Churning out shoes and jobs in Dimbaza

Factory to more than double output

ADIMBAZA factory is set to grow its staff complement tenfold by October this year as its order books grow. Family owned company KO Shoes relaunched in April under new ownership and management following its closure in 2011.

The company recently said it was on track to increase its manufacturing volumes from 3 000 pairs of shoes per day to 7 000 by October.

KO Shoes coowner Zak Mohamed said the order book was full, bolstered by the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa), an agreement that allows several sub-Sahara countries, including South Africa, to export to the United States duty-free.

Mohamed said for South African manufacturers, Agoa – which was amended to extended duty-free trade between South Africa and the United States to include apparel by 2013 – means the country can supply the US at 40% cheaper than China.

China has dominated the apparel industry with cheap prices over the last decade, forcing thousands of the sector’s manufacturers in South Africa to close down.

Mohammed said KO Shoes, of which he owns (30%) with his mother Suraya (40%) and brother Thausif (30%), is a licensed manufacturer of popular brands including Puma and Soviet and in-house brand KO Star.v

It also supplies local mini-chains (with 100 stores or less) in addition to wholesale customers.

“We have started producing for Puma South Africa and are in talks with Puma in Germany. We’ll be specialising in a lot of brands. We also produce for Soviet. Puma Germany is looking very positive.”

The company has no shortage of job seekers. When the Dispatch visited the premises, dozens of people could be seen waiting patiently at the gate looking for jobs.

“We started with 40 people in March and now have 150. We promised the people of Dimbaza that we would have created at least 400 jobs to take this factory up to capacity.

“Everyday we get 200 or 300 applications for jobs. Everyday we take 10 to 15 people from the street and train them in all different departments,” Mohamed said.

The Durban-based Mohamed family bought the company from the previous owners and decided to base the factory in Dimbaza where it can access an existing labour supply. — siyam@dispatch.co.za