Summer blues

The months of July and August are for many a slack season in leather industry terms with vacations in Europe and few events of note in the calendar. However, it has been my privilege for many years to attend the annual dinner of the Fellmongers Association in the UK. As with many sectors in Europe, numbers have fallen in recent years, but there is still a reasonable turnout from the UK fellmongers and hides and skins markets. There is even the occasional tanner and overseas visitor. Two items in recent issues of Leather were the subject of comment. One was in appreciation of our very own Sam Setter; the other a howl of protest against the contributor of our UK and Ireland report in the raw materials section. In our time honoured tradition we have given SHALTA the right to reply to the questioning of their value to the trade in which I admit was an unwarranted attack on an association which works hard for its members. Other topics of conversation revolved around the purchase of Holmes Halls by some of their major creditors, the machinery still for sale in the deserted premises of the British Leather Company and the current situation at Connollys where the business is under close scrutiny by the man who restructured Pearce Pebody and relieved some of the management of their duties. Pearce have since announced they are to cease production. Traditionally, August is the time for our survey of the US leather industry. Times are tough and the industry has seen many closures, mergers and bankruptcies in the past couple of years. Many shoe production lines are reported as lying idle in China and this has had a knock on effect down the line for upper leather tanners. On the up side, there is still a strong demand for leather upholstery both for furniture and the automotive industry. The centre of the US furniture industry is currently turning out 25% of output with a leather content, Some years ago this would have been a low 3-4%. The shoe industry in the states has been described as drowning in a sea of sameness. With the demise of all the individual manufacturers who also supplemented their lines with imported designs, the footwear selection lost its variety. As a result buyers bypassed homegrown footwear and sourced directly from China. But even China is feeling the pinch.