JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — St. Leger & Viney, a well-known upper end fabric wholesaler and brand is broadening its own collection to include more of the market in South Africa according to David Ralphs, Principal and MD. “We’re trying to be more efficient in what we do and we feel that we are poised for growth,” he says. In addition to its own branded collections, St. Leger & Viney also represents several high end lines sold through sampling. This is the second important part of the business. “We are now embracing three million consumers instead of just one million,” Ralphs explains about his focus on the portion of the 54 million South African population. The new collection is called ‘Salon Prive’ for the emerging middle class in a price range of $20-$40 a meter.  “The style for this market is geared to more glitz than our typical English looks,” Ralphs says. “We created an international look at a local price,” says Nicholas Stavrinos, the design director. St. Leger is also putting more money into window fabrics for this emerging middle class market. The normal range for St. Leger & Viney is in the $50-$160 category, he says. Ralphs tries to limit his purchases to 200-meter minimums per color with his suppliers. “The weakness of the Rand has been a problem for us because it has been devalued about 30 percent for the last two years but we have been able to offset this devaluation with increased sales,” he says. The company has showrooms in Joberg, Capetown and Durban with agents in three other areas “and we’d like more agents if possible,” Ralphs says. Ralphs purchased St. Leger & Viney from Gary Searles and other investors in 2013. Ralphs has a business background with eight years in the Milan fashion business prior to buying the company. “I knew Gary for 30 years so when he decided to move to Canada, St. Leger & Viney was called to my attention as an unexpected opportunity. First we bought out Gary’s partners and after that we purchased Gary’s shares over an 18-month period.” Searles is now the Vice President of Sales for Kravet in Canada, a position he filled when he left South Africa.