest barrier to entry and it is attractive to the young girls and boys,” says Newman. “So there is a huge untapped market that we will be exploiting.”

He is also excited about track racing, describing it as “one of the most exciting cycling disciplines, as there is a wide variety of different races, ranging from the short explosive sprints to the longer endurance events. It is also a great spectator sport with fans being able to follow all the action in the confines of a velodrome.”

Professional cycling Despite the good performances of our elite cyclists, professional and top competitive cycling still have some way to go in South Africa, Hammer points out.

“Soccer, rugby and cricket dominate as the preferred sports of choice while a lack of sponsorship for professional events and domestic teams hinder the growth of professional cycling in South Africa. On a professional level, though, cycling has yet to become an established sporting code in South Africa.”

Lack of access to bicycles for a large sector of the population and a dangerous riding environment provide further obstacles to participation.

Cycling as a form of transport is also very much in its infancy throughout South Africa, when compared to Europe, Hammer says. The idea of a bike path network ranks well down on a municipality’s list of priorities when adequate sanitation and access to education are still problems to be dealt with.

View from the top Louis Meintjes’ overall eighth position in the Tour de France this year confirmed his standing amongst the group of top riders who are seen as mystical and magical by fans. From his base in Lucca, Italy, Meintjes told Sports Trader how the local attitude towards and perception of cycling has changed in just a few years.

“When I started riding the group of South African cyclists was not so large as it is today,” he says.

“If I had told people a few years ago that I am a professional cyclist, they would have asked: But what else are you doing for money?” he laughs. “The awareness of cycling as a sport has grown a lot.”

Meintjes admits readily to having been inspired by other cyclists like Chris Froome, Robbie Hunter and Daryl Impey.

Why cycle?

• “You get on a bicycle and you go the event.

It is social. Cycling offers the opportunity for families to exercise together.” — Shamiel Fataar, Western Province Cricket Club’s cycling division.

• “While not entirely true, cycling is seen to be a cheap sport as once you have bought a bike and the kit, it is believed to be free to participate after that.” — Daryl Harris, Chairman of the East Coast Cycling Club.

• “A great incentive for our youth to get involved in our sport is the fact that Durban will be hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games. There should be no bigger motivating factor for our youth of 15-18 years old now to work hard and dream of being part of Team SA competing on home soil and supported by family and friends.” — William Newman, President of Cycling SA. • “Participation sports form a significant part of the social life today. This can be gym, running, walking, hiking and cycling.

Health talk is ongoing in most social circles.

The modern bike can be ridden to great effect by almost anybody, even with moderate fitness.” — John Bramwell, Chairman of the Johannesburg Mountain Biking Club.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p32 :: Sport

Economy

deflates

cycling sales

T

he number of cycling participants is booming (see p30) and cycling retailers should be rejoicing at this growing market of potential customers.

Yet, cyclists aren’t buying as much as before — the weakened economy has hit many pockets, including the recently-booming cycling market, many retailers report.

People are now trying to maintain their bicycles, instead of buying new ones, a retail respondent said in an online snap survey Sports Trader conducted amongst cycling traders.

Ian McKechnie of Procycles agrees: sales have dropped because there is a general financial decline and the weak Rand buys less.

The weak Rand and economy The majority of cycling products come from overseas, which drives up prices as well — especially when the value of the Rand takes a dive. “To import goods from China is very expensive,” points out Vimal Daya of Bhanis Cycle.

Retail sales reflect this decline in the economy: a third of the respondents indicated that their sales over the past five years have decreased by about 20-40%.

The Rand devaluation and weak economy are, however, not solely to blame for sales losses, says Tony Impey of Tony Impey Cycles: unsafe THE POPULARITY of cycling is bound to grow as more and more companies help to introduce kids in underprivileged communities to the sport. One such an initiative is the pump track launched by the Anna Foundation for farm children in the Western Cape. It was built by renowned track builder Eckhardt Kühn — who also built part of this year’s Cape Epic track — with the help of the 36 children who attend the farm school. They also received six bikes, on which Kühn will coach them on a weekly basis.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

There is no doubt among South African cycling retailers that the huge interest in the sport is responsible for the new crop of top performing elite cyclists, but while participation grows, the economy has put a damper on cycling retail sales People are now trying to maintain their bicycles, instead of buying new ones road conditions also contribute to a drop in new entrants in the market buying cycling gear — especially as it makes it a less attractive means of transport.

This isn’t valid for all respondents, however, as a third indicated that they have actually seen a sales increase of between 20-40%, and 11% indicated that they have seen an increase of 50% or more.

Just over twenty percent indicated that their sales have remained stable during this period.

It also depends on the timeframe: one of these respondents says that between 8-12 months ago, sales were on the increase, but they are now decreasing again, which roughly evens out his sales over the time frame. He attributes this to the economy, and that people are not spending money because of it.

“There are more participants now, but there is less spending power due to the current economic climate.”

It’s not all doom and gloom, however: cycling continues to be a very tempting fitness option.

Mountain biking grows most This is especially true for the mountain biking community: “but, while the popularity of MTB cycling has grown a lot, retail competition in this category has also grown a lot as there has been an increase in the number of cycling shops catering for mountainbikers,” a respondent commented.

In fact, the majority (89%) of respondents agree that mountain biking has seen the most growth among the three main cycling branches (road, MTB or BMX).

“There are lots of MTB races and trails, and too much traffic on the road,” Josua Wagner of J-Bay Cycle Centre explains the popularity of mountain biking.

Only 11% of respondents feel that road cycling has seen the most growth. One of them is Farooq Bhyat of Cell n Cycle, who ascribes this to the fact that “it’s an easy form of exercise.”

None of the respondents were enthusiastic about the prospects offered by BMX. But, whether their sales are up or down, all the respondents agree that “over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in cycling as a sport, general fitness and as a means of transport. It stands to reason that, with a broader spectrum of people taking up cycling, more top cyclists will emerge.”

THE CAPE EPIC mountain bike (MTB) race has recently been acquired by the IRONMAN sporting event platform, which also runs The Motatapu and The Pioneer multistage MTB races in New Zealand. Since its inception in 2004, Cape Epic is the only Photo: Thomas Talkner eight-day MTB stage race classified as hors catégorie (beyond categorisation) by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale). The race attracts an assortment of racers from all over the world, from world champions to amateur participants.

Enjoy the hard work The Craft Performance Product range targets the serious cyclist who likes to compete occasionally and who enjoys both the all-out workout and the espresso break.

Combining functional fabrics, advanced body-mapping and ergonomic design, the collection provides excellent body-temperature management and body-control.

Brand ID is the proud new distributor of Craft in South Africa T: +2721 461 0346

Email: paul@brand-identity.co.za

www.brand-identity.co.za

p34 :: Sport

What’s new in cycling ranges Left: The well-known cycling photographer Angus Sung captured images of the weartesting of the new adistar cycling range in Mallorca.

Right: The Craft cycling range is now distributed by Brand ID, who has a proven track record in the industry. They will also supply custom made kit of the cycling range.

Adistar kit pass tough weartest The new 2017 high performance adistar cycling collection from adidas was put to a gruelling test by the London-based 5th Floor Cyclists during their 5-day training camp in Mallorca before the start of the racing season — and given the thumbs up.

“The adistar kit performed great,” said 5th Floor club co-founder Luke Clark, one of five team members who completed the 360km scenic trip with stunning views, but plenty of testing climbs. “The riding environment changes so quickly when riding mountains: one moment, you’re slowly climbing out of the saddle and the jersey keeps you cool; the next, you’re tucked in the aero position at 70+kph. You really notice the perfect cut of the kit — no flapping around, just smooth and fast.”

The sleek black adistar cycling kit had been engineered for faster speeds, says adidas. It is made from lightweight, muscle-supporting fabrics, which are cut for optimal aerodynamic and ergonomic performance. To ensure minimum wind resistance, it features a covered zip and strategically placed seams.

In the knitted jersey a waterproof pocket bag and the comfortable fit like a second skin optimise performance and race tactics, says adidas. “The aesthetic men’s cut makes the look complete.” Reflective trims ensure protection in bad light conditions.

The new adistar bibshorts for men and women feature varied thicknesses for best support in different pressure points. The high performance men-specific and women-specific seat pads further ensure longer hours of comfort.

Apart from the 5th Floor team (named after the roof of the Spitalfields car park where the group first used to assemble in 2010) top amateur and professional European riders have wear-tested the adistar range.

Craft now available from proven distributor The Craft brand has been given a new boost in the South African market with the signing of Brand ID as its new distributor.

Brand ID has years of experience in the sports market, distributing top brands such as Canterbury, Dunlop, Skins and Mizuno — and with its solid financial backing, this distribu-

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

torship is around to stay.

The company also prides itself on its excellent service, and being able to offer stock.

“You can now get the product you already love, from the distributor you will love,” says Paul Copson of Brand ID. To ensure it relaunches the brand into the market correctly, and does justice to the brand, Brand ID is focusing purely on the cycling range (for now). There are plans to expand the locally-available range in the future to cover other activities.

The brand offers top product, but at mid-tier prices, says Copson. It has the quality comparable to the top-of-the-range brands, but it’s more affordable, he explains.

The range combines functional fabrics, advanced body-mapping and ergonomic designs, with body temperature and body-control further assisting the wearer.

In addition to the branded cycling wear, it also caters for the custom kit market. Corporate, schools, clubs, etc. — they can help you with your training, running or cycling custom needs.

The new Craft S/S 2017 product will be delivered in February, but Brand ID has ordered extra stock — so if you haven’t put your order in yet, there is still the opportunity to order.

Futures for A/W 2017 are being sold to retailers now, and product will be delivered in July 2017.

Surge range updated SURGE, LOCALLY available from De Wet Sports, have updated all the bikes in their range, which caters for both children and adults at all levels.

The Rockstar with its 26” V-brake frame, 21 speed gear range, 26” alloy double wall rims and Surge V-braking system, is a great “no nonsense” entry level mountain bike.

Updates to the models in their alloy frame range include the Trail Blaze 650B, Trail Blaze 29er and the Slingshot 29er, all available in sizes ranging from small to extra-large.

The Slingshot 29er is fitted with a Shimano hydraulic disk braking system and has a gear range of up to 24 speed[s]. The 29” Surge Race Tech rims of the Slingshot 29er has double alloy walls. Both the Trail Blaze 29er and Trail Blaze 650B

have a 21 speed gear range and a Surge VBrake system, but the 650B has a 27.5” alloy double wall rim while the 29er has a 29” alloy double wall rim.

For the customer seeking something a little bit different, there is the Big Dog fat bike, fitted with 4” ultra-thick tyres on a 26” rim. It also features a Shimano hydraulic disk brake[[BR-M355 excluded] and a 26” T6 alloy disk frame. The Big Dog’s junior counterpart is the Lil Dog 20, fat bike aimed at children aged 6-8 years. Available in matte blue and green, Like the Big Dog, it too has a T6 alloy frame but with a mechanical disk braking system.

Updates in the children’s range include the Mojo 24, directed at ages 9-12 years and the Nitro 20, aimed at children aged 6-8 years.

The Mojo 24 has an alloy 6061 frame, an alloy V-braking system and a SIS 18 speed gear range from Shimano. While the Nitro 20’s frame is made of steel and has a low standover height.

Available in black, blue and orange, the Nitro 20 also has a bell and kickstand to position the bike when standing.

For the younger kid, they offer the updated Nitro 16, Dream 16, Nitro 12 and Dream 12 all with training wheels and in attractive colours.

The newly launched Zoom balance bikes for boys and girls are both designed for children between 2-4 years of age and come in a bright and appealing green and orange colourway for boys and a yellow and magenta colourway for girls. Both bikes have a steel frame with a lower standover height and have a rear hand braking system.

The pneumatic tyres are added for comfort with a practical quick-release adjustable saddle.

The Surge Nitro 20.

CYCLE RANGE TREAD

MTB

» Weight 406g » A breathable upper » Atop dail speed lacing system

TRACTION

MTB

» Weighs 427g » Easy to clean and breathable upper » Velcro straps and replacable ratchet strap

CRANK R

MTB

» Weight 445g » Easy to clean and breathable upper » A triple velcro strap system

SHIFTER

ROAD

» Weight 298g » Easy to clean and breathable upper » A triple velcro strap system » Breathable holes to assist with moisture loss

RACING

ROAD

» Weight 292g » Easy to clean and breathable upper » Atop dail speed lacing system » Breathable holes to assist with moisture loss

MULTIPURPOSE

SPIN

» Weight 448g » Quick drying and easy to clean upper » Double velcro strap system » Suitable for spinning

For enquiries:

GARY GILDER Email: garyg@jordan.co.za Tel: 021-590-7117

olympic-sport.co.za Olympic-International Olympic_international

p36 :: Sport

Olympic cycling has

all the features It’s been almost a year since Olympic International took control of their cycling kit in-house and relaunched it, and it’s had a good reception, according to Fahiem Frizlar of distributor Jordan & Co. To further highlight its connection with the sport, Olympic International recently invited media to a high altitude cycling training session, hosted by Concept Studio in Cape Town.

Their extensive cycling shoe range covers the full spectrum, all the way from entry level to the more advanced product. They even have a spinning-specific shoe available.

Their MTB cycling shoes are the entry level Crank, aimed at the beginner, Traction, a stylish shoe aimed at the serious rider, and the tried and tested Tread with its futuristic look and top-end technology.

The rugged Traction has the stylish looks of a road shoe and it has many features a serious rider will appreciate, like a lightweight, easy to clean and quick drying Top to bottom: The Olympic International breathable mesh/PU upper, Spin, Racing, Traction, Tread and Crank cycling shoes. a molded back reinforcement for added heel support, an anti-slip lining in the heel for less foot movement and a snugger fit.

All the bells and whistles Tread has been tried and tested in all conditions, states the brand.

“This MTB shoe, with its futuristic look and technical features will not let you down,” says Fizlar.

Its GINIA-TECH KPU injection frame holds a seamless, lightweight upper, which is made from breathable mesh and easy to clean PU, and the ATOP dial speed lacing system is in charge of pressure distribution around the foot. Other features include the anti-slip heel lining for less foot movement and a snug fit, and a rigid nylon sole that also has room to add two studs in the front. Tread is the lightest of the three MTB shoes, at 406gm.

All three the MTB shoes have a reinforced toe box, a mud clearing design, a removable inner sock that is easy to replace, and their soles are compatible with SPD and most other pedals.

Racing is one of Olympic’s two road cycling shoes. “With lines and design as futuristic as these, this shoe is begging to get on the road to perform at top level,” says Fizlar.

It also features the GINIA-TECH KPU frame over a seamless, lightweight, mesh and PU upper and the ATOP dial speed lacing system. In addition, it features an anti-slip heel lining, reinforced toe box, removable inner sock, and a rigid nylon sole with lateral support, aeration holes and mesh technology that assists with moisture release.

The unisex Spin is designed specifically for indoor training. It features a triple Velcro frontal closure system for a snug and comfortable fit, a breathable, quick drying, lightweight and easy to clean mesh and PU upper, a removable inner sock, padded collar, a rigid, non-marking, rubber sole with lateral support that is SPD and flat pedal compatible.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

Apparel & Footwear :: p37

With more than 800 on- and off-road events across the country, more South Africans are running than ever before. But, money is scarce. Have retailers been able to benefit from this interest? It depends, they say. TRUDI DU TOIT reports. Photo NICOL DU TOIT

Is the economy running away with shoe sales?

I

t is safe to say that running participation is booming in South Africa — people are nowadays probably running more than ever before (at least, after the cavemen and -women stopped running away from the sabre tooth tiger).

But, judging by the vast — and growing — number of on- and off-road races in South Africa, runners can compete in a couple of races every day of the year and still not get round to doing them all. According to the informative Nedbank Runners’ Guide 2016 by Tom Cottrell, there are a whopping 850 running events in South Africa, of which about 100 are new this year.

There are thousands of running clubs across the country — in Central Gauteng alone there are more than 360, many named after the running brands that support them. In a small geographical area like Boland there are 90odd. The cut-off number for registrations for popular events is reached sooner and sooner.

Therefore, to say that running is popular in South Africa is a bit of an understatement.

And runners need shoes — apart from the few budding Zola Budders who went overboard during the barefoot running phase.

That is why even general sport stores offer a healthy variety of styles and price points from the 30-odd running brands supplying shoes to

A R3 000 shoe does not take much longer to sell than a R1 500 pair. To determine profitability, a salesman’s time must also be factored in.

South African consumers through retail.

These vary from entry-level low-technology shoes retailing for under R500 to the technical shoes selling for R2 000–R3 000.

But, no South African needs a Budget Speech to tell us that times are tough and that consumers don’t have as much disposable income as a few years ago. To add to the misery, the Rand value drop coincided with global manufacturing cost hikes in China and increases in shipping costs.

This left retailers with a bit of a dilemma: do they stock up on high end technical shoes and cross their fingers that they will sell … or do they trade down in anticipation of their customers spending less?

We asked retailers selling running shoes as well as suppliers for their views in an online survey. This allowed respondents to remain anonymous, although many opted to be quoted by name.

The overwhelming response we got was: it depends. None of our questions got a definitive yes or no response.

It depends on the type of store you run whether it is more profitable to stock up on higher-margin top end models, or less expensive models that will generate more sales, says James Mullen, Head of Performance at PUMA SA. “If it’s a generalist store, I would advise them to stock more entry level and mid-level shoes, and if it is a specialist running store, I’d advise them to stock more of the high end footwear, but also have a portion of mid-level product.”

The margins at the very top are a bit lower, but a R3 000 shoe does not take much longer to sell than a R1 500 pair, points out an anonymous running specialist. “The return when the salesman’s time is factored in, is pretty similar.”

Several retail respondents commented that while runners tended to stay with the brand and model they knew, they are taking longer to replace their shoes.

“Customers believe that running shoes will become cheaper again and therefore expect their shoes to last for 12 months,” comments Pierre Schoeman of Perel Sport.

By keeping shoes longer, customers increase the risk of injuries as the midTo p38

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p38 :: Apparel & Footwear

Top vs bottom in running shoes cont. from p37 sole and outer wear out, cautions Gary van Rooyen of Under Armour distributor Apollo Brands. “Unfortunately, shoes do not last longer nowadays — the materials are all lighter and less durable.”

Technical in specialist stores As we expected, most sales in the running specialist stores are of high end technical shoes that cost more than R2 000. It is also heartening that they report that they sell more, or about the same number of, technical shoes than two years ago. Sales of crosstrainers and non-technical running shoes have, however, gone down in the specialist stores — or remained the same.

Some, however, point out that sales volumes might have been a bit down, but this was evened out by the higher prices, resulting in overall sales increases.

“Customers stick to the level of shoe they normally buy, they just take longer to replace them,” says Paiter Botha of the Trail Shop, catering for a growing niche market with high end technical product.

Not surprisingly, the specialists also report that their customers stayed loyal and kept on buying the technical shoe models they knew and wanted, despite the economic crunch.

This is echoed by a top end technical brand like ASICS, who say their customers are brand loyal. “More than 40% of runners choose to run in our brand,” says Janine Stokes of ASICS SA. She ascribes this to the trust customers have placed in the brand, which has a dedicated R&D centre in Kobe, Japan, where scientists continuously test sports footwear to make the best products that will enhance an athlete’s ability.

“Because they trust the brand, customers keep coming back to buy their favourite model.”

Other top end brands have experienced the same loyalty. Even though the prices have gone up, “runners are still prepared to pay a bit more for a product that will last them longer than an entry level shoe,” says James Mullen Head of Performance at PUMA SA. What is interesting, though, is the number of general retail stores, situated in the platteland no less, that report that the bulk of their running shoe sales are in the high-end technical category.

Most of their sales are, however, at a somewhat lower price point than the specialists, namely R1 300-R1 800.

Selling at mid-point “Looks sell!” says Imram from Mohamed Shukran in Lichtenburg, who says his top selling brand is Salomon. Most of his sales are at mid-price point because although his customers may not be able to afford the top end models, customers who want cheap shoes go shopping at discount stores.

General sport retailers also report that they are now selling fewer pairs, or the same number, of high end technical shoes than two years ago.

“Parents are now looking at price before they are buying,” says Schoeman. “Previously, that wasn’t a problem.”

It is interesting that most distributors who responded (40%) would advise retailers that it is more profitable to stock mid-price running shoes — while the highest percentage of retail respondents (50%) believe that stocking high end technical shoes is more profitable. More than a third (36%) do agree, however, that it is more profitable to stock mid-level shoes.

Customers buying down Nearly 30% of the general sport retailer respondents, however, report that their customers are now buying down because they have less disposable income. All of them now sell fewer top technical models, and mainly midlevel price point shoes.

“Customers buying down is a major issue,” says Christo du Preez of Matzikama Sports in Vredendal. “People want to buy one shoe that must have a dual purpose and be durable enough to wear 4-5 times a week at the price we charged two years ago!”

His customers are prepared to pay more for quality sport specific footwear like a rugby boot or netball shoe. “But, when it comes to running shoes, more customers opt for the shoe with the most technology that fits in their budget,” he adds. “I do sell the odd premium running/trail shoe, but not the same quantities as previous years.”

The weekend athlete has other needs and will prefer to buy at a lower price point as they do not really require a very technical shoe, “they need a capable shoe to run

This year’s 42km Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, sponsored by ASICS, introduced a number of features that will make the race more enjoyable for participants, for example a new, faster route, and the introduction of the race’s new official paceband.

Participants were able to track their own race goals and times with the help of ASICS’ Pace Your Race, the race’s official paceband. It helped participants stay on pace and reach their goal times during the race. This was the first time that runners were able to personalize and track their race goals and times at a South African marathon.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

5-10km,” says Gordon Gassert, product developer for Olympic International. “Serious runners will continue buying higher price running shoes as they offer the technical features they require to run far distances.”

Besides, as Gary Baker of LGB Distributors points out, certain LSMs will have no choice but to downgrade due to financial constraints: they will either have to buy fewer pairs of shoes, or buy less expensive pairs.

Millennials run for mental health Millennials not only run to benefit their physical health, but also to sustain positive emotional and mental health, report US researchers in the second phase of The Millennial Running Study, commissioned by Running USA and RacePartner.

Running has become part of the identity of millennials — people born between 1980 and 2000 — who form a substantial group of the 42-m American runners. They initially ran to lose weight, but then ran to think and decompress. Running is now part of their daily routine and represents who they are, researchers from the research and marketing agency Achieve reported.

Millennials consider running an escape, a restorative practice and something that increases their abilities to perform in other areas of their lives.

Half marathons are the most popular events among millennials, followed by 5km and 10km runs. They find out about races via internet searches and social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram mainly) and appreciate wellorganised events most. Some millennials view running events as a way to travel and experience new locations. Most of them will not be persuaded to participate in a race because of the philanthropic (charity) aspects and are not interested in volunteering to assist with an event.

The aim of The Millennial Running Study is to better understand how running event organisers can encourage runners to participate and stay interested in running events.

New technologies & styles Apparel & Footwear :: p39

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ibrant colours, interesting styling and exciting new technologies characterise the new trail and road running ranges from brands.

We give a sneak preview of some of the new models that will be available to retailers over the next few months.

ASICS updates winners

ASICS has introduced a number of updates to their road running range that has made them the #1 brand among distance runners worldwide.

The ASICS GT 2000 4 was known as the core runner’s bread and butter with its balance of cushioning and stability and the GT 2000 5 has improved on these features with several new updates. The quarter fit has, for example, been improved with upper overlays integrated in the eye stay, to provide an adaptive and individual fit, explains Janine Stokes of ASICS SA. An even more fluid ride is achieved through the inclusion of both S-Speva, a technology that improves bounce back, in the top of the midsole, and the even lighter Solyte in the bottom of the midsole.

A profile that is lower to the ground with a wider basenet and dynamic duomax technology — a colour-matched stability post from higher density EVA material — provides an improved stable platform. It also features an improved external stability counter The cushioned GT-3000 has also been updated. “It is built for late-stage over-pronators — runners whose feet continue to roll inward even when pushing off — with stabilising duomax technology that runs all the way to the forefoot,” says Stokes.

Other changes include a new Trusstic System

that allows more torsion flexibility, mesh in the upper and a new Heel Clutch System.

The new Nimbus 19 features the latest super lightweight ASICS Flytefoam midsole with great shape retention, says Stokes. “The X-40 socklines and Ortholite lasting adds luxurious comfort.”

The AHAR — ASICS high abrasion rubber — sponge forefoot sole ensures a lightweight and responsive toe-off

New in Brooks’ 2017 range Brooks will provide retailers with a brand new trail shoe and several updates of their popular core models from December this year.

The brand new Caldera trail shoe falls in the Energize quadrant, one of four quadrants defined by Brooks’ Run Signature, developed after observing the footfall and running style of thousands of runners.

The Caldera is a responsive shoe that provides energy and a stable ride. Brooks’ BioMoGo DNA in the midsole dynamically adapts to every step and stride. The sticky rubber outsole, high surface lugs that enhance flex and promote traction up- and downhill, combined with solid ground protection, will appeal to trail runners challenging themselves over the most rugged terrain. Protective double-layered mesh with strategic stretch in an almost seamless upper holds the foot snugly and comfortably.

Two tried and tested Brooks Energize road models, the Ravenna 8 and Launch 4, both offering a springy, responsive cushioning Float

experience, have been updated for 2017.

With BioMoGo midsole cushioning, a diagonal rollbar that guides the body back into its natural motion pattern, and a segmented crash pad that enhances midfoot transitioning, the Ravenna 8 offers runners support, comfort and an extra springy toe off. This is aided by blown rubber in the forefoot. Air mesh ventilation and moisture management in the upper keep feet and dry and cool. An adjustable saddle that secures the midfoot and wraparound heel collar provide further comfort.

The new Launch 4 is a neutral shoe filled with boundless energy. The responsive ride gets an added boost from an extra row of rebounding rubber under the forefoot. A redesigned U-groove at the heel allowing more freedom of movement, a lightweight streamlined upper and DNA midsole technology that adapts to the runner’s stride, makes this an easy-on-the foot lightweight model.

Other Brooks core models that have been updated, the Adrenaline GTS17 and Cascadia 12, are categorized in the Cushion quadrant, both offering a Float experience.

Plush cushioning, balanced by stability and a good fit in the streamlined Adrenaline GTS17, offer the support and comfort that made the previous models popular. The new model is even softer underfoot, but it loses none of the secure fit and smooth heel-to-toe transitions of its namesakes.

The new Cascadia 12 is rugged, versatile and protects the runner over any trail terrain. The update has an evolved pivot system that now includes a 5th pivot near 1st metatarsal for improved flex and toe-off. In addition to the BioMoGo DNA protective cushioning, versatile traction and an adaptable fit its predecessors were known for. A Ballistic Rock Shield protects against rough terrain and any potential surface hazards.

The updated Pureflow 6 has a stylish new seamless 3D Fit Print upper with strategic stretch that comfortably hugs the feet. It is categorized in the soft and To p40

RUN LONG. RUN LIGHT. RUN.

p40 :: Apparel & Footwear

Running ranges cont. from p39 flexible Connect quadrant, which identifies it as a lightweight and flexible shoe. It provides a natural Feel to a run through plush cushioning in the flexible midsole. The DNA LT midsole technology adapts to every stride with less weight, and offers protection against impact where needed.

Dexterity in new Merrell trail shoe The attractive fabric and mesh upper of the new Merrell Dexterity trail shoe mask the rugged performance provided by several technologies that will take a trail runner through the roughest mud-covered courses. Designed to promote speed and mobility, it will also perform well in obstacle races, boot camps and for free running.

The low-profile, lightweight design and trademarked UniFly midsole connects the runner closer to the trail, promoting agility on a changing surface, while protecting him from the terrain. Additional support is provided by the TrailProtect pad.

A padded Lycra collar and a padded neoprene lining in the heel, ensures further comfort. MSelect FRESH anti-microbial agents reduce shoe odour.

The MSelect GRIP outsole with deeper 5mm lugs provides good traction on mud and loose surfaces.

This athletic, low trainer, with a 7mm drop, will be available from February 2017.

New from New Balance Inspired by the colours of the moon, where the far side is always the dark side, the Fresh Foam Gobi from New Balance offers a superior cushioned ride on- and off-road, says New Balance SA product manager John Andrew.

The proprietary AT Tread outsole and Fresh Foam midsole “provide optimal traction for an incredibly smooth and soft ride,” he continues. Their FantomFit technology helps secure

Skechers performs the foot, while the toe protection helps keep out debris. “Reflective details light your run, giving you the confidence to take on any terrain.”

The 860 V7 stability shoe has been updated for October 2016 with a more modern look than the 860 V6. Synthetic and TPU overlays combined with breathable air mesh in the upper helps to keep the foot secure.

In the midsole two foams, the softer ACTEVA on top of the firmer ABZORB, not only enhances comfort, but with the T-beam shank that provides arch support, creates a more balanced and stable ride.

“Carefully designed flex grooves and outsole geometries support a stable, swift heel to toe transition,” says Andrew. “Continuing with the celebrated PL-10 last, the refined shape and toe spring enhance the underfoot ride and fit.”

Olympic delivers best for ladies The Eclipse for ladies from Olympic International was recently selected as one of the six best running shoes for women by the South African edition of Runner’s World.

“It’s a light-weight sporty shoe that can easily do a 5-10km casual run, and take you to the gym to do a bit of cardio, weights or any aerobics class. It will look good on weekends and will compliment any casual look,” says Olympic sales manager Gary Gilder.

It has a breathable and lightweight upper and a dual coloured lightweight sole.

“The lace and side trim adds a bit of fun and the comfort inner sock is removable for easy

RYC: crews start together, finish together RYC (Run Your Crew) is a new inner-city night run event by adidas, where crews of six people run their chosen distance through Johannesburg. The only rule: all crew members must be within 50m of each other at all times during the run and must start and finish together. The event is aimed at bringing running crews and adidas runners communities together from around the globe, to run, connect and celebrate the spirit of urban running. The brand’s global Runners group use adidas’ Runbase community hubs as a base for their runs, where they have access to the running products and advice they might need. Runbase in Braamfontein was the first in South Africa and another is planned for Cape Town. “Created around existing urban running behaviours, we’re aiming to bring together young, urban runners,” says Pieter Warnich, senior manager Running at adidas SA.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

replacement if needed,” he adds. “Available in black and pink, or pink only, this feminine shoe is perfect for all day wear and activity – definitely for busy, active girls!” It is available in sizes 3 to 8.

While Skechers’ road running shoes have often proven that they help elite runners achieve winning times, the new Skechers trail shoe has been given the thumbs up by no less than the Trail Runner magazine when they selected it as the Editor’s Choice for the best new trail shoe.

The Trail Runner magazine testers admitted that they were initially sceptical about the Skechers GOtrail Ultra 3, but said they were pleasantly surprised with the performance of the shoe, which they described as a legit trail shoe designed with ultrarunning in mind. Their bottom line comment on the shoe was max cushion and max comfort for long runs and ultras.

Apart from the cushioned comfort features Skechers has become known for, the rugged knobby sole of the GOtrail Ultra 3 offers all the traction and flexibility a trail runner needs.

The very pronounced rockered sole contributes to a smooth transition, while the deep grooves in the midsole enhances flexibility and agility on an uneven terrain. The seamless upper holds the foot securely, but gently, in place during twists and turns.

Road runners can enjoy the comfort features from the GOrun 4, introduced by Skechers Performance earlier this year, like a GO KNIT sock-like upper, resulting in reduced weight and increased support.

It is the next generation of transitional running shoes, say Brand Folio LLC, local distributors of Skechers. Designed for speed, innovative performance technologies promote a midfoot strike, while offering cushioning and impact protection. This neutral, lightweight trainer, also features a Resalyte cushioned midsole, and Skechers Performance’s mid-foot strike zone, allowing for a smooth transition.

p42 :: Apparel & Footwear

Obstacle racing trending Obstacle racing was this year identified as the #1 fitness trend in Canada — even more trendy than wearable technologies. In South Africa, the fun and frivolity of these events are also attracting a growing number of participants … although there is a serious side to the races, besides dressing up and getting wet and dirty, for the top runners competing for places in world competitions.

The Brooks slogan, Run Happy, took on a new meaning during the fun-filled launch weekend of the first Fisherman’s Friend StrongmanRun to be held outside Europe. Labelled the strongest race of all time, this new event on the South African race calendar, was held in Paarl in October. It is sponsored by Brooks, among others.

For the winner, South Africa’s Mr Trail Runner AJ Calitz, it was certainly a happy run. Getting the hang of the whole OCR (obstacle course racing) thing … putting some old triathlon skills to work. Had some huge fun out at the #strongmanrunSA on Saturday — fun little climb and a couple of beautiful single track descents to boot! Off to Germany in 2017 for #Strongmanrun!, Calitz posted on his Facebook page.

He and the first female to complete the 21km race, Michelle Rolfe, will next year be representing South Africa in the 10th anniversary of the event in Germany.

The South African event started on Friday 30 September with a Build Courage concert by Prime Circle in the Faure stadium in Paarl, followed by three obstacle race stages on Saturday: 8km with 12 obstacles, 14km with 20 obstacles and 21km with 27 obstacles, including a climb up Paarl Rock. Among the 100 runners who ran up Paarl rock were two overseas participants: Michael Lindmeyer from Germany came to South Africa to ensure that he participates in all the StrongmanRuns hosted in all countries during 2016 and Corentin Meyer from France, who participated in his 18th StrongmanRun.

Thomas van Tonder (above) of Team Jeep came 16th in one of two races during the 2016 Obstacle Course World Championships in Canada. Jeep Team mate Carina Marx was the 12th female overall to finish in the World Champs Pro race where 914 male and female athletes from forty-three countries tackled over 40 obstacles on a gruelling 15km course.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

Humane manufacturing p44 :: Industry

Responsible manufacturing doesn’t only concern pollution of the environment — it’s also about looking after the people, animals, etc. that create and contribute towards products, reports CARIN HARDISTY

Photo: Carin Hardisty

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hen it comes to sustainability and responsible manufacturing, companies shouldn’t only be interested in their influence on the environment (see Responsible materials in Sports Trader September 2016) — they should also concern themselves about the wellbeing of the people who make their products, and the animals that contribute materials.

In 2015, 193 United Nations members adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. On the 1st of January this year it came into force. The 17 goals revolve around better quality of life — for example ending poverty and hunger — gender and overall equality, education for all, clean water, etc.

“Doing ethical trade is much harder than it sounds,” states the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). “Modern supply chains are vast, complex and span the globe, and labour issues are themselves challenging.

Five rights of animals Animals have five basic freedom rights: • Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition; • The provision of appropriate comfort and shelter; • Prevention, or rapid diagnosis and treatment of injury, disease or infestation with parasites; • Freedom from distress; • The freedom to display their normal patterns of behaviour.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

They are among the many organisations that strive to bring about more humane and ethical manufacturing — often working with brands.

Watchdog organisations Ethical Trading Initiative brings corporate, trade union and voluntary sector members together in an unique alliance that “enables us to collectively tackle many thorny issues that cannot be addressed by individual companies working alone.”

The ETI Base Code of labour practice, which all corporate members must adopt, is based on the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “We work out the most effective steps companies can take to implement the Base Code in their supply chains. We learn by doing, and by sharing our experience.”

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety — which represents 28 companies, including VF Corp, Fruit of the Loom and Walmart — monitors factories for worker safety, etc. and those that fail to show improvements, by undertaking necessary repairs for example, are not allowed to make garments for member companies.

The independent inspections carried out by the Alliance cover structural, electrical and fire safety of all member factories. In order to help them achieve compliance with the safety standards of the alliance, factories are offered a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), as well as technical advice.

Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent, nonprofit organisation that also works with companies and factories to improve labour conditions for garment workers. It has

80 members with 120 brands, based in seven European countries. FWF is active in 11 production countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Members include Deuter, Haglöfs, Jack Wolfskin, Mountain Equipment, Salewa, Schöffel, Sprayway, and Vaude.

Fair Labor Association is its US equivalent, and has members such as adidas, Fjällräven, Kathmandu, Patagonia and Prana.

Out on the fields Sustainability covers a wide range of issues: even how companies treat their workers. Consumers are becoming more aware of these issues and compliance, or not, can indeed affect the bottom line.

“Revelations surrounding the treatment of workers by [UK retailer] Sports Direct were coupled with a 0.8% decline in retail store sales in its FY 2015/16 (compared to a 7.4% rise in FY 2014/15) as consumers shifted to competitors JD Sports and Footlocker,” reports analyst company Verdict Retail.

Modern day slavery labour is also a problem, especially on farms where products need to be hand picked, for example cotton farms.

YESS (Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced) is a new initiative that has been launched that verifies if yarn spinners are using ethically produced cotton. This initiative is endorsed by brands such as adidas.

The developer, Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), is in turn a project by the US nonprofit organisation, As You Sow. RSN targets the facilities where yarn spinners blend the different types of cotton together. About

Industry :: p45 80% of brands do not audit their yarn suppliers, a survey conducted by RSN revealed.

“Yarn spinners are the key to knowing if the cotton that gets spun and woven into our clothes was harvested under forced labour conditions,” says the group. “In addition, there are tens of thousands of young women who are kept as bonded labourers in spinning mills every day.”

YESS is establishing a training, assessment, and verification process in yarn spinning mills.

It will also assist companies to comply with anti-slavery regulations, minimise verification costs, establish an industry-wide traceability approach, and manage a global list of verified spinners. It was launced in September with pilot projects in India and China.

In the fight to reduce child labour in cotton fields in Uzbekistan, RSN has already played a key role. It also has more than 260 companies supporting its Cotton Pledge against forced labour — some of these include Stella McCartney, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, H&M and Patagonia.

“Although many of our corporate Cotton Pledge signatories know that this is a vulnerable spot in their supply chains, they haven’t known how to address the problem,” explains Patricia Jurewicz, RSN director and creator of YESS. “It is an open secret that the garment and textile supply chain is rife with forced labour and other human rights abuses,” says Dr Aidan McQuade, director of AntiSlavery International. “However, it is not inevitable that this should be the case. In Uzbekistan, we have seen how economic and political pressure has helped remove the youngest children from the cotton fields.

Animal welfare “The outdoor industry has listened and re-

Ducking the issue is not an option. The impetus provided by campaigns from different interest groups might have been on occasion painful, but the outdoor industry has faced up to the criticism and ultimately shown that high social standards, fair production, animal welfare and sustainability are all possible. sponded to criticism from interest groups — more than virtually any other industry,” states Messe Friedrichshafen, organiser of the OutDoor show. “As a result, animal welfare organisations are praising outdoor firms and, when it comes to social standards, the industry is meeting the strictest multi-stakeholder demands.”

“Ducking the issue is not an option. The impetus provided by campaigns from different interest groups might have been on occasion painful, but the outdoor industry has faced up to the criticism and ultimately shown that high social standards, fair production, animal welfare and sustainability are all possible. There is no excuse not to be addressing these issues.”

In June, The Textile Exchange finalised its Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), a global benchmark for animal welfare and land management practices in sheep farming, and companies can now apply for their wool-based products to be certified.

Goals include recognising the best farming practices, building communication between farmers and consumers, and ensuring that

wool comes from responsibly treated sheep.

Last year pilot audits took place in several key sheep raising regions in the world, one of which was South Africa, which provided information used for requirements, as well as the auditing and certification approach.

The ZQ Merino programme, launched by The New Zealand Merino Company, is another way of ensuring animal welfare, environmental care, and social sustainability.

It requires merino growers to take the Animals’ Five Freedoms (see box) into account, which is assessed by qualified inspectors. One of the key points prohibits mulesing (the surgical procedure that removes a section of skin from the sheep to reduce the attack by flies).

Icebreaker, locally distributed by Adventure Inc, is one of the companies that uses ZQ Merino.

Similarly, The Textile Exchange also developed a Responsible Down Standard (RDS), which aims to safeguard the welfare of geese and ducks. Key points prohibit live plucking and force feeding.

“The RDS ensures that down and feathers come from ducks and geese that have been treated well,” it explains. “The standard also follows the chain of custody from farm to product, so consumers can be confident that the down and feathers in the products they choose are truly RDS.” The RDS was developed and revised over three years, with the input of animal welfare groups, industry experts, brands and retailers. “Not only farmers, but brands and supply chain members need to meet their obligations to respect the Five Freedoms of the animals that provide their down and feathers, and to meet the trust of consumers that are choosing RDS products.”

Sustainability is badge of honour for brands Many brands, especially in the outdoor industry, have joined organisations promoting ethical and sustainable manufacturing. Several have even gone beyond the standards set by NGOs , because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

“We feel very strongly that workers in our factories should be treated fairly and benefit from working with us, states Craghoppers, which joined ETI in 2012. “We do not want our production of value and quality products to be at the expense of these workers.”

Craghoppers is locally distributed by OutdoorSport.

It’s not only the RDS that’s looking out for the welfare of our feathered friends: Mountain Equipment’s own Down Codex scheme was developed to manage, and reduce, risk in its down supply chain, “to ensure that both animal welfare and quality were put at the heart of each and every one of our down products,” states the brand, which is locally distributed by Adventure Inc. “Our aim is to have the most comprehensive and most transparent auditing system of any outdoor brand, anywhere in the world.”

“Any supplier wishing to work with us must accept the terms of our Down Codex and be will-

ing to grant access for our representatives to audit all parts of their supply chain — from farms to pre-processors to slaughterhouses.”

The company is good to sheep and fowl, because it doesn’t use the by-products, quips FashionPower, which uses bamboo and coffee waste materials to make temperature regulating products, instead of wool or down. In addition, the bamboo acts as a moisture wicking agent and offers UV protection (up to 40+), so it is also kind to humans. “FashionPower is transparent about its activities and their social effects,” says the company, which is now in South Africa.

“We place a high value on society, something we clearly demonstrate by ensuring that our producers use only OEKO-TEX* certifed materials (see below). This enables us to guarantee that our sportswear has been produced under safe circumstances, which among other things, closely considers health risks and performance quality.”

Beal will plant more than 100 000 trees in Madagascar, as part of a partnership with the NGO Wood en Stock. Their policy is one rope, one tree: for each of its specially-marked ropes that is bought, Beal will plant one tree

in the Andringitra National Park. In the past, Beal ran a similar project with its harnesses.

Beal, locally distributed by Ram Mountaineering, takes several steps to limit its impact on the environment: it has recycled more than 15 ton of polymid waste p/year for the past two years, which is made into polyamide forms and plastic tubes. The packaging for most of its single ropes are reusable bags, which means packaging is no longer wasted.

Its 250 000 catalogues are printed on recyclable Novatech paper, which is made from long-term managed forests, and the manufacturing factories work to durable development norms (ISO14001, EMAS). The printer printing the catalogues is labelled Imprim’Vert, which guarantees that the printing process respects the environment. * Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX, introduced in 1992, is an independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished, and finished textile products at all processing levels, as well as accessory materials used. It takes account of legal regulations and the requirements and rules of various relevant regulatory bodies regarding dangerous substances.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p46 :: Outdoor

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Mario Maulicino from Drifters Xtreme Sport in Cape Town was g tips f nominated as top salesman by Deidre Pieters of Ram Moun19 taineering. “I would trust Mario to sell your customer the tent or gear he needs for his next adventure, because I believe Mario has the expertise and experience to advise and direct any outdoor enthusiast in the right direction,” she says. “Mario has worked in the outdoor industry for many years, he is an avid outdoorsman and gets excited about new gear technologies and gear that works well, therefore I believe he has the experience and expertise needed to advise on the best gear for your next trip.” He has a passion for the outdoors and some of his hobbies include running, hiking, camping and climbing, she adds. “His passion for the outdoors is infectious!”

Selling more ... tents

inding the right balance between approaching a customer entering your store, or leaving him to browse around without invading his space, can make the difference between making, or losing, a sale, believes Mario Maulicino from Drifters Xtreme Sport in Cape Town.

“A customer needs someone who is approachable, someone to greet him and be available, but not someone who is looking over his shoulder the whole time,” he says.

Maulicino finds that many floor assistants will greet a customer when he walks into a store, but will then ignore him to the extent that he has to go look for them when he needs assistance. He believes that it is at this point that a customer will walk out of the store because it shows a lack of interest.

An important aspect of successful selling is to show willingness to assist, and to try and be as helpful as possible.

Interacting with customers on a daily basis, Maulicino tries to make contact with everyone entering the store. After greeting a customer, he gives him a minute or two to walk around so that he can decide what he would like to focus on.

One of the most important characteristics of being a good salesperson is to be a good listener, Maulicino believes. Listening is very important, because after you have spoken, one needs to give the customer time to process what you have said, and respond to that.

You especially have to listen what the customer says when it comes to selling trail running shoes, hiking packs and tents, he says.

Asking leading questions goes hand in hand with listening, especially to make sure that

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

people understand what they are buying. The features and benefits, and how they can specifically benefit from the product, all need to be relayed to the customer — but this can only be done when you listen to the customer’s answers to leading questions.

Extensive product knowledge contributes greatly to the manner in which a staff member will approach customers, acknowledges Maulicino. If one knows everything about a particular product — and especially for what purpose the customer is going to use it — you can confidently talk to him and prescribe the right gear

One of the most important characteristics of being a good salesperson is to be a good listener for him. When you have knowledge about a product, it gives you confidence, because you know what you are talking about.

Working in a technical outdoor store you need to know all the technical features of a product that customers might not be aware of. Understanding the technicalities helps the sales person to know the product better, and when you truly know the product, you can convey that knowledge in a way that a customer will appreciate and essentially buy into.

Personal experience of using a product helps a lot, as he finds he is able to base his opinion on what he has experienced when using it, therefore giving a more informed assessment. When advising customers, however, he is wary of giving his own opinion, but rather informs customers what they need to know

about the product they are about to purchase.

This puts the customer in a position to make an informed decision for himself.

His main source of building his product knowledge base is, however, reading about new products. He mostly makes use of the internet to read about products on websites where athletes and retailers from overseas write about products. The information is based on them using the product and giving an unbiased view.

Using the internet allows him to stay abreast of new developments, as well as keeping informed as to new and exciting stuff in the pipeline.

Some of the sites that Maulicino frequents are DC Rainmaker (www.dcrainmaker.com) and The Ginger Runner (http://gingerrunner. com), which he believes are both unbiased and do not show favouritism towards certain brands.

“With the internet being the internet, you get a lot of useful information, and a lot of misinformation. It is our job when people come into the store to either add to the information that they have, or correct it — in a diplomatic way, of course,” Maulicino quips.

Customers come into the store in preparation for various activities, which might include extremes such as a trek to Everest base camp, or a 100 mile desert race. These things require highly technical specific gear and if given the wrong equipment, they can land up in trouble, he points out.

“I would rather have a customer walk out of the store with nothing, than buying the wrong thing,” he says.

“If I don’t know a product, I will make a point of finding out about it.”

Outdoor :: p47

More about Mario Maulicino Mario Maulicino, assistant manager at Drifters Xtreme Sport in Cape Town, managed various restaurants across the country after leaving school, before following his passion to work in the outdoor industry. He began his outdoor industry journey as a route setter and general assistant at CityROCK in Observatory.

Shortly after, he moved to Camp and Climb in Paarden Eiland, where he worked for two years. A keen climber and trail runner, Maulicino felt that the family camping focus of the store did not quite complement his outdoor experiences. Drifters Xtreme Sport in the Cape Quarter, where he began working in November 2012, was much more in line with his interests.

“This slotted in really well with my own passions and stuff I do when I am not at work,” he says. “This gave me an opportunity and a gateway to meet a lot of interesting people — from top athletes to world record holders. I find it quite inspiring to meet these people,” he says.

Maulicino believes that it’s the inspiration of meeting these people that has been a catalyst not only in his work life, but his family life as well. His three-year-old daughter, for example, is fast becoming an avid outdoors person herself. Apart from running and climbing, Maulicino also enjoys surfing.

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Tips for selling tents

he first things a salesperson should ask a customer wanting to buy a new tent is where, and for what purpose, will the tent most likely be used. How many people would be using the tent, and would it be used for an extended period or one-night-stands?

Where the tent will mostly be used will help to establish the weather conditions it needs to withstand — would it be in extremes like excessive heat or cold, heavy rain, strong winds, or snow? Weather plays a massive role in the type of tent you recommend to customers says Mario Maulicino from Drifters Xtreme Sports in Cape Town.

A tent is going to be your shelter and if you go into a remote area, your shelter is very important. If you have the wrong type of shelter, you can end up in really deep trouble, he says.

“It is therefore important to ask the customer leading questions to get as much information as possible.” Careful listening to his responses will give you a better indication what the customer needs, Maulicino explains.

Outer coverings You cannot sell a four season tent to someone who is going to use it once every six months.

You have to sell a customer something that they are really going to need, he says.

Maulicino recommends a three season tent if a customer is looking for an all-rounder tent.

These tents keep extreme weather conditions out and retain heat inside when it is very cold.

• When dealing with extreme heat or cold, a customer has to consider the waterproofing of the tent, the type of fabric used and the construction of the tent.

• In a hot climate a customer needs something lightweight with lots of ventilated holes and mesh panels inside the tent. The more mesh panels there are, the more ventilation there will be.

• Customers can also find additional insulation in a tent with an outer that is separate to the inner. If they want to they can erect the tent with just the mesh, or just use the outer flysheet as a shelter if the wind is not too harsh.

• If a customer is going into extreme cold conditions, it is important for them to get something with panels that will cover the mesh on the inside of the tent to keep the cold out. Winter rated tents keep out the cold closer to the ground and have a double wall with ventilation options.

Tent size When it comes to space, most hikers want a two-man tent, even if they are hiking or camping on their own. This is because they would want to accommodate their kit, says Maulicino.

Other things to take into consideration are whether a customer takes along extras like a cooking system, or if he is looking for extra space to put his backpack etc.

“When weight and size is of utmost importance (when hiking, for example), most people are pretty forgiving about the luxuries of space because they know they just literally need a shelter,” he says. Then a lightweight outer and poles are far more important.

Most of their hiking customers tend to look for a good midway between a tent being lightweight and durable.

If your customer is on a budget, Maulicino advises buying a pop up tent, which is easy to set up. These tents can be taken to the beach, or on a light camping weekend, where the customer is not exposed to harsh weather conditions.

Family camping If a customer is planning on camping just for one night when travelling, he can get away

with a cheap tent, weather permitting.

As far as family camping is concerned, Maulicino would recommend a dome tent made out of canvas, which is a lot heavier and a lot more durable than a nylon tent.

The tent is spacious and if well looked after, can last a good 25 years, he says. Because the canvas material is rugged, it is durable and does not have to be checked for repairs as often as a nylon tent.

A family on a budget can look at buying a nylon tent that can do the job, as long as weather conditions are favourable.

For extended camping holidays, and if the family is not cash-strapped, bigger is better.

Family campers might, for example, want space for accessories like fold up cupboards inside the tent. “You can set a tent up as if it were your room at home,” says Maulicino.

“Tent camping can be as comfortable and luxurious as possible.”

Accessories to recommend Great accessories to have for a family tent are extra-sturdy steel pegs to anchor the tent as these tents are big and stand high off the ground — offering a big target for wind.

He would also recommend that a customer also buys a ground sheet as most lightweight hiking tents do not come with one.

A tent repair kit is a lifesaver if a customer has space to bring one along, as accidents such as rips and cuts in lightweight hiking tents can occur easily. This can be a lifesaver in extreme weather conditions.

As far as brand names are concerned, some customers just trust a brand with a good track record and history of success, says Maulicino.

But, it is better for a customer to do some homework and decide what their needs are, and for a salesperson to have the necessary knowledge to provide the advice that will meet these needs.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p48 :: Outdoor Twenty year old Ram Mountaineering is staffed by keen outdoor enthusiasts. Front, from the left are: adventure racer and partner Ryan van Niekerk, Deidre Pieters, who enjoys rock climbing and mountainbiking, rock climbing founder Simon Larsen, with Amanda Hannibal, Amanda Jayiya and Donna Abrahams to the right of him.

In the back row is Shaun Wakelin, who mountain bikes, surfs and does slacklining when he is not working for sister company Vertical Safety Systems. Next to him are Christian Mwamba, Bonita Koopman, keen mountain biker Richard Turkington, Mario Daries, runner Louise Olieslanger and Nelson Mbiko.

How the outdoor industry changed!

Over the past twenty years Ram Mountaineering has been part of a major shift in the way outdoor equipment had been distributed in South Africa. Simon Larsen looks back

O

utdoor distributor Ram Mountaineering turned twenty last month. Since it was founded in MD Simon Larsen’s garage in 1996, it has not only grown into a prominent distributor of well-known technical outdoor brands, especially mountaineering, to Southern African retailers. Its birth also coincided with a historical shift in the local outdoor industry.

Until the early 1990’s outdoor retailers imported the gear and brands they wanted to sell directly, as there were no local distributors. The establishment of the Outward Ventures distributorship by Geoff Ward, however, signalled a turning point in the industry, Larsen told his customers in a newsletter: We realized that the market was changing and that there were some opportunities to take up.

Larsen had helped Duncan Pattenden establish Orca Industries on a shoe string budget in the early 1990’s after the Adventure Centre, where they worked, closed. Orca directly imported brands such as Edelrid, Wild Country, Boreal, Simond and Petzl, which other retailers also wanted to stock, and they therefore started a small wholesale operation, supplying these brands to other retailers.

Larsen took a small loan from his bond and financed a shipment of products from the premium American brand Black Diamond to distribute locally. From then onwards there was no looking back as the retail demand grew,

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

The establishment of the Outward Ventures distributorship by Geoff Ward, however, signalled a turning point in the industry also for new brands the company subsequently signed.

After eighteen months Larsen realised that it was simply too much to run the hiking /climbing department at Orca Industries, as well as the Ram Mountaineering distributorship and the Cape Town School of Mountaineering (CTSM), which he founded — and also keep the books for both companies in order.

He therefore resigned from Orca and moved Ram Mountaineering into a small 2x3m store room in his home in Mowbray.

“Initially, our store rooms were so small that when shipments arrived we had to unpack on the lawn outside and stuff the product into the store,” recounts Larsen.

Business grew and he invited Etienne Pietersen from Abseil Africa to join him.

Alterations to the garage at his home increased the storage area significantly and they added a training room/office. “It was an exciting time, full of new opportunities,” he remembers.

“There were more independent retailers than chain stores, the economy was being managed well and the market was growing. It was also

a very challenging time — particularly in cash flow terms as we have always avoided running an overdraft.”

In addition to training climbers at the CTSM they did everything required to run the wholesale business themselves, from “building store room shelving, to repping, shipping, unloading shipments, packing, dispatching and delivering orders, doing the books and managing tax.”

Ram Mountaineering now employs thirteen outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers, as well as two reps. They are gear freaks who live and work the outdoor adventure lifestyle personified by the more than 20 brands they distribute, and can therefore share meaningful expertise and insights in the use of the various products. In addition to Black Diamond, some of the well-known technology-driven brands they supply include Jetboil, SteriPen, Singing Rock, Nikwax and Beal ropes.

“Our staff includes Tony Mills and Richard Turkington — two of the original oldies who were part of the industry when I started,” says Larsen. “Tony was involved in both Varsity Sports and Camp and Climb in the early days and Richard ran Drifters during its ascendancy to the premier specialist outdoor store in South Africa.”

In 2007 Larsen offered a partnership to Ryan van Niekerk, who started working for Ram as a rep in KwaZulu Natal while he was a post grad student between 1999 and 2001. A keen adventure racer with his wife Nici and lover of

Outdoor :: p49 the outdoor lifestyle, Van Niekerk joined the company full-time in 2004.

Shaun Wakeling, who joined in 2007, has been instrumental in the creation and growth of Vertical Safety Systems, founded as a sister company in 2009 to do industrial safety installations. As Industrial Sales Manager a large part of his time is spent on the management of Fallprotec permanent cable and rail lifeline installation projects, which has become a very successful business.

At the end of 2012 they also established another sister company, Traverse Outdoor Gear (TOG), to distribute international climbing and outdoor footwear brands Boreal and Zamberlan, as well as Fire Maple cookware and Travellunch food products.

Rapid growth had necessitated various moves to bigger premises. In 2011, for example, the Ndabeni office and warehouse space Ram Mountaineering had shared with fellow outdoor distributors Adventure Inc since the mid-2000’s became too small to house both companies and Adventure Inc moved to new premises in Muizenberg. Ram Mountaineering stayed on, but two years ago they bought and custom-converted a warehouse in the same Ndabeni business park to house the whole group — products and people — and also show their wide range of products in comfort to customers.

During the past two decades Larsen has experienced the transformation of the South African outdoor industry first hand. For example: • Before the turn of the century all the shops focused on gear and equipment, as there was very little apparel available. People who wanted really good clothing would buy it on overseas trips. One of the biggest changes

in South African outdoor products had been the arrival of good outdoor apparel, for example, the first Polartec jacket introduced

by Charl Gold at First Ascent. “It was the start of a significant shift in the market from equipment to apparel,” says Larsen.

• The local outdoor retail industry was run by outdoor enthusiasts in independent stores, for example people like Duncan Pattenden (Orca Industries), Palma Cesare (Ventures for Africa), Chris Wind (Berg Sports), Leni Hamilton (Hiker’s Paradise), Richard Turkington (Drifters) the late Chris Mostert (Leotana) and Cesar Carvalho (Outdoor Centre).

• The only chain, Camp and Climb, was a training ground for many of the future industry leaders, like Geoff Ward, Tony Mills, Dave Davies, John Fontyn, etc.

“These people were psyched about the outdoors and were keen to share their knowledge. They attracted enthusiastic young people to work in the stores — and encouraged them to get out and have adventures of their own. Most of them got involved at some level with the emergence of training programs and standards and there was a sense of passion for the outdoors. As a result, when one went shopping in those days, it was easy to find good quality advice from enthusiastic people who had been there and done that.”

C Apart from Ward and Gold industry people M like Butch de Bruin (BackPacker and Hiker), Y John Fontyn (Eiger Equipment), the Dott brothers (Drifters), Andrew Baxter (Cape CM Storm), David Davies (Mountain Mail Order), MY Robert and Patricia Breyer and the City Rock CY team, as well as the Krawitz family and their teams at Cape Union Mart, were inspirations CMY to the rest of the industry, reminisces Larsen.

Vango Tent Range Adventure

Trekking

SOUL 100

HALO 200

OSTRO 300

K

Tents for warmer climates Vango has recently introduced a new subseries to their extensive tent range: the Solis Series is designed specifically for use in warmer climates and make extensive use of mosquito mesh on the inner tent.

These tents are ideal in conditions where a fly is not required and the customer wants to enjoy some star gazing.

The Ostro 300 is a quick and easy to pitch three-man tent that is ideal for pitching in high altitudes. Gothic arch poles give strength and structure to the freestanding tent, and its mesh inner and roll back porch doors allow for maximum ventilation.

The water resistant micro-mesh prevents draughts and condensation which could cause discomfort to the user. The waterproof and durable fabric in the polyester flysheet is exclusive to Vango and the waterproof ground sheet is made of 6000mm lightweight polyester. The factory-taped seams of the flysheet and groundsheet make a water tight seal.

Colour-coded lightweight alloy poles makes pitching easy and multiple reflective points on the pegging points provides visibility even in low light conditions. The tent, which weighs less

than 5kg, also has high strength guylines.

Scaling down to a two-man tent, the lightweight Zephyr 200 still offers lots of porch and inner space. Ideal for pitching in warmer climates, the Zyphyr can withstand harsh weather conditions thanks to its multi-functional 70D flysheet and Powerlite alloy poles, as it was weather tested according to the European standard EN5912.

The part-mesh inner door keeps insects at bay, while still allowing sufficient ventilation. The Zephyr also has factory taped seams on the flysheet as well as the groundsheet to form a water tight seal. The 2.7 kg tent is easy to assemble with a pitching time of 10 minutes.

When seeking on the spot salvation from the elements, the Storm 400 “storm shelter” can provide shelter in no time at all. Fitting neatly into a compactible bag and only weighing half a kilogram, carrying it around is a breeze. The Storm can seat up to four people inside with four sitting spots designed at the corner of the structure.

It has a ventilation area to keep the inside cool and reflective strips on the outside so that it can to be seen in conditions of poor visibility.

Order Now:

rammountain.co.za

orders@rammountain.co.za 2016 November :: Sports Trader

W.E.T. Sports Summer Winners

EZ 6092 Junior Silicone Goggles

EZ 6077 Senior Silicone Goggles

M 1148 PVC Mask & Snorkel Set

S-88300S Silicone Frontal Snorkel

1057Q Silicone Snorkel

Ideal for Swim Training

Best Seller

6001 Silicone Swim Caps Assorted Colours Senior & Junior

M 2282S Silicone Mask & Snorkel Set

M 105S Silicone Goggle

1083KP PVC Mask

For all Watersports

Excellent Value

Available in a Variety of Styles and Colours

3211S Silicone Mask

7204 Low Cut Bootie

3251S Silicone Mask

EZ-Life Closed Heel Fin

FL-11200 LED Headlamp

Booties and Fins Available in Sizes 5-12

Star Volleyball

AR 15 Plastic Wreck Reel

EezySun SPF 30 EezySun SPF 50

FT-1131 LED Torch

Waterproof up to 100m

AW 15 Writing Slate

KP 3113 Diving Knife Old Favourite

Beach bats

Two Tone Rubber Balls

Unique Individual Sun Tan Lotion Sachets

This is just a taster of the W.E.T. Sports Summer Ranges. For a full colour Fishing or Underwater Catalogue contact the Office Tel: 021-948 8150 Fax: 021-948 8084 Email: sales@wetsports.co.za Website: www.wetsports.co.za

51

What to know when selling masks Visit Sports Trader’s website for more product knowledge: www.sportstrader.co.za

A

mask is a handy, and essential, piece of equipment for a snorkeller or diver, allowing him to see underwater.

The most important element to take into consideration when recommending a scuba diving or snorkelling mask is whether it fits correctly (and won’t leak when in the water) and its comfort.

Ask your customer to stand in front of a mirror and to look through the lens.

• This will help to identify if the mask’s seal cuts across the corners of the eyes (in which case the mask is too narrow), if the nose piece is wide enough and doesn’t push on the bridge of the nose, or if the mask puts pressure on the brow.

• He must be able to squeeze the nose piece, and his nostrils, in order to equalise.

• If your customer has concave temples, and his mask is too wide, a gap will show.

Then, ask your customer to look up to the ceiling and place the mask on his face, with the strap out of the way. The skirt should sit in place around the face, without any gaps showing.

To check for leaks between the lens and skirt, hold the mask with the lens facing the floor and put a teaspoon of water into it (try not to get water in the nose pocket). While the mask is still level with the floor, ask your customer to put his face into the mask and to breath in through his nose — if there’s a leak, bubbles will appear.

Nose pocket: should fit comfortably, and not feel tight. While wearing the mask, your customer should be able to pinch his nose easily in order to clear his ears on descent.

Anything that comes between the skirt and the skin can cause leakages.

• Advise your customer to make sure no hair or hoodie is trapped below the skirt. This is especially applicable when customers have long hair. A tip is to braid long hair, which will also reduce the chance of it getting tangled in the strap.

• If your customer has facial hair, recommend he shaves a few mm below his nose, which will come into contact with the skirt, to help seal the mask. If he’s not too attached to his moustache, the best option is to shave it all off.

Our cut-out-and-keep series to assist retailers with product knowledge Words: Carin Hardisty, compiled with the help of Kevin de Wet (De Wet Sports), Duncan Pattenden (Orca Industries), Mike Pereira (The Kingfisher), Rhys Couzyn (Scuba Equipment Africa and Scubapro Diving Equipment) and Eric Gobel (Zero Dive), as well as websites www. bluewaterhunter.com, divebuzz.com, www.divein.com, www.leisurepro.com, www.livestrong.com, www2.padi.com, www.simplyscuba.com, and www.yvonnelebrun.com.

Advise your customer to keep the following points in mind when he wears his mask: • Straps are often split, allowing the wearer to wear a strap either side of the bulge at the back of his head. ◦◦ Too high strap: adds pressure under the nose. ◦◦ Too low: places pressure on the forehead. ◦◦ Swivel-adjustable straps help to centre their pull.

• Don’t over-tighten the strap: this can cause the mask not to fit as well as when he originally fitted it, as the face shape will be changed by the mask pushing into it.

• Smiling while underwater can result in the mask leaking, as it changes the face shape.

Snorkel vs scuba vs full face masks Mask for scuba and snorkelling: on a quality

mask, the lens(es) should be made from tempered glass and the skirt from silicone.

• Tempered glass: ◦◦ Better resistance to scratches than plastic.

▪▪ If a plastic lens is scratched, the wearer won’t necessarily see the scratches. Instead, the mask will fog up easier. ◦◦ Stronger than ordinary glass, which makes it harder to shatter. If it breaks, it shatters in chunky pieces, rather than sharp shards. ◦◦ Discourages fogging. ◦◦ It can have a number of impurities including iron, which gives the glass a green tinge when viewed from the side.

▪▪ Impurities can affect the light transmission into the mask, but it’s usually not noticeable unless compared with optical grade lenses.

▪▪ The higher the grade of lens, the fewer the impurities and the more light is let in, which also increases the vibrancy of the colours. ◦◦ Some stores tell their customers to use a lighter to burn the inside of the lens to cure fogging. This, however, changes the tempering properties and will also void warranties.

• Silicon won’t dry out and become damaged. ◦◦ Plastic-based or PVC skirts are not as flexible as silicone, especially in cold water, and are prone to warping, affecting the fit of the mask.

▪▪ Be vigilant: some PVC skirts are made to look and feel like silicone.

Full face diving mask: in addition to the typical diving mask, as described above, your scuba customer can also use a full face scuba mask, which covers the entire face and incorporates the regulator into the mask. Traditionally only used by professional scuba divers, a small number of leisure scuba divers are starting to opt for this option.

• Pro’s: ◦◦ The diver can speak as he doesn’t need to hold onto the regulator with his mouth. ◦◦ It uses several straps, which means it’s more securely attached. ◦◦ Less chance of losing the regulator. ◦◦ It provides a larger field of vision. ◦◦ It is less likely to flood. If it To p52

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p52 :: Outdoor

Selling masks cont. from p51 does, the wearer can use air from his cylinder to clear.

• Cons: ◦◦ More expensive and heavier out of water.

In the water, however, it is buoyant. ◦◦ Due to all the extra straps, it’s more difficult to put on.

Leisure divers who make use of the full face mask are in the vast minority. Therefore, in this article, when discussing a diving mask assume it’s the type that only covers the eyes and nose, unless stated otherwise.

reflections on the inside of the lens.

• It also has a tendency to discolour over time, becoming more opaque or possibly yellow.

Black skirts eliminate light, allowing the wearer to focus on a subject, and don’t discolour. ◦◦ No reflections.

White: a good option for customers who don’t want black silicone, but also don’t want distracting reflections that often come with clear silicone.

Choosing mask construction

Frame: masks either have a frame or can be frameless.

• Framed: a rigid frame onto which the skirt, lens, strap, etc. are fitted. ◦◦ Available in a range of colours.

• Frameless: the skirt is moulded on to the lens. ◦◦ These masks are slimline and can be folded flat, which means they make good backup masks that can easily be stored in a pocket. ◦◦ Lenses in this construction cannot be replaced, as they are embedded, and for the same reason prescription lenses can’t be fitted.

Strap: the silicone strap secures the mask to the head and helps maintain the contact between skirt and skin.

• Silicone offers some stretch and flexibility, so as not to hinder movement or compromise the skirt’s seal.

• The strap also needs to be adjustable.

• It’s a good idea for your customer to carry a spare strap, in case one breaks.

• Strap cover: a neoprene sleeve that fits over the strap. ◦◦ It helps to protect hair from getting caught in the strap if your customer will not be wearing a hood or will be snorkelling, and tends to be more comfortable than a strap on its own. ◦◦ A mask with this sleeve on will float if it’s dropped, or sink more slowly if it has the added weight of a snorkel — helping to prevent equipment loss. ◦◦ Divers in cold water, or those who are bald, tend to prefer silicone straps without the cover, because they slip less and are easier to adjust while wearing thick gloves.

Buckles: typically a spring loaded flap grips between the tabs on the strap to allow for tightening, but prevents loosening without lifting the flap.

• More advanced buckles feature push buttons, which operate the strap release.

• Some manufacturers incorporate the buckle on the skirt instead of on the frame, which reduces the stress on the side of the skirt, increases freedom of movement, and helps the skirt to seal better.

Purge valve: some masks offer a one-way purge valve in the nose pocket, which allows the wearer to clear water by exhaling through

While all masks consist of one or more lenses, a skirt, strap, etc. there are several possible variations of each to choose from.

Lens: either a single, twin or multiple lens configuration. The choice is down to personal taste.

• Single lens: no frame construction across the bridge of the nose, and can feel more open. ◦◦ Often used by people who have smaller faces, or who get distracted by peripheral vision.

• Twin lens: the frame joins across the bridge of the nose, meaning the mask uses two separate lenses in the frame.

• Multiple lens: added window panes on the sides and/or bottom of the mask help to make the mask feel more open and brighter, and increase the peripheral vision.

The profile (aka internal volume) of a mask: the confined airspace that is created when the mask is sealed against the face.

• The higher the profile the more drag the mask will create and the more water can enter if a leak occurs. A high profile is further away from the face and as such offers a feeling of openness.

• Low profile: sits close to the face, giving a wider angle of view. It clears water easier, and divers need less air to equalise. It also reduces the visual distortion caused by the mask.

Mask angle: often the lens and frame don’t run at the same angle as the face and actually lean in towards face at the bottom. The angle assists with: • Improving the lower field of view by moving the frame out of the visible range. It makes looking down easier, and helps snorkellers because they don’t need to tilt the head forwards to see below them, which could dip the snorkel into the water; • Reducing the internal volume, to an extent.

Skirt: creates a seal against the face to keep the air in and the water out.

Skirts are typically black or clear, but white silicone is also now available. Suggest your customer tries on different types so that he can see the different brightness options.

Clear skirts are often recommended for beginners as the added light and peripheral vision can reduce the sensation of claustrophobia.

• It can, however, cast distracting images or

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

the nose.

• Without a purge valve, the diver clears water by pressing the upper portion of the mask against his forehead, tipping his head back and forcefully exhaling through his nose until the water is out.

• If grit or sand gets into the purge valve, the mask can leak.

Tips for specific activities An underwater photo- or videographer will benefit from a black skirt, as it will help him focus on the image he wants. ◦◦ Recommend that his human photo subject wears a clear skirted mask — the added light can highlight his eyes. ◦◦ Where seeing the face is important, his subject should wear a big oval mask.

• Free diver: it will be important to use a low profile mask — as he descends, the water pressure pushes the mask against his face and to counter this he must equalise the pressure inside the mask. If not, he could damage his eyes and/or sinuses. To do this, he exhales through his nose, into the mask.

A low profile requires less air and therefore he wastes less air into the mask, which could have been utilised to continue diving.

Customers with sight problems For those customers who only have mild nearor farsightedness, there is good news: due to the refraction of light through the water and the mask lens, objects naturally appear magnified — they look 25% closer and 33% larger under water than out of the water. They could, therefore, see under water without wearing glasses or contacts.

If your customer needs more corrective help, he can wear contact lenses with a mask.

• Before diving, he should check with his optometrist if the lenses are gas permeable.

The eye naturally absorbs nitrogen and slowly releases it as the diver descends — non-gas permeable lenses don’t allow the nitrogen to escape, causing bubbles to form between the eye and the lens, causing blurry vision.

• There is a risk of losing a lens if the mask leaks — advise your customer to carry spares, just in case.

• If your customer will be using a defogging agent, he should ensure that the chemicals don’t affect his contact lenses.

• Your customer should inform the people he will be diving or snorkelling with that he’s wearing contacts. This way, they will know to help him if his mask falls off, as he will likely have to keep his eyes closed.

Some masks also have the option of fitting precut corrective lenses These masks are often of the twin lens type, which allows for different lens prescriptions on each side.

The precut lenses will, however, only fit certain mask models, which might not fit correctly. Your customer therefore might have to have special lenses made that can be bonded into the mask by the optometrist.

Diving & fishing news

p54 :: Outdoor

New masks from Aqualine De Wet Sports now offers an extensive range of diving and snorkelling products.

They have also introduced several new mask models that will fit all face sizes to their Aqualine range.

All these models have tempered glass lenses.

Two new junior models have been introduced in the apiflex (a PVC-based plastic compound) range: the Neptune and Moray. Both are low volume masks with dual windows in youth sizes. The new dual window Aruba, for adults, has a deeper vision design. It is also a low volume mask.

There is also a new Aruba model in the clear silicone range. Apart from the different mask material, it has the same features as the apiflex Aruba.

EzLife and Saekodive ranges grow W.E.T Sports continue to grow the diving products offered by the Saekodive and EZ Life brands in the local market. Both brands offer affordable quality aimed at snorkellers, and the new products are just in time for the holiday season.

The eye catching two-tone 3251S silicone mask from Ez Life (right) has already attracted attention, says Patrick Frank. “The 3211S silicone mask in the same range is a single lens mask intended to fit a variety of faces.”

Saekodive offers a new mask and snorkel set made up of their popular M2282KS mask and 1134KS snorkel (advert on p50).

A practical addition to the range is a touch screen-friendly waterproof cell phone pouch in two sizes that will keep your customers’ smart phones safe on and around water.

On the accessory front, W.E.T. Sports has added a strobe light, wrist slate, plastic wreck reel, as well as a new LED diving torch and LED diving headlamp.

Australian tackle winners also available in South Africa Fishing tackle distributors Rapala VMC, Shimano and Pure Fishing were the big winners of best new product awards at the 2016 Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) trade show. Rapala and Pure Fishing both won six awards, and Shimano five.

Fly fishing brand RIO, locally available from Xplorer Fly Fishing, supplied the winner as well as runner-up in the fly line category. Australian lure brand Halco, locally available from C1-D2 Tackle Traders, won in the soft and hard lure categories, while Navico (Lowrance) won the marine electronics category. The Jarvis Walker Watersnake, available from Apex Walker Brands, is another locally available brand that won an award — as runner-up of the John Dunphy Award for Innovation.

All the winning products were: Rod: Shimano Zodias; Runner-up: (Pure Fish-

ing) Pflueger Lithium Reel: Shimano Stradic C14; Runner-up: (Pure Fishing) Penn Slammer III Combo: Shimano Nasci/Raider; Runner-up: (Pure Fishing) Slammer III/Ocean Assassin Line: Shimano Kairiki; Runner-up: Daiwa JBraid 4 PLY Soft Lure: River2Sea, Fish Candy Smash Crab; Runner-up: Halco Madeye 7” Paddle Prawn Hard Lure: Halco Max 190; Runners-up: Stuntjumper Mega & JML Angler Alliance, Westin Danny the Duck Game Lure: Richter Lures, Splash Medium; Runner-up: Rapala VMC Williamson Soft Game Tremor Terminal Tackle: Nomad Tackle, BKK Raptor Z; Runners-up: Black Magic, DX Point & Tackle Tactics, and TT Lures Buzzlockz Fly Fishing Rod: Sage X; Runner-up: (Pure Fishing) Hardy Demon Smuggler

Fly Fishing Reel: (Pure Fishing) Hardy Fortuna; Runner-up: Sage 6250 Fly Fishing Line: RIO Big Nasty; Runner-up: RIO Single Handed Spey Sunglasses: Spotters Shades Rebel Sunglasses; Runner-up: Rapala VMC Costa Motu Clothing Accessory: Shimano Ocea Gloves; Runner-up: Bouttime Sunny Savers Tackle Management: Plano 467330; Runnerup: Rapala VMC Urban Classic Sling Bag Fishing/Boating Accessory: Rapala VMC Custom Design Series Floating Aerator; Runnerup: Demop Imports, Original Mini Chiller Fish Bag Marine Electronics: Navico Elite-7 TI; Runnerup: Rapala VMC Deeper Smart Sonar Pro Outdoor/ Camping: RPM Innovations, 600mAh Powerbank; Runner-up: (Pure Fishing) Coleman Head Lamp John Dunphy Award for Innovation: Rapala VMC Deeper Smart Sonar Pro+; Runner-up: Jarvis Walker Watersnake Kayak Motor Bracket

Global initiatives to grow fishing participation Ways to reverse the decline in sports fishing participation was the main focus of the recent American Sportfishing Association (ASA) summit in New Orleans. The 220 business delegates at the summit heard that younger, more diverse, audiences are not really keen to go fishing or boating, while the traditional support base, mature white men, are increasingly becoming too old to participate.

Kayak fishing is going to help grow the sports fishing equipment market over the next four years, a global research company, Technavio, is predicting. This relatively new, but rapidly growing, fishing sector will continue to appeal to consumers because of its

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

exercise and health benefits and the low cost involved compared to using a fishing boat, they report.

Over the next four years the American fishing market is expected to grow 3% due to higher participation numbers generated by improved access to fishing spots and campaigns like Take me fishing launched by The American Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF).

The RBFF has, for example, undertaken to reach 60-m people in 60 months (5 years) to encourage them to participate in fishing and boating.

Apart from the fishing tackle retail industry,

the tourism industry will also benefit from higher participation numbers. It is estimated that the sports fishing market contributes $115-bn to the American economy.

In the UK, the Get Out There campaign launched by Sport England to encourage anglers to fish more often, reached more than 500 000 people in 2015.

More than 100 Australian tackle stores signed up to support the 200 plus events that formed part of the Gone Fishing Day on Sunday 16th October, when as many Australians as possible were encouraged to go fishing.

This initiative is also supported by the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA).

Outdoor :: p55

Can tackle sales catch up?

I

Statistics show a drop in the Rand value as well as volume of fishing tackle imports over the past few years. But, the latest figures show that there might be hope for recovery

f it is still true that when the going gets tough, the tough goes fishing, the tough guys are still fishing with their old tackle … although there are some signs that the tackle industry might be recovering this year. While there are some bright spots, tackle import statistics supplied by the SA Department of Trade and Industry for the second quarter of 2016 does not paint a joyful picture.

Over the past few years, fishing tackle imports have taken a significant drop compared to the good old days of 2012-13. Five years ago, the Rand value of fishing tackle imported in the second quarter (Q2) of 2012 was more than double the value of Q2 imports in 2016 — even though the Rand exchange rate was much lower. The volume of fishing tackle imported in Q2 2012 was more than four times higher than in 2016.

Impact on SAFTAD This has been experienced across the tackle industry, and even impacted on events like the annual SAFTAD tackle trade show, held in August with goods on display that would have been imported in Q2.

Several regular exhibitors were, for example, absent because they could not afford to exhibit this year, but hoped to be back next year, says SAFTAD secretary and show organiser Mary-Ann Hodgskin. They also noticed that

The number of fishing rods imported in Q2 of this year was the highest in four years … but they were the cheapest rods imported over the past five years

some of the former exhibitors were no longer in business, or had lost agencies to some of the bigger distributors, she says.

Hope for recovery?

This year does hold the promise of some recovery: the Rand value of 2016 Q2 tackle imports was 16% higher than the same period last year, and 28% more units were imported in the quarter.

Compared to a year ago, the second quarter import value of rods and reels were 44% and 68% higher. Fish hooks and accessories were, however, both 24% down.

But, the import value of Q2 2016 fishing tackle was R3 148 497 (6%) lower than in Q1.

While second quarter rod and reel imports were up 2% and 20% respectively compared to Q1, the value of fishing hooks and accessories were 22% and 30% lower than in the first quarter of the year.

More entry level products The number of fishing rods imported in Q2 of this year (212 126) was the highest in four years … but at an average price of R64 per unit, they were the cheapest rods imported over the past five years. And that despite the Nenegate Rand and rising manufacturing costs in China chasing up the cost of most other imports.

The average price of imported reels — R207 per unit — in Q2 of 2016 was considerably lower than the average price of R328 in 2015, slightly lower than the R241 average in 2014, but higher than the R164 in 2013.

First 6 months look better But, the picture looks considerably brighter when tackle imports for the first half of 2016 is compared to the January-June 2015 period — the Rand value of imports was 34% higher and the number of units imported 5% higher this year.

Fishing rod imports were up 57% in Rand value and 112% in volume; fish hooks were 8% up in value, but 15% down in volume; the import value of reels was 66% higher and volume 59% higher; and the value of accessories imported was 5% higher than the first half of 2015, but the volume was 2% lower.

The overall picture for the first six months of 2016 therefore look better than in 2015.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

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For trade enquiries, contact Opal Sports T: 011 695 9640 | E: anne@opalsport.com

57

Recommending a dart board Visit Sports Trader’s website for more product knowledge: www.sportstrader.co.za

T

he dart board of today hasn’t always been the board of the day. In fact, today’s most popular board among darts players is probably the bristle, which replaced the original type — made entirely from wood, usually elm or poplar — towards the end of the previous century.

Elm and poplar were used as these types of wood are soft, making them easy to cut and shape, and work well when darts are thrown into them.

It is believed that the circular shape of the board comes from the fact that the boards were cut from the end of a tree trunk, and that the way the wood eventually cracks led to its design (the double and triple rings, and the separate segments).

Our cut-out-and-keep series to assist retailers with product knowledge Words: Carin Hardisty. Compiled with the help of Colin Farrer (CorSport), Kevin de Wet (De Wet Sports), and Rudi Kotze (Xco), as well as websites www.dartbase. com, www.dartboard.com, dartboardreviews.com, www.darts501.com, www. globaldarts.de, www.harrowsdarts.com, pages.cs.wisc.edu, www.patrickchaplin. com, and www.pdpa.co.uk.

Introducing standards In 1925 the first standard for dart boards was established. It adopted the Clock design, which was already introduced to the market in the late 1890’s, and is the typical design we see today, namely, 20 triangular numbered segments.

Each segment is further divided by two rings into four different areas (called the beds of the board). The inner ring holds the triples area, the outer ring holds the doubles area and the bullseye is divided into two rings: an outer and a center inner bull.

Numbers alternate between high and low, with the highest values surrounded by the lowest in order to promote accuracy.

The regulation diameter of a Clock board is 45cm (17 3/4”) for a full board and 33cm (13 1/4”) for the playable area.

At the time when the standard was introduced, there was already a variety of other dart board styles. These are now known as regional boards as they were named after the regions of the UK where they were popular at the time. Some examples are: • Ipswich (wide) or London East End (narrow) Fives board: split into 12 segments; its number sequence (5, 15, 10, 20) repeats three times around the board. ◦◦ The East End Fives’ rings are narrower than those of the Ipswich version. Its throwing distance and height are also different to the Clock: height 170cm (5’6”) and throwing distance 274cm (9’). See Hanging the board.

• Yorkshire or Kent Doubles board: 20 segments with the same numbering as Clock,

but with only a double ring, and no triple or outer bull rings (bullseye is a circle without rings); • Manchester Log-End board: this board is still made from wood and as such requires wetting to prevent it from drying out and cracking. It too has no treble or outer bull rings, and is smaller in diameter than the standard board. The numbering is also different to that of the Clock.

The early 1930’s saw the development of the two main types of boards we see today: bristle and electronic (with the Broome Electronic Darts Target, the forerunner of electronic dart boards).

Bristle dart board It was not until the 1970’s, however, when Dutch elm disease wrecked havoc with the supply of wood that the bristle board became the popular choice. Previously, it was less often used, because it was so much more expen-

sive than the wooden board.

Today the bristle (aka sisal) dart board is the most commonly found type. It is made from compressed sisal fibres that are glued to a backing board, with the edges held by metal banding. Sisal is made from the leaves of the Agave plant.

When the first bristle board was launched to the market in 1934, the board was actually made from short pieces of rope laced vertically and bound, forming a circular playing surface. The rope itself was made from sisal.

The bristle board held several advantages over the wooden boards, for example the latter had to be soaked overnight in order to prevent it from drying out and cracking, and to close the holes from the darts; and they had a limited life span as damaged darts could pull out pieces of the board when removed.

The main advantage of the bristle board is that when the dart is pulled out, the hole closes by itself. The bristle board therefore tends to last longer than other types of boards.

When recommending a bristle dart board, suggest to your customer that he buys one that has a removable number ring. This will allow him to be able to rotate his board, so as to prevent uneven wear and extending its life. Once turned, the number ring can be replaced onto the board with the number 20 in the 12 o’clock position over a black wedge.

There are some popular misconceptions around bristle boards: • That bristle boards are made from pig bristles or camel hair (it is made from sisal); • That the board should be wetted to make it softer. It’s actually recommended not to wet a bristle board as this will cause the sisal to swell and dry up, and the board will soon be destroyed.

Taking care of the board Heat generated by light will dry out the board: when the board is not in use, any lights shining directly on it should be turned off.

Advise your customer to look after his dart tips so that they don’t damage his board: ◦◦ Keep dart tips rounded. If they become flat, they crush the fibre, eventually making the area hard. ◦◦ Tips that are too sharp, however, will also cause damage, by cutting the fibres instead of spreading them apart, the way a rounded tip would.

To p58

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p58 :: Sport

Recommending dartboards cont. from p57 ◦◦ Too sharp darts will also burr easily, as the sharp end bends over. Burrs will pull fibres out of the board.

Other types of boards Plastic, electronic dart board: the playing surface is covered by tiny holes, each of which records the score when a dart enters it. The targets on these boards are typically larger, due to design limitations, which can make the game less frustrating for a beginner player.

• Extra-thin segment dividers will allow more holes on the target areas.

• Some boards have a feature that will keep track of the player’s performance, helping him work on his game in the long run.

• Typically, electronic boards can keep score for several people at once, but will often only be able to display two scores at a time.

If your customer will regularly play with a large group of friends and/or family, however, recommend a board that can show more than two scores.

• While electronic darts are typically used with soft tip darts, some can be used with hard tips. These boards resemble bristle boards that can automatically keep score.

Because a hard tip does more damage than a soft tip dart, these boards tend to wear out faster compared to the electronic boards that only work with soft tips.

• Electronic board diameters: Full board 39cm (15 1/2”) and playable area: 38cm (15”).

Wound/coiled paper dart board: recommended for children, or for people starting out in the game.

• It is less expensive than a bristle board, but does not last very long. ◦◦ To minimise damage to the paper, advise your customer to keep the dart tips sharp and to make sure he twists the darts as he removes them from the board.

• Like a bristle board, the paper board is designed to also heal itself: the dart penetrates between the layers of paper, and, when it’s removed, the paper heals without a trace of a hole.

Champion board: these boards feature thinner trip and double rings (half the regular size), which makes hitting them twice as hard.

• Sometimes manufacturers will add other targets, for example more bull, to the center of each bed to give the player a specific target in each bed on which to practice.

• Smaller diameter than standard boards: 33cm (13”).

Other, less common, types of dart boards: Cork dart boards tend to be cheap and wear out easily, and are not recommended for heavy play. Not to be confused with the name of the bullseye on an American-style dart board (called the cork).

Wood is still used for American-style and Manchester Log-End boards, but otherwise wood is not used anymore and has been replaced with other materials.

When recommending a board, remind your customer that soft tip darts are used on electronic boards, and hard tip darts on the other boards. Some electronic boards, however, also work with hard tips.

Spider features The spider, which is made from either plastic or metal, separates the beds from each other.

Darts are prone to bounce off the spider and possibly not hit the board.

• Boards for steel tip darts employ various anti-bounce designs (see below).

• Not all soft tip darts’ boards have spiders.

There are several spider designs: Blades: thin metal blades divide the beds, usually found on higher quality bristle dart boards.

• The blades are placed in the sisal, which means each covers less of the segments, reduces the chance of darts bouncing off, doesn’t require pinning, and doesn’t twist like a pinned wire tends to do.

• Due to the board being cut into segments, and not being one big block of fibres, there is a possibility that board life could be reduced with the use of blades.

Diamond/triangle wire: these wires divide

the segments, and are designed and cut triangularly so as to deflect a dart that hits it into the dart board.

• They are pinned on top of the sisal and are thicker than the blades, which could result in more bounce outs.

• With wear, the pins can become loose and the wire can turn or deform — if a dart hits the wire, it can also bend it.

Round wire: usually found on entry level boards.

• The round wire is also pinned to the sisal, and, of the three, is the thickest.

• Typically, the pins holding the wire down are in the treble and double segments.

• Some boards, however, pin the wire down on the outer side of the trebles, which has the added benefit of not obscuring part of these smaller beds. These boards may feature more pins, because the wires are pinned either side of the beds, but the added pins also allow for less wire movement and ultimately mean a better construction.

Hanging the board Your customer should take the following into account when setting up his Clock dart board, be it at home, at a club, etc.

• Throwing height: the height that the board should be hung at, measured vertically from the floor to the center of the bull’s eye is 176cm (5’8”) for a bristle or electronic board.

• Throwing distance: the distance at which the dart should be thrown is marked on the floor with a line (named oche and pronounced oki). The front of the player’s foot may not go over, or touch, the oche before the dart has hit the board. The distance can be measured horizontally or diagonally: ◦◦ Horizontal distance: measured from the oche on the floor to a point perpendicular to the board’s surface (not the wall itself) is 240cm (7’9 ¼”) for a bristle board and 243cm (8’) for an electronic board. ◦◦ Diagonal distance: measured from the bull’s eye down to the oche on the floor is 293cm (9’7”) for a bristle board and 303cm (9’ 9 ½”) for an electronic board.

New stock from darts suppliers Brexit pricing from Datadart W.E.T. Sports took full advantage of the Brexit pound and ordered their latest shipment of Datadart at a more favourable exchange rate. Newly arrived, is their full range of well-priced British darts, flights, stems and accessories.

The prices of the 80% tungsten darts are a lot keener compared to the end of last year when the visiting English cricket fans sang they were getting R25 to the pound, so now is a good time to stock up for Christmas, advises Patrick Frank.

The G-Force tungsten dart range and the

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

G-Force 100 micron flight provides excellent value for money for the serious darts player, he says, while the Tournament brass range is ideal for the holiday market.

High definition Elkadart flights De Wet Sport has introduced two new flights in their Elkadart flight range.

The 100 micron Alchemy features high definition quality licensed prints that will appeal to all your Gothic-minded and horror-fan customers. As the name implies, the Long-Life flights, made from ripstop, are made to last.

Both come in packs of 20.

New dart and accessories from Harrows Harrows has introduced a new set of 90% tungsten darts featuring an unique Atomic grip. This high level, somewhat aggressive, grip provides players with excellent release control — yet, its kind to fingers.

The barrels have an integrated four-series Atomic grip configuration and have been induction-hardened to improve fatigue resistance. This offers greater protection against wear and tear.

There are two models in the range — one is longer with a more bulbous front that tapers

Sport :: p59

Dart ranges cont. towards the tip and flight. They are available in 21g, 23g and 25g.

Harrows also provides some accessories that help limit damage to darts, walls and floors, says Colin Farrer of CorSport, the new local distributor of the range.

A four-piece dartboard surround made from EVA protects against novice dart players hitting walls and damaging darts. The four pieces interlock to form a circular protection ring around the board.

Surrounds are generally made from polyurethane, but the interlocking Harrows model is made from EVA “that is covered in flock for a deluxe no visible holes finish,” says Farrer.

As an alternative, their dartboard cabinets are also effective in minimizing wall and dart point damage.

They also provide dart mats made from heavy duty rubber, similar to the material used on travellators at airports, which can be placed on the floor in front of the dartboard. “This minimizes dart damage caused by bounce outs he says. “The mat also has the correct measured throw lines for women and men.”

TV debut for new Unicorn Eclipse HD2 board The new Unicorn Eclipse HD2 dartboard was used for the first time in competition during the Betway World Cup of Darts, which took place in June, following the unveiling of the revolutionary new product.

The good news for local retailers is that you can now order the dartboard from Opal Sports.

It features ground-breaking technology, setting a new standard for dartboards in both look, performance and quality.

The dartboard is made from the finest Grade A sisal, and also features the new Spider2 Radial

Wires and Super Thin Bullseye, which provide a seamless playing surface, improved playing areas around the bullseye and the most visually-stunning dartboard ever.

In addition, a new-look invisible number ring also features injection moulded, high definition, replaceable numbers.

Unicorn Darts and the PDC have recently signed a new five year contract, which sees Unicorn continue to be the official dartboard supplier. “We are very excited about our new Eclipse HD board,” says Unicorn Darts MD Edward Lowy. “Over the long history of

Unicorn and the PDC, we have introduced various iterations of the Eclipse board. Each one has been an improvement on its predecessor, and we’re convinced that the HD2 will help take the game to the next level.

“We’ve made a dartboard with some key new features: there are no radial intrusions around the edge, and a new bullseye with thinner metal — we are freeing up quite a significant bit of the bullseye. We’re now using an invisible number ring and clear, rotatable numbers — even in different colours if customers want them!”

Medalist offers full board range Medalist, available from De Wet Sports, offer a range of dart boards that will appeal to your customers playing at all levels — from the entry level Flocked that will keep the family amused during the holidays, the Classic for the home players who want something more upmarket and durable, to their A-grade Tournament and Championship boards.

The Flocked (45cm by 2.5cm thick) comes complete with a set of six darts for the starter player.

The bristle Classic is for the more discerning player, who’ll appreciate the round wire and staple-free bulls eye. The Agrade bristle Tournament board, suitable for league games, has the same wire configurations, but the top end Championship board is completely staple free and the wires are inserted so that there are no impediments for darts to bounce off from.

Medalist also offers a solid wood dart board cabinet in dark wood, complete with two scoreboards, as well as a free-standing scoreboard.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

Athletic field events

p60 :: Sport

strong at school Typically, the school system is where most youngsters are introduced to the various athletic events. While track is strong at school level, it’s interesting to see how often field events, which provide more retail sales opportunities, are offered as well, CARIN HARDISTY and CHILTON MELLEM found

T

he Olympic and Paralympic games are fading memories: the heroes have returned home, and the viewers are (presumably) back off their couches where they had been glued, watching the likes of Wayde van Niekerk, Caster Semenya and Luvo Mayonga carving out their names in history.

With the games come and gone, we wanted to know* how much interest there is in athletics among South African school learners … and what market is there for retailers to sell athletic products to these schools? Sports Trader therefore invited schools to take part in an email survey* on athletic participation.

The schools that told us that they offer athletics all have some running events, but the vast majority also offer various field events.

Almost all offer shotput (95%), long jump (91%), high jump (86%), hurdles (82%), and javelin and discus (77% each).

High jump, long jump, shotput, discus and javelin are all very popular at his school, says Shaun van Wezel, sport director of The King’s School in Gauteng.

“Certain areas indicate stronger participation in certain events,” says Pieter Lourens of South African Schools Athletics (SASA). “For example, throwers tend to come from Gauteng and Free State, and you will find more sprinters in the Western Cape, while distance runners also hail from Gauteng. We are facing problems in the horizontal jumps!”

threat to learners and staff.”

But, even if a school has the resources to offer all athletic disciplines, the activities on offer can be heavily influenced by what the nearby schools offer. Due to schools’ competitive nature when it comes to sport, if there is no one to compete against, there is less incentive for the school to push the activity.

“The English speaking schools in our area do not participate or offer any field events, therefore our highest participation is in track running,” says J.H. van Heerden of Glenview Primary in Gauteng.

But, even there the participation numbers are fairly low for this well-resourced school.

“About 120 out of 900 learners [13%] take part in athletics formally,” says Van Heerden.

“Also, around 40 learners takes part in cross country.” He adds that the number of learners who take part in cross country is considerably higher before selection for the school team.

More field participation

Lack of resources

Participation growth?

Some responding schools who offer athletics even indicated that field events actually account for higher participation numbers than running.

As can be expected, all schools that offer athletics offer track running. While learners participate in track from a very young age, they only get introduced to field events at a later stage. For example, at Laerskool Krugersdorp-Noord in Gauteng the U10 age group are the first learners to participate in field events, says Quintin Botha.Only the U13’s take part in javelin at his school, but activities such as high jump and hurdles see a lot of interest among the younger primary school learners.

Because track running can accommodate many learners, this is the event that attracts the most participation, he explains.

After track (43%), long jump (24%) is the activity with the single highest participation interest, responding schools indicated. Just under twenty percent indicated that cross country and shotput attract the most participants, followed by high jump (14%).

SASA offers more track than field events on their yearly programme. “Participation in track or field events depend on the availability of facilities and the necessary equipment,” explains Lourens.

“The majority of schools in South Africa do not have facilities for athletics and are dependent on municipal grounds, which are not that accessible. Deprived schools do not have the necessary field events equipment, because of a lack of finance and corporate support, not to mention the lack of government support.”

Only 8% of the respondents to our survey indicated that they do not offer athletics at their schools — and the reasons were indeed lack of resources. “We have no coach, no facilities and no money!” laments Rachel Krull of Southernwood Primary School in the Eastern Cape.

“For the past 10 years, we have not been able to offer athletics,” says Ravi Padayachee of St Anne’s Primary School in KwaZulu Natal.

“The school does not have the facilities and the nearest facility poses a criminal element

Participation numbers have been stable for the majority (48%) of respondents who offer athletics, with numbers staying about the same for the past five years.

“The participation has remained relatively stable as sport is compulsory at our school,” explains Graeme Wepener of the South African College Schools (SACS) in the Western Cape.

He hasn’t seen significant changes, agrees Botha. “The most important factor is well planned try-outs, good events for athletes to participate in, and good coaching from experienced coaches.”

There are even schools that report an increase in participation (14% of respondents offering athletics). One example is Rynfield Primary School in Gauteng, where numbers increase every year, says Grant Wright.

There has been an increase in awareness of athletics among their learners and this has led to an increase in participation, says Izak Duvenage of the East Rand Christian Academy.

“Ours is much the same in terms of numbers, maybe even higher, but we are in a unique

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

There has been an increase in awareness of athletics among their learners and this has led to an increase in participation

Photos: Nicol du Toit

Sport :: p61

situation where athletics is a very important sport for the school and we participate in the two biggest interschool meetings in the Western Cape,” says Seef le Roux of Bloemhof High School.

A third of the respondents that offer athletics, however, indicate that they have seen a decrease in participation numbers.

“Participation is more or less the same as five years ago, but there has been lower participation for more than five years now,” says Millie van Wyk of Jim Fouché High School in the Free State. “This is because learners must choose and specialise [in a sport] — there is not enough time to do more than one sport. Netball, hockey and rugby are played and practiced during the whole year.”

“The learners are very busy with other sport like swimming, tennis and cricket at the same time,” agrees Venessa Diedericks of Hoërskool Piketberg in the Western Cape.

“Given the high profile and success of other summer sports — cricket and water polo especially, but also tennis, basketball, swimming and rowing — numbers [taking part in athletics] are relatively small and constant,” says James Frazer of Rondebosch Boys’ High School in the Western Cape.

“The drop in numbers is mainly from grade 10 upwards. Juniors are still keen,” explains Mark Julyan of St Benedict’s College in Gauteng.

“A number of boys run long distance through the year (cross country in winter and middle distance track in summer), but maybe boys will sprint in addition to other sports, and in summer this is the highest number of participants.”

Not only does athletics have to compete with other sports, learners also have academic responsibilities. The children are overloaded, says Karin Pienaar of Stulting Primary in the Eastern Cape.

Others simply cannot attend practice sessions, because they live in rural areas and have to catch taxis home, says Erika Swanepoel of Bosveld Primary School in Limpopo.

Some parents also make it difficult for learners to participate, says Erica Minnie of Laer-

Throwers tend to come from Gauteng and Free State, sprinters from the Western Cape, while distance runners also hail from Gauteng. skool Tjaart van der Walt in the Eastern Cape.

The performance of South Africa’s top athletes also influence youngsters. “Senior sports always have a big influence on our junior sports,” says Wright. “Caster Semenya, Wayde van Niekerk, Sunette Viljoen, etc. play a huge role in drumming up of interest among our youth. Our pupils see them performing well and winning Olympic medals, then they want to mimic them on their primary school sports fields.”

The impact of coaching Certain schools do not have the privilege of technical, skilled and qualified coaches, which especially influences the participation of learners in field events, says Lourens.

Over the past few years, the quality of their learners' athletic abilities has drastically gone down, says Le Roux. “There are very few learners who come here [to high school] with the appropriate technical skills expected of them at that stage of their physical development.

“We are also getting increasing numbers of learners who have had no exposure to any form of training, which is indicative of the fact that there is very little going on in terms of athletics coaching/development in primary schools in our area.”

Other schools have improved the quality of their learners’ performance. “We have grown in our level of competing with a few of our kids going through to national [tournaments],” says Yolandé van der Merwe of Kabega Primary School in the Eastern Cape.

The availability of coaching not only impacts on the performance of learners … it can also

impact on the number who wish to, or can, take part in the activity.

They recently appointed a sprint coach at the school, which has led to an increase in participation numbers, says Yaw Fosu-Amoah of St Alban’s College in Gauteng.

At Laerskool Krugersdorp-Noord, Botha hasn’t noticed a difference in the number of athletes who participate — but he has seen the quality improve. This is “mostly due to the private coaching and support that increased,” he explains.

His school has quite a few hurdlers and many receive coaching from outside coaches. “We approached an external coach to start coaching hurdles from this year at our school,” he adds.

Then there are schools who are lucky enough to have qualified sports personnel who themselves have excelled at the sport, for example Hoërskool Oos-Moot in Gauteng — their sports organiser, Myrtle Bothma, is the holder of the SA 400m hurdles record and represented South Africa at the 1992 Olympic Games.

Level of participation The majority of learners who take part in athletics, take part at interhouse level. After this, the numbers go down — but this is because only a certain number of learners qualify to compete at higher levels.

All of their learners go through the try-out/ assessment phase for interhouse, after which 40% are selected to take part, explains Wright.

Thereafter 20% of his school’s learners are selected for the school team to compete on a higher level.

Potchefstroom Gimnasium in North West has a similar percentage (25%) of learners who compete in athletics at a higher level.

“We’re the strongest platteland school in South Africa, with 318 athletes who went to national championships with more than 120 medals in the last 10 years,” says Head of Sport Arnold van der Merwe. * Sports Trader conducted an email survey among schools countrywide, asking them if they offer athletics, about their participation numbers and how these have changed over the past five years.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p62 :: Industry

Whose job is it anyway?

In the sport and outdoor industry roles have blurred over the past few years, with retailers becoming importers of brands and importers growing their own retail chains. Is that necessarily bad — or good? Or is that the way it has actually always been? Please tell us what your experience has been as either a retailer or distributor/importer as we would like to start a dialogue between the two sides with an article in our January issue Youngsters who are now entering the local sport and outdoor industry will encounter a completely different environment to the one their senior colleagues got to know a decade or two ago.

They might hear much talk about the good old days of SASGAM (deceased around the turn of the century); of legendary agents who became firm friends with the retailers in whose homes they often stayed when visiting; of the wonderful camaraderie when retailers sold to the public and suppliers (manufacturers, agents, importers and distributors) stuck to their job of selling to retailers.

Or is this just a rose-coloured perception clouded by how people would like it to be?

When reading about the changes in the outdoor retail industry over the past twenty years (see p48), it is clear that dedicated distributorships are a fairly recent development in that sector — the first South African outdoor equipment distributorship started just 20-30 years ago. Before that, outdoor retailers imported international brands directly, which were only available to their own customers.

Some of the big retailers in sport and outdoor, however, did have wholesale departments to sell to other retailers — notably, Sportsmans Warehouse’s predecessor Logans Sport.

This resulted in interesting interpretations by global brands. For example, when Gert Boyle was asked why they chose to launch Columbia into South Africa through a retailer, the newly opened Due South, instead of finding a local distributor, she responded: “We are distributors ourselves and our brand only sells to retailers.” That was a mere twelve years ago.

Now, it seems that most of the big retail

chains are turning the clock back, by focusing on their own house brands, or importing international brands directly, some successfully (e.g. Cape Union Mart), others less so (e.g.

Edgars — see p8).

As emperor Marcus Aurelius pointed out more than two centuries ago, there is nothing new under the sun … not that this is any consolation to the distributors who can no longer get their goods on shelves.

How has that affected you as an independent retailer, without the resources to import directly? Or as an importer and distributor of international brands that the chains no longer want to stock — or even take over the distributorship from you?

Please tell us by completing the questionnaire on the opposite page, and let us start a conversation (you can stay completely anonymous if you prefer).

Agents sold to retailers It is telling that the acronym of the former industry body, SASGAM, stands for South African Sporting Goods Agents and Manufacturers.

When it was founded more than half a century ago, retailers and the few international brands active here employed agents to travel with car boots full of samples to show to all the stores owned independently in their areas.

The agent was not expected to market the brands to the public, collate pre-orders for the principal to decide which SKUs will be available in six months time, to plan and build ranges, and do all the other things distributors are nowadays required to do.

After sanctions were lifted and the major brands opened local offices, many of these functions were taken in-house. The internet

and emails started replacing personal visits and with international resources behind them, brands could afford to cherry pick whom they supplied stock to — and who got which SKUs. Opportunities for agents shrunk considerably, and consequently, the number of agents working in the industry are a handful compared to a decade ago. Many brands replaced them with range presentations where retailers visit them and online orders.

SASGAM petered out and was replaced by expo’s organised around events like marathons and big cycling tournaments where brands showcase (and sell) their products.

Many distributors, especially those who could not find shelf space in retail chains, started selling direct to the end user and entered into semi-sponsorship agreements with prominent schools and clubs.

Brand stores Globally, brands opened their own stores where customers could view an extensive range of SKUs on offer — as a marketing tool because other retailers can only stock a tiny sample of what the brands offered, they said.

Some principals made opening stores a condition of awarding a license to import and distribute their brand. Some opened factory outlets to sell odd sizes and end of lines.

Not all retailers were amused, and countered with I don’t stock goods from my competitors.

How do you, as a distributor, tread the thin line between keeping up with selling the minimum import quantities expected by the principal, and keeping your retail partners happy?

And do you, as a retailer, offer distributors enough support so that they don’t have to compete with you? Please share your thoughts.

Stay up to date with industry news: as it happens, when it happens In today’s fast-changing world, knowledge is power: for example, knowledge about changes in distributorships or retail ownership, movements within the industry and new brands being introduced can help you with running your business more efficiently — whether you are a supplier or retailer.

As the only publication for the Southern African sport, outdoor and athleisure retail industries, Sports Trader reports on the above industry news on our blog and social media pages … as it happens.

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

You can receive instant updates by visiting our blog on https://sasportstrader.wordpress.com, our Facebook page (SportsTraderMagazine) or follow @SASportsTrader on Twitter. Or you can sign up to receive our fortnightly newsletter, News Trader, in which we alert you to the latest news on the blog and Facebook. There is also a newsletter specifically for the fishing tackle trade.

Subscription to the newsletter is free and anybody from your company may subscribe. The only condition is that they must be active in the industry. Simply send us their emails by return-

ing a copy of this form via fax (021 461 2549) or scan to email to trudi@sportstrader.co.za.

Name: Company: Position in company: Email: Telephone number: Specific interest: All news □

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Clothing/footwear Cycling Fishing General sport Outdoor Retail specific Marketing/sponsorships

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Industry :: p63

Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts How has the blurring of the roles between retailers and their suppliers affected you? Please let us know by returning this questionnaire either by faxing a copy to 021 461 2549 or emailing a scan to trudi@sportstrader.co.za. You can also complete it completely anonymously online via Survey Monkey at http://bit.ly/suppliervsretail.

Closing date: Monday, 5 December.

1. Background information □□ You are an independent retailer □□ You are part of a retail chain

□□ It is fine if distributors open concept stores to showcase the brand □□ It is fine if distributors open factory outlets to sell end of lines

Comment

□□ You are a distributor of international brands □□ You are a South African manufacturer □□ You are an agent working for a distributor

6. Distributors selling direct. Please indicate yes or no

□□ You are an independent agent representing several brands

□□ Distributors can sell directly to consumers: Yes/ No

□□ You represent an international brand as subsidiary

Other (specify)

□□ Distributors can enter into sponsorship agreements to supply to schools or clubs: Yes/ No □□ Distributors can sell directly at event expo’s or sports events: Yes/ No

2. Area of operation □□ You are active in the apparel and footwear industry

□□ Distributors can sell directly to coaches: Yes/ No

Comment

□□ You are active in the sport industry □□ You are active in the outdoor industry

Other (specify)

7. Distributors can sell direct (select any number of options) □□ When retailers don’t want to stock their products

3. Importing of international brands (select any number of options)

□□ When retailers can’t stock enough of the range to meet principals’ requirements □□ When retail orders of SKUs are too limited to do the brand justice

□□ Brands should only be imported by a local distributor, not retailers

□□ When retailers can’t afford to stock top end products

□□ Retailers should not import products that compete with brands supplied by distributors

□□ Distributors may never sell direct

□□ Retailers stocking their own imports are hurting distributors □□ Retailers should import brands not available here to offer something different to their customers □□ Retailers should import brands to improve their margins □□ Retailers import brands to keep more control of ranges and prices

Comment

Comment

8. The role of agents □□ Agents are essential to sell products to retailers □□ As a retailer I would be more inclined to buy from an agent visiting me □□ Agents are no longer needed in the modern internet era □□ Our company has replaced agents with our own sales force

4. Retailers developing in-house brands (select any number of options) □□ In-house brands are necessary to offer consumers an unique range

□□ It is difficult to find good agents to represent our brands □□ It is difficult for an agent to find brands to represent

Comment

□□ In-house brands give retailers control of their product offering □□ In-house brands limit shelf space for other brands □□ In-house brands competes directly with brands from distributors

9. Any further comments

Comment

10. May we quote you in the article? If so, please complete the below

5. Operating retail stores (select any number of options)

□□ Your name

□□ Only retailers should operate stores, not distributors

□□ Company name

□□ Every retail store operated by a distributor competes with retailers

□□ I wish to remain anonymous

□□ Your surname

Please note: we are interested in getting an overview of the thinking in the industry, not your company’s policy.

Unless you specifically supply your name, you will remain anonymous.

2016 November :: Sports Trader

p64 :: Trade shows

Trade shows Changes for EUROBIKE

ISPO offers more affordable stands NEXT YEAR’S ISPO Munich will feature a new Action Sports hall concept, ISPO Polygon: exhibitors’ stands will be prefabricated modules with low partition walls in polygon shapes, in a similar layout to a honeycomb.

The Action Sports hall features companies with snow- and skate boards, urban and street sport products, sneakers, etc.

The main drive behind this move is ROI. The new standardised full package is “easily affordable to every single brand, distributor or rep, [who can] choose between four different packages,” says organiser Messe München.

“Principally this concept is heading into a good direction,” says an exhibitor: Tommy Delago, owner and founder of NITRO. “The arms race for the best booth has to end, otherwise no one will come anymore. The business has to find itself again, the products have to be the main focus.

The new concept takes account of this. The inviting, open design will enhance the open communication the snowboard industry is known for and it is very reasonable.”

ISPO Munich 2017 takes place 5-8 February in Munich, Germany.

Diarise HuntEx 2017 dates HUNTEX IS a highlight on many a calendar, and you’ll do well to diarise the following dates for next year’s shows: • HuntEx Cape Game Fair: 10-12 March, Rhebokskloof Wine Estate, Agter Paarl.

• HuntEx 2017: 28 April-1 May, Gallagher, Midrand • HuntEx E-Cape Hunters Fair: 26-28 May, Mentors Estate, Jeffreys Bay

The Cape Town Boat Show, the Granddaddy THE 16TH CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW was the last of three South African boating shows for the year. The show, also known as the granddaddy of boat shows on the African continent, took place Friday October 14th to Sunday 16th.

This is the only South African boat show endorsed by the Marine Industry Association of South Africa and also has a strong focus on the leisure sector of the industry. Apart from exotic boats, catamarans, yachts, etc. that were on the water, a large number of boating-related products, accessories and services were on display in a 900m2 marquee.

FROM 2018, EUROBIKE, traditionally held end August/early September, will be held earlier in July (kicking off on 8 July) and will go back to being only open to trade. Organisers haven’t decided yet if the show will be held over three or four days, but they will make the decision in consultation with exhibitors.

Many exhibitors feel that September is too late in the year. “New bikes and components are already available or have been covered by other events and media,” explains one of the exhibitors: Claudio Marra, Managing Director FSA. “As a result, we miss out on the original nature of the EUROBIKE, to present new product innovations.”

“Numerous conversations with manufacturers, including both exhibitors and non-exhibitors, retailers and the media have made it increasingly clear that further defragmentation of the industry into separate in-house exhibitions and order shows is neither [beneficial] long-term, nor sustainable,” says Stefan Reisinger, head of EUROBIKE. “Looking down the road, we are changing the future EUROBIKE in two stages, adjusting the gears to strengthen its position as an innovation driver for the international bicycle industry.”

“There seems to be an unending flow of trade shows for retailers,” says Tobias Hempelmann, executive board member for Germany’s bicycle retail association VDZ (Verband des Deutschen Zweiradhandels).

“From July through to September, retailers can literally spend the entire time travelling the length and breadth of Germany, visiting dozens of these in-house shows, which are generally more like events. Few retailers have the time — let alone the personnel — to do this during the season. The large number of in-house shows and EUROBIKE absentees is damaging the industry as a whole. Other industries are only too envious of our central, major trade show.”

EUROBIKE 2017 still takes place in the traditional period — 30 August to 2 September — in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The first three days are trade only, with the Festival Day on 2 September open to the public.

Forums at EuroShop THE 2017 EUROSHOP retail trade show (5-9 March in Düsseldorf, Germany) offers visitors access to several forums, available as a free addition.

• EuroCIS: developments, innovations and trends in retail technology in the mobile, self-checkout and –scanning, RFID, and payment and security categories.

• Omnichannel: a focus on new technologies related to distribution channels (digital and traditional), the forum will address questions around success strategies, challenges and opportunities.

• ECOpark: sustainability and green spaces are hot topics today, especially energy-efficient retail solutions.

• Architecture and Design: store design (lighting, fixtures, visual merchandising, etc.).

• POPAI: discussions around POS marketing, for example marketing to shoppers, retail technologies, shopper behaviour, multichannel, trends, and innovations.

Advertisers index adidas 17 Agrinet 28 Airwalk

13, 26 Aqualine 53 ASICS 39 Because I Can Clothing 12 Brand Folio OBC Brand ID 33 Brooks 42 CorSport 59 Craft 33 OFC, 19, 23 Crown Footwear

De Wet Sport Dickies EZ-Life Fila Fire-Maple Footwear Trading Harrows Hi-Tec HuntEx Jeep Jordan & Co Kakiebos

Sports Trader :: 2016 November

35, 53 1 50 5 27 3, 5, 11 59 15 IBC 3 21, 36 OFC, 19

Kaufmann Outdoor 28 Legacy Sport & Leisure 13, 26 Levi's 11 Medicus Shoes 43 Merrell 43 New Balance 41 Olympic 21, 36 25, 56 Opal Sports R&S Traders 29 Ram Mountaineering 49 Reef Brazil 12 Rocky 23

Saekodive

50

SBR Agencies

42

Skechers

OBC

Skye

1

Summit

25

Surge

35

Traverse Outdoor Gear

27

Unicorn

56

Vango

49

W.E.T. Sport

50