City supports sectors that drive demand

12 July 2019

Statement by the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunity and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos

Earlier today, I had the opportunity to visit the K-Way factory that is situated in Ottery to experience first-hand what goes on behind the scenes of this preferred brand. I must add that I am delighted that K-Way chose Cape Town as their home. K-Way is one of the world’s most popular manufacturers of high-end technical garments (technical refers to the type of fabrics and techniques used to manufacture the garments). This is a first and only one of its kind in South Africa.

K-Way is also known as the manufacturing arm of Cape Union Mart, Africa’s biggest outdoor retailer and a Cape Town institution since 1933. The local factory employs over 275 people, aged between 18 and 55, which is a community of people going back to many generations.

The City of Cape Town is committed to investing and supporting sectors that drive demand and makes business sense. The City provides about R10 million per annum in funding support to the clothing and textile sector, which is testament to our support for this important sector in the local economy. This includes the Craft and Design Institute, the Cape Town Fashion Council, CLOTEX, and the Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster.

Cape Town traditionally has a comparative advantage in clothing and textiles and the sector continues to employ over 24 734 people, with a recorded export value of over R3,5 billion in 2018, which means investing in this sector makes business sense.

Following on my previous engagements, I remain committed to providing my support to the clothing manufacturing sector by commissioning research to measure and analyse the economic contribution of Cape Town’s traditional CMT sector.

The research will be used to direct future City initiatives within the sector. In doing this, we can then make informed decisions about this sector.  This will also allow us to look at market trends and be in a position to anticipate changes in the market and come up with adequate proactive responses.

Cape Town is also home to various other leading home grown apparel businesses that include Prestige, Pep Clothing, Jacques Hau, Peter Blond, House of Monatic, GL Clothing, TCI Apparel, and Keedo.

I look forward to visiting these stakeholders and engaging with them to see how we can work together to overcome challenges, drive demand and ensure that these businesses continue to grow and thrive in Cape Town.

Cape Town is fast becoming the focal point of innovation in Africa, and with its numerous thinkers, innovators and design-led entrepreneurs, it was ranked as Africa’s most innovative city in the 2018 Innovation Cities Index. Cape Town is also positioned as the leading tech city in Africa.

Our competitive advantage in the innovation and technology spaces can be injected into the Clothing and Textile sector to take advantage of the opportunities in innovations in fashion technology, for example, smart fabric, virtual fitting rooms, and carbon fibre applications.

‘We’re proudly Cape Town. This city is one of the best places in the world for garment manufacturing. It’s the clothing manufacturing hub of Africa. The skill and ability of the people in this industry is impeccable,’ said K-Way General Manager, Bobby Fairlamb.

I reiterate, that Cape Town is the design hub in Africa, and we are open for business.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office