In the News | 26 January 2023

Hello in 2023!

While I am not back at 100%, I am well on my way and have the support I need. I look forward to being able to pour more of myself into this and other endeavours as I recover. [I'll also take this opportunity to encourage everyone to take better care of themselves in 2023 – a large part of my health issues last year came down to exhaustion.]

Coming soon:

• A primer on the pros and cons of choosing a marketplace as your next distribution channel (as Amazon makes plans for Prime, marketplace & fulfilment service launches in South Africa, still rumoured to be set for next month)

• What South African designers can learn from Nigerian designers as loadshedding's effects worsen (Nigeria's power utility NEPA is a likely picture of where ESKOM is headed without intervention)

• A long overdue feature on how collecting and leveraging first-party data helped Pichulik jewellery respond to the pandemic.

Are there stories you want told in 2023? Let me know — subscribers can now reply directly to the newsletter or start a conversation in the comment section on site.

Africa

Dakar puts itself on the global creative industry's radar, the New York Times' T Magazine explores Johannesburg's creative industry appeal, Africa Fashion Guide breaks down business lessons from the rise and fall of the Grass Fields brand, and a new probe reveals the depth of the network of corruption at South Africa's state owned power utility ESKOM, corruption that has fuelled capacity generation problems that now plague national productivity and threaten small business survival.

• Load shedding fails small businesses as fashion designers cannot go into production - IOL

In retail: a brick & mortar revival takes shape across South Africa, Woolworths shows signs of recovery, Mr Price Group's Studio 88 acquisition pays off early, new Jumia Uganda chief shares developed economy lessons on scaling e-commerce, TFG partners with TymeBank on new financial products after reporting record sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (north of R1B in turnover) and all signs point to Amazon South Africa launch between February and April 2023.

Global

The new trade season for designers looking to sell to Europe will kick off in February with new players and new platform options, new data reveals the impact of location (versus fibre type) on fashion's carbon emissions, Glossy investigates Tik Tok's role as a breeding ground for fashion trends and tighter budgets encourage brands to explore automation and other cost-cutting solutions.

Opportunities

• The Ethical Fashion Initiative is hiring a sustainability intern for 6 months.

• Lagos-based fashion development institution Lhaude Africa is now taking applications for its 5th intern cycle

• Lagos-based brand 1964 is looking for a creative intern

• Johannesburg-based recruiter seeks part-time/hybrid brand manager & content creator for fashion industry client

• African creative social media platform New Comma has a monthly fund offering African creatives across disciplines a one-time contribution of £100

• The 3rd edition of the Fashionomics Africa sustainable fashion contest is taking entries until the 31st of January

• South African craft & design entrepreneurs can apply for bespoke training, creative business mentorship & up to R23 000 in grant funding from the CDI's SCALE Programme until the 31st of January.