S African retailers invest in local clothing firms

Bloomberg

South African retailers including The Foschini Group (TFG) Ltd and Woolworths Holdings Ltd are increasing investment in local clothing manufacturers — both to reduce a dependency on Chinese imports and secure a supply chain thrown into disarray by Covid-19 restrictions.
The companies have signed up to an industry plan that
includes a target to source 65% of their goods from local manufacturers within the next decade. While progress toward the goal varies per chain, the spread of the coronavirus has sharpened their collective focus.
The pandemic caused “such disruptions to the supply chain that everyone’s sitting back and saying do we ever really want to be that reliant on China ever again?” TFG Chief Executive Officer Anthony Thunström said in an interview.
“I think the penny’s dropped and retailers are looking more and more to buy locally.”
The initiative comes as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looks to revive a manufacturing industry that’s deteriorated since the lifting of apartheid-era sanctions two decades ago, which enabled companies to seek cheaper
alternatives from overseas suppliers.
Re-establishing the sector would help achieve a goal of creating jobs, easing an official unemployment rate that’s at a 17-year high.
“As South Africa opened to trade in the late 1990s, China came in and decimated the market as cost was the only dictating factor,” said Lawrence Pillay, head of sourcing at Woolworths.
Yet opening new factories during a pandemic won’t be easy. The industry’s decline has led to a shortage of skills,
training and raw materials, meaning significant up-front investment will be required to eventually wring savings from shorter lead times and cheaper transport costs. That’s at a time where consumer confidence is low, putting retailers on the back foot.