New shoe factories are not like switching lights on or off
A senior figure in the global footwear industry, William Wong, has said he has received a spate of calls from US-based brands following the tariff announcement of April 2.
Hong Kong-based Mr Wong, who is president of the Global Footwear Sustainability Summit and a consultant to the Hong Kong Footwear Association, has told the Wall Street Journal that callers want to know where they can turn to for footwear sourcing to avoid the heaviest blows the new tariff regime will deliver.
He mentioned the Philippines and African countries as places brands are interested in. But he said Asian outsource footwear manufacturers are reluctant to invest in new operations there.
He explained that it would take years to build up a big enough production base in these countries to meet the needs of US brands. Setting up a large-scale manufacturing business is “not like switching on or off the lights”, Mr Wong told the newspaper.
