The value of the yuan
Speculation about the revaluation of the yuan has been rife in recent weeks. After months of pressure from the US Federal Reserve, the Governor of the Bank of China finally spoke about and assured the markets that there were no obstacles to stop this reform going ahead.
The Credit Suisse First Boston Bank, however, maintains that such a measure would complicate business for companies in the textile sector, as well as for footwear and component manufacturers. The CSFB estimates that the floating of the yuan on the foreign exchange markets would increase its value form 8.3 per dollar established in 1995, to 4.35 per dollar. However, this is also only speculation. It is also calculated that the abolition of quotas by the WTO will help mitigate any revaluation, were it to happen.
Australia: looking to increase exports
The Australian government has approved a strategic investment programme aimed at promoting the footwear industry, clothing and textile industries. The total approved amounts to US$447.5 million. The objectives of this programme include the updating of technology and certain structural readjustments which will improve productivity. Australian Minister of Commerce, Mark Vaile, was optimistic about the future of Australian exports which reached US$152,500 millions in 2004. He also stated that “it is the right moment for Australia to open negotiations on free trade with China”.
Argentina: an award that is a landmark
The prize awarded to an Argentinean leather goods manufacturer at the recent Asia Pacific Leather Fair was of great satisfaction for the local industry as a whole. This distinction was awarded by the prize jury of APLF to the By Dyms Company Srl for the “Collection of Maximum Quality”, and highlights the work that has been done by the leather goods sector in Argentina in recent years. The aim was to climb the international ladder of quality in both manufacture and design, and thus complement the internationally recognized quality of Argentinean leathers.
India: State support
The Indian government has established a special fund to promote traditional industries such as the leather and artisan industry. It will be launched in 2005 or 2006 and it is estimated that the investment will be for almost US$7 million.
European Union: Spain - main purchaser of Chinese footwear
The customs office of the Chinese region of Fujian has revealed that European countries, especially Spain, were the main buyers of locally manufactured footwear. In January and February 2005, this province exported a total of 53.4 million pairs to Europe for a value of US$150 million. This figure represents an increase of 19.82% compared to the same period a year ago.
Turkey: good exports to the United Arab Emirates (UEA)
In 2004, Turkish footwear, luggage, accessories and leather exports reached US$150 million. Of this total, US$40 million were sold to countries in the Middle East, with the most prolific buyer being the UAE.
Uruguay: ups and downs
In the first quarter of the year, the number of cattle making up the Uruguayan national herd increased slightly by $.6%, to 557,437 head, while the price of rawhides also fell slightly at the same time.
A new name in Stahl Asia Pacific
Rodney
Hammond has been promoted to the Executive Vice President of Stahl Asia
Pacific and also appointed as Executive Director of Stahl Asia Pte Ltd.
He joined Stahl in October 2004 as Regional Sales and Marketing Director
for the Asia Pacific region. Now he will have the responsibility of expanding
and pushing forward the company and be in charge of the Stahl companies
in the region. Rodney was trained for the industry at the National Leather
Sellers College in London and has held positions of responsibility in
the leather and chemical industries both in the US and Europe.
Shafi Reso exhibits
Shafi Reso Chem Pakistan recently organized an event called Innovative Leather Showcase 2005 for its customers from Karachi, Lahore y Sialkot. New products and developments by the company were on show. The topics of conversation during the show were fashion trends and innovations, which were discussed by the professionals invited and the staff of Shafi Reso.
Phoenix acquires Chambers
The US company, Phoenix Footwear Group has signed an agreement to purchase Chambers belt Company, which manufacturers not only belts but accessories for men and women. Phoenix paid US$21.5 million for the company’s shares and the two companies will be merged when the buying operation is completed.
Anti Infection leather
Dutch based Rompaleder has developed together with the German company Rebac, a method to apply anti infection products to shoe leather. Executives from both companies assured us that this system can be used on any type of leather, as well as boots and military footwear, sports shoes, casual styles or security footwear.
New development at Bayer
Bayer Material Science AG has developed a system to produce low density polyurethane called Bayflex Safety Lightweight, which will allow security footwear to weigh 30% less. Bayer is certain that an additional advantage is that manufacturing costs will decrease and that an antistatic treatment can be used on the soles to protect employees working in environments with electromagnetic discharges.
New footwear from Johnson Golf Brands
Johnson Golf Brands has launched a new line of golf shoes designed for the northern spring in 2005. The collection includes three waterproof models which are guaranteed to be very comfortable. The company was founded in 2004 by two golf veterans, Donald and Kevin Johnson.
Lanxess with fashion
Lanxess Deutschland GMBH has exhibited at the recent fairs it attended the leathers that will be in fashion for Spring-Summer 2006. Experts from the company’s leather sector cooperated with Italian designers to produce a collection of 21 leather articles, five for furniture and the remainder for footwear, which are normally faithful representations of seasonal fashion trends.
Foot Locker donates shoes
The New York based company, Foot Locker, has donated 68,500 pairs of shoes for the Save the Children Fund for Indonesia. “The tsunami disaster surprised us all and impacted so many people that the company considered that it had a responsibility to provide aid”, company President Matthew D. Serra said.
Brown Shoe buys Bennett Footwear
Brown Shoe Company completed the acquisition of Bennett Footwear Holdings, a company that designs and sells womens shoes. The transaction was worth US$205 million. Bennett’s brands include Via Spiga, Franco Sarto, Etienne Aigner and Nickels Soft, and are mainly sold in large US chain stores.
The WSA continues with GES
The World Shoe Association (WSA) has extended its contract with GES Exhibition Services until 2009, as the previous contract expired this year. The WSA will organize two events a year with GES and explained that they decided to continue using their services since they were very satisfied with the results achieved under the earlier contract.
Conflict in the German squad
The German soccer team is suffering from some problems. Some of its players have a conflict since some of their personal sponsors are not the same as that of the national team. But the squad’s trainer, Juergen Klinsmann, recently threatened to remove players from the national squad who refused to wear buttons of the German manufacturer, Adidas, the official sponsor of the German Football Federation. The message of the national coach was in response to a decision by the Association of Football Professionals backing the 12 players involved in this situation.
Good news from Reebok
Reebok’s net income grew from US$41 million in the in the first quarter of 2004, to US$42 million in the same period 2005. Sales grew by 11% to US$925 million. The company stated that a good part of the results were due to the marketing campaign using the Rap Star 50 cents as protagonist.
Change of focus at Adidas
Adidas announced that although Malaysia is currently its main market in South East Asia, it plans to replace it by India, a country where the company hopes that sales will quadruple in the next three years. The company calculates that in 2005, business with this country will grow by 20%.
Relocalization
Italian companies are still looking to manufacture in other countries. Two from the upholstery sector have now announced plans to do just that. Natuzzi plans to inaugurate its first tannery in South America in 2006 and Nicoletti confirmed the purchase of a plant in China.
Change of President
Ronna Griest, president of Expressions Custom Furniture and Passementerie of Century Furniture, a company that manufacturers upholstered furniture, has just decided to leave the company and the post she occupied.
The third edition of the “Interior Motives Design Awards 2005” competition began with the aim of highlighting the importance of design in vehicles and to promote young artists who are working in the sector. The prize of US$9000 will be awarded on September 14th in Frankfurt. The winner will be selected by a jury of renowned designers.
New Line
Southern Furniture will unveil in a few weeks an upholstery collection with exclusive designs. The company hopes that the new line will make an impact on the market place.
Now open for business!
Scott Davis, the creator and owner of the recently formed company Luke Leather, personally launched himself into the sales drive of medium priced Italian upholstery leather in a US store.
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APLF 2005 - maintaining its leadership
The 2005 edition of the Asia Pacific Leather Fair took place in April
and covered all areas of the global leather industry. There were more
than 2,600 exhibitors and a total of 44.810 visitors attended to visit
Materials, Manufacturing & Technology as well as Fashion Access. With
both events being held at the same time, the visitor is given a complete
overview of the industry - from supplying the raw materials to the finished
article made from quality leather. Business transacted and the information
generated by the fair make it a must exhibit event for professionals throughout
the world. www.aplf.com
Bologna
- in the shadow of the euro
Lineapelle and Simac held at the end of April in Bologna we characterized
by the European monetary crisis caused by the effective revaluation of
the euro. This reality caused a drop in visitors and business done at
the event. On the other hand, some people attribute this to the proximity
of the dates of the APLF fair in Hong Kong. Many people did not show up
at all and those who did made just a brief visit. Some stands were left
empty on the third day. The event, however, still attracted new trends
in leather and technology. The main activity was done in the business
of sport and casual footwear, with more emphasis on high quality products.
Machines for footwear and leather goods manufacturers attracted the professionals
of the sector as always. For Amilcare Baccini, Director of Assomac,”
Simac closed leaving the operators in the sector with clear signs of confidence”.
Fashion
First:
At the forefront of a changing industry
Making
competitive prices trendy.
Following a round of discussions with major industry associations, the
Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd, announce that the second edition of the
Fashion First exhibition will be held in Brussels from 10-12 January 2006.
Fashion First will present a renewed selection of cutting edge manufacturers
of footwear and related fashion accessories, from the world's leading
production bases, to satisfy Europe's demand for competitively priced
goods. "Europe and Asia have much to gain from closer cooperation.
The strategically placed Fashion First exhibition provides direct access
to European retail and distribution channels, whilst encouraging partnerships
between Asian and European companies in key areas like manufacturing,
logistics and marketing. Major industry associations see the development
of this growing and targeted trade event very favourably, which is unique
in giving Asian exporters an equal footing in the European marketplace"
says Michael Duck, director of APLF, the organisers. www.fashion1st.com
SPECIAL
REPORT
Stahl
International - Global reach in a global industry
Leather
Press’ interview with Peter Jessop, Stahl’s Leather Finish
Liaison Manager, was very informative. To contextualize the interview
for our readers, the background on Stahl can be found on the company’s
web site www.stahl.com
Leather Press’s opening question to Mr. Jessop was “where
is the leather industry going in the next five or six years?” Not
an easy question by any means and probably requiring multiple answers
and considerations, but on balance Mr. Jessop highlighted the importance
of China in its own “superleague” as well as India as vital
markets for Stahl to continue developing and consolidating. The Indian
market is growing in importance for the company and Stahl now has its
own manufacturing plant in Southern India.
The shift of manufacturing to China in the last five to six years had
been very pronounced, according to Mr. Jessop, and he sees this transition
slowing down somewhat in the coming years after the initial move by the
industry to the Asian giant.
In order to judge the performance of the industry, Mr Jessop uses machinery
and plant sales as a barometer, which reflect investment and planned expansion
both in tannery and footwear manufacturing units. He commented that in
the last three to four years, sales of such capital equipment had been
tailing off in Mexico for various reasons, one of which was contraband
footwear coming into Mexico from China, probably via the US, and claiming
market share at the expense of local Mexican manufacturers. Mr. Jessop
had also observed that the machinery on show in León this year
had not been sold in contrast to previous occasions.
Even though there are clear signs that the Mexican leather industry is
in decline after the first heady years of exports to the US within the
framework of the NAFTA, there is also an improvement in the quality of
the finished leather being produced in Mexico, which Mr. Jessop regards
as a positive sign. This will also help Mexican tanneries increase their
exports as they become more competitive in terms of quality, and even
more so if the Mexican peso weakens on the international currency markets,
giving all Mexicans exports more of a competitive edge.
Stahl concentrates a great deal of its resources on R + D to develop new
products. Stahl International’s R + D department looks longer term
and specializes on new technologies, whereas local R + D facilities will
actually develop products tailored for local market conditions and demands
based on feedback from customers via sales technicians. Obviously, before
investing in the development of a new “local” product, the
Stahl sales technician has to have some idea of the potential demand within
his sales area.
As part of its global business strategy, Stahl promotes the company and
its products using local and international leather fairs as a platform.
These activities ensure that the Stahl image, customer oriented strategies
and personalized contacts with the industry are rigourosly maintained
on an on-going basis - a vital component in what is still a “people
business”, even in this 21st technological century with the leather
industry itself being reoriented towards Asia and South America, based
on the latest objective information available.
To contact Mr. Jessop his e-mail is Peter.Jessop@stahl.com
