What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
Pep keeps prices, opens new academies
Pep has announced that despite the worldwide increase in cotton and polyester prices, it will be holding its prices on as many schoolwear items as possible, particularly for entry level uniforms, during this 'back-to-school' period. With price increases, some retailers may be tempted to lower quality standards and resort to cheaper fabrics to keep prices down, however it will not do so and the quality and standard will remain.
It has also warned parents against misleading labelling on products that masquerade as leather when in fact they are imitations, particularly shoe products that carry 'bonded leather' labels. 'Bonded leather' does not have the same quality level as real leather and products are unlikely to last as long as real leather items. Legislation is being introduced this year to combat the problem but not before the current rush to get school clothes and shoes.
Merchandise director Sean Cardinaal says, "We think it's important that people understand what they are buying. Bonded leather is made up of leather fibres and is a by-product of the leather tanning industry, it looks like leather but its resilience, comfort and health properties are not the same as genuine leather. Parents should check the labels and be sure of what they are buying or they will be disappointed. The new legislation will help protect consumers but it will be a few months before this legislation can be enforced.
"The whole world is in turmoil over escalating cotton and polyester prices and while our suppliers are sourcing raw materials from other parts of the world, the shortage of supply has forced the prices to rise. We are just pleased that we were able to hold our prices on cotton and polyester goods for this next 'back-to-school' period."
Buying tips for uniforms
- Feel the fabric - is it heavy enough and does it feel strong yet comfortable?
- Check the zipper - is it going to be reliable again and again?
- Check the seam allowances - is there enough room to let them out as your child grows during the year?
- If there is a stain resistant claim, does it have the Teflon logo?
- Does the shirt have a spare button?
- Is the pocketing and waistband lining of good quality or will it tear after a few washes?
- Is it a brand you know you can trust?
- Can you replace the items if you need to at any time of the year (does the retailer stock the items year round)?
More Pep academies
As the organisation's flagship corporate social investment initiative, the Student Prince Academy helps provide the building blocks of education literacy and numeracy to Grade 4 learners, worth about R600 000 per year.
Late last year, the company ran a competition to give one Soweto school an academy. Such was the quality of schools that applied that it decided to give the prize to two schools - Freedom Primary School and Dikgabane Primary School.
This year it will launch two academies in Bloemfontein schools - Matal Primary School and Kgato Primary School, who join the other five academies around the country to bring the number of academies to nine.
The academies give around 1 485 children after school core competence training in literacy, numeracy and life skills on three afternoons a week. While the children are being given this supplementary education, they kept off the street and given a meal in a safe environment. The initiative has been fully endorsed by the Department of Education. Tests show that learners enrolled in the Student Prince Academies programme have improved numeracy scores by an average of 20 and literacy scores by an average of 29 percentage points.
