Brands welcome FDRA forecast as footwear sourcing options widen
13/08/2013
Key findings from the forecast include the prediction that footwear costs will continue to rise, but less dramatically. FDRA has the average price of a pair of shoes in US retail stores rose by 5.7% in 2012, going through the $10 threshold for the first time. This followed an increase of 10.2% in 2011. Overall, it predicts imports of footwear to the US will grow in value from $23.4 billion in 2012 to $29.6 billion in 2017.
China provided 84% of all shoes imported into the US in 2012. China’s share of the US footwear market has been higher; FDRA has said the figure represents a halt in 2012 to “years of continued loss of market share”. FDRA president, Matt Priest, said that projections for 2013 indicate that imports into the US of Chinese-made shoes are up by 2%, but he also pointed to major increases in the market share of “non-traditional footwear producing countries”, which he said was an indication that the range of sourcing options for US footwear brands to consider was widening.
The report says Vietnam will continue to gain market share. In 2012, manufacturers in Vietnam wre responsible for 8% of all the footwear imported into the US but FDRA has said this will increase to 14% of imports by value and 12% by volume by 2017.
“Footwear sourcing challenges remain a major concern for the industry in terms of higher prices, shortages in labour, increased compliance costs, and unstable consumer demand,” said Greg Tunney, chairman of FDRA and chief executive of R.G. Barry Brands. “This is especially true in China, the industry’s leading provider of footwear. FDRA’s forecast is extremely helpful to companies as we try to develop effective sourcing strategies and explore options beyond China.”
Matt Priest, said he believed the forecast would challenge conventional thinking in the industry and help footwear companies think more critically about current and future sourcing issues. “It will also give them the data and analysis they need to increase competitiveness, even in an uncertain environment,” he added.
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