Cape Town – Parents say they are forking out almost a third more on school clothes and stationery this year, with many spending more than R1 500 on school uniforms.
“And we are not done yet. You have to budget for this. You make a plan and you will just have to adjust,” said Phumeza Damana, who went to the School & Leisure branch in Tyger Valley to buy schoolwear for her daughter, who starts Grade 2.
Damana was one of many parents who rushed to shopping malls to do last-minute shopping for uniforms and stationery.
She says she has spent about R1 500 on her child’s schoolwear.
“I have probably spent about R500 to R800 more on school things this year.”
At School & Leisure, blazers were priced at about R500 and jerseys at about R200.
Lucas Mhangadla, from Kraaifontein, who shopped for his 6-year-old daughter, said: “It will be her first day of school, so we had to buy everything new. I keep asking why this is all so expensive.
“I spent R540 on a tracksuit, but we still have to get her dress and the rest of her uniform. Her jersey will cost R230 and it will probably cost me R1 300 in total. This is a big expense.”
At the Ackermans store in Parow, Natalie Koopman, of Bishop Lavis, said she would spend nearly R500 on stationery and new shirts for her two children.
Buying shirts for them at Ackermans had cost her R200, she said.
“It is a lot more this year, about 30 percent more. I didn’t buy all new things because the school dress I bought for my daughter, I bought at a bigger size, so the only things they really need are stationery, new shirts and shoes, and I budgeted properly for this year.”
She expected to spend an additional R700 on other items.
At the PEP store in Parow Centre, there were long queues at counters as parents grabbed the last school shirts and shoes on sale.Store manager Mariam Cupido described the run-up to tomorrow as “mad”.
“Last year it was exactly the same. We always have people rushing in for last-minute shopping. Prices have indeed increased, I can’t say by how much, but they have increased.
"However, our school things are the cheapest, we are selling some school shirts for R16.95,” she said.
Shopper Joan Karstens, who was accompanied by her two grandchildren, said: “The things we have to buy are a lot, and I have seen a year-on-year increase. You have to go and try to find a bargain.”
She said they would also spend about R1 500 on school items.
School & Leisure and Ackermans stores’ management would not comment on the increase in prices.
Cape Times