Vietnam proves an able rival to China as it takes market share for footwear
01/08/2014
“Just a few years ago, some sourcing experts questioned if Vietnam were a real alternative to China for footwear production due to the lack of capacity,” said FDRA president Matt Priest. “Questions have been answered as Vietnam continues to produce more and more footwear for US consumers.”
Vietnamese exports to the US rose 20% in 2013 and it now supplies 10% of US needs. Exports from China fell 9% - although 80% of shoes still originate there.
The association’s newly published 2014 Footwear Sourcing Assessment contains double the analysis of last year’s because “challenges are greater and evolving more quickly”, according to Mr Priest.
“One of the interesting things we did this year was both a 10,000 foot view of footwear production at a global level and a one page analysis for seven countries of interest to our members,” he said. “These country profiles include information on surveys of members and quotes from executives to help explain what is happening in that country related to footwear.”
Tariffs and rising costs in the supply chain are pushing companies to source more from inner China and in non-traditional footwear production countries to keep costs low.
Cambodia and Ethiopia are also growing significantly. “Although from a small base, footwear exports continue to show strong growth out of emerging countries like Cambodia and Ethiopia,” added Mr Priest. “Imports grew 60% and 140% from these two countries respectively.”
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