New footwear zone in Guangdong
The Chinese Leather Industry Information Center (CLIIC) has announced
that the largest zone for footwear production in Guangdong will be built
in Heshan. It is planned to invest US$60 million in an area of 6.7 million
square meters. The project will be carried out by the local government
which is interested in converting this project into a key element of the
local economy. China has four cities of importance in the footwear sector:
Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan and Fujian, with Guangzhou being the main
production area in Fujian. Footwear exports from this area amounted to
US$839 million in the first half of 2004, a figure which represents an
increase of 21.3% in volume and 19.4% in value compared to the same period
of 2003.
China relaxes regulations
Herewith a summary of the regulation changes for foreign companies operating in China as this country progresses in the implementation of its WTO obligations. Manufacturing companies can sell imported products as well as own production from December this year. Manufacturing JV's can sell imported products as well as own production immediately. New commercial enterprises can be set up to buy and re-sell in China. China has ratified new regulations that permit foreign companies to establish fully operational trading companies, that can buy and sell in China. These rules have been effective since 1st June 2004. As of 1st January 2005, import duties on foreign footwear will be reduced from the current 25% to 10%, within the framework of China's WTO obligations.
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Singapore: positive growth outlook
Singapore's economy is growing at its fastest rate since 1996, official figures have shown. The country's GDP was 11.7% higher in the second quarter of 2004 compared with the same period last year. Quarterly growth was up 9.1% on an annualized basis as manufacturing and service sectors saw double digit rises. The figures provide clear evidence of Singapore's recovery from last year's downturn, which was prompted by the outbreak of the SARS virus. The figures, based on preliminary data for April and May, represent Singapore's strongest growth since the first three months of 1996, when its GDP rose by 12.4%. Demand for footwear and clothing should increase as the recovery filters down to the retail level.
Hong Kong: Consumer confidence remains high
Hong Kong people are maintaining their confidence in Hong Kong according to the latest ACNielsen Consumer Confidence Index poll carried in the second quarter of 2004.. Despite the recent events in the social and political scenes, Hong Kong people's confidence in the future of their homeland has been challenged yet upheld, with the confidence index down from 84 score to 82 since January 2004. However it still counts as the second highest in the last three years, reveals the second round of 2004 ACNielsen Consumer Confidence Index, which polled 1,012 consumers in mid April. "The prevailing social and political debates seem to have aroused people's concern over the future of Hong Kong," says Ms Amy Lee, Associate Director, ACNielsen, Hong Kong. "However looking at the changes among the various confidence levels, it is not that bad."
Pakistan: changes in import and export laws sought
The Association of Producers and Exporters of Leather Garments of Pakistan (PLGMEA) has asked the government to modify the measures that govern imports and exports, so as to be able to cater for foreign demand in a more efficient manner. One of the main recommendations was the elimination of customs duties on leather imports, that the tax on the import of accessories for the manufacture of leather garments be suspended and that the structure of the Export Development Fund (EDF) be modified. At the same time the PLGMEA solicited early information on the amount they would receive from this body, in order to be able to plan their activities more in advance.
The China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) has recommended that the selling price of locally produced footwear should be increased if important profits were to be made from exports to international markets. The Association emphasized that even though exports were producing positive results, profits were down due to the increase in the price of raw materials.
New Zealand: increasing production
In June, footwear and leather featured amongst the main protagonists in the production record of the manufacturing sector in New Zealand. Exports were also up due to fresh orders from Australia, USA and China. Overall the economy grew by 2.3% in the first quarter of the year, beating analysts original forecasts.
Hanoi has reconsidered its dateline for entry into the WTO earmarked for 2005, based on doubts as to whether it could comply with entry requirements on time. In spite of this setback, Vietnam is demonstrating one the most solid economic growths in South East Asia. Recently, the Industry Ministry announced that profits accrued from the export of leather goods exports rose by 14.8% to US$1,290 million in the first half of 2004, consolidating the position of the country as the world's fourth largest exporter of leather goods. Its main markets are the European Union, which received 80% of such exports and the US. Western companies that have established themselves in Vietnam in recent years are pressurizing so that the country is freed from export quotas applied to its target markets.
Timberland picks SATRA for quality assurance
The British Technology Centre, SATRA, and the Timberland company, have
joined forces to improve the quality and consistency of raw materials
used by the latter company. The plan is to ensure that all raw materials
coming from around the world are subject to rigorous chemical and physical
testing. SATRA's personnel will travel so as to train the laboratory teams
necessary in the multiple suppliers of leather contracted by Timberland.
As soon as these laboratories reach the standards demanded by the company,
they will be accredited by SATRA. Phil Shaw of SATRA stated, "This is
an exciting development and represents one of the largest and most complete
programmes ever undertaken by SATRA". The target date for completion of
the project is in 2005.
Kingmaker will be more productive
Kingmaker Footwear Holdings, a Hong Kong manufacturer, will invest HK$50 million to improve its productive capacity by 10%, by opening six new plants in China and Vietnam. Profits of this company slumped by 15% in 2003.
Nike loses a 14 year court battle
A court in Barcelona, Spain, has ordered Nike to pay € 613,146 to the local sportswear company Iberica Exclusivas Deportivas (Cidesport) for a dispute that started 14 years ago, when Nike sued the Spanish company for alleged breach of contract.
Everlast Worldwide reaches more countries
The manufacturer of sporting goods and clothing, Everlast Worldwide Inc., has signed two new concessions with Stelux Watch Ltd and 24-7 International respectively, to sell bags in the US and watches in China and Hong Kong.
Sanwil expands
The Polish footwear manufacturer, Sanwil has decided to enter the Ukrainian market through the formation of a joint venture called Winisan, together with the local company Winiteks. Sanwil has also started negotiations to establish a manufacturing facility in Russia itself.
Pony pays homage to the Greats
Pony International has just announced the founding of the "Pony Hall of Fame". The idea is to pay homage to and honour athletes who have reached great heights and performed exceptionally during their careers.
Olympikus to the Olympics
The Brazilian footwear manufacturer Olympikus will provide footwear for the Brazilian delegation traveling to the Olympic Games in Athens. The teams chosen to wear the brand are those of track and field, volleyball, basketball and judo amongst others. Currently, Olympikus produces 180,000 pairs of sports shoes a day for 70 countries and is the largest footwear manufacturer in South America.
The Reebok Company has cancelled minimum purchase requirements at the suggestion of two important retail associations, the German VDS (German Sports Association) and FEDAS ( The European Association of Sporting Goods Retailers). "This is a good example of cooperation between the retail market and the global industry, an example that should be followed by other large manufacturers," affirmed Werner Haizmann, President of the VDS and FEDAS. At the same time, on 1st July this year, Beate Burzki-Renowitzki joined the Reebok sales team as Account Executive. Burzki-Renowitzki has wide long term sales experience gained at Puma. She was welcomed on to the team by Hans-Hermann Deters, General Manager of Reebok, Germany.
Even though its products have been available for quite some time in other countries, the Dutch clothing manufacturer Brunotti has finally arrived in Germany with its footwear collection. The distribution of Brunotti products in Germany will be run by the commercial agency Fred Kühlkamp.
New post in Schillig
Steve Bailey has been named vice president of the German upholstery manufacturer Schillig. This is a newly created position which Bailey will occupy for the first time.
Johnson Controls grows in China
Since Johnson Controls entered the Chinese automobile market in 1997, it has invested several million dollars, opened 12 units and won contracts for the supply of its products for various makes of cars and tractors. Its latest expansion plan is to invest US$8 million in a plant located near Shanghai.
The Malaysian company DK Leather Corp. Bhd, a specialist in automotive leathers, has sold DK-Schweizer Leather for US$130 million to the US firm Katzkin Leather Inc. Katzkin will distribute DK products in the US, and current clients of DK in this country are Proton, Hyundai, Perodua, Ford, Volvo, Mitsubishi and Honda.
| Japanese
Footwear Market – a free report Prepared by the Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd., this report is one of the most comprehensive currently available. This document can be obtained free-of-charge by submitting your request to the link below or by accessing the APLF Web Site www.aplf.com. Click here to solicit the report on the Japanese Footwear market, which will be sent directly to your e-mail inbox. |
Seventh edition of LeShow
From 6th to 8th July the fair for the leather industry, LeShow, was held
in Moscow. For the two days that the fair lasted, there was a good flow
of visitors to Halls 1 and 2 in the Krasnaya Presnaya Exhibition Center.
In this seventh edition there were 210 exhibitors in a 22 square meter
area, and in addition to the local Russian exhibitors there were companies
from Argentina, Spain, Italy, France, China and the U.K. The organizers
maintain that the popularity of LeShow is growing year on year with a
wide variety of colours, textures, original designs, accessories, quality
leathers and products which attracted the buyers, not to mention the well-organized
daily fashion shows.
Starter by Midec, a new footwear show
The
organizers of the Parisian fairs Midec and Mod'Amont, both events for
professionals in footwear fashion and components, have announced the launch
of a new show, Starter by Midec.
The first edition will be held in Paris from 28th to 31st January 2005
in the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and will be an opportunity for footwear
manufacturers to exhibit their collections for autumn-winter in the month
of January. Up to now shoe fairs in France normally take place in March
and there are companies that want to exhibit their new collections and
brands earlier in the season.
Pangaea LTD - serving the client
Pangaea LTD is a company acting as a distributor
in the leather sector but employs an innovative working method based on
permanent client service and transparency in its commercial operations.
Roberto Quiroga, Pangaea's
CEO
Even though the company as such is newly born, the key elements comprising
Pangaea have a long and solid experience. Roberto Quiroga, President of
Pangaea, clarified that the mission of the company is to provide an efficient,
transparent service for both suppliers and customers. "Our job is to solve
problems - he explained - and do this in an open way, so that both the
customer and the supplier know what is the profit margin which we receive
for our function as distributors".
Besides bringing buyers and sellers together, the company is developing
complete programmes covering following up production, as well as resolving
any problem that may occur within the production process itself. " What
we do is construct a programme, and when we identify a business opportunity,
we try to develop the product with a supplier that possesses the appropriate
characteristics", affirmed Quiroga. For his part, Peter Jordan, who is
responsible for quality control, added, " we don't finish when we unify
two points, but we apply ourselves in defining the article to be placed,
sell it to the factory and then manage all the steps from embarking the
shipment to final payment, since we pay the tannery and are also responsible
to the client in the case that some problem crops up.
Buenos
Aires Pangaea's team
The customer knows that we will respond. We are not just there for production
and embarkation with quality controls, but also we make it our business
to inform the customer who is the supplier with whom we are working".
At the moment the headquarters of Pangaea is in Hong Kong and it has other
offices in the Asia pacific region, as well as the USA and Argentina.
The team and the structure of services offered have received top marks
from such important world wide brands such as Reebok.
To explain this phenomenon Peter Jordan commented, " We have a tight policy
in the service field and an equally good one in the financial sector".
The company's activities a centered in South East Asia with clients from
various countries such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong
and Vietnam.
All
China Leather Exhibition (ACLE)
The
next edition of ACLE is due to take place from 1st - 3rd September in
the New International Expo Centre, Pudong, Shanghai, China. With more
and more attention shifting to Asia as the "workshop of the world", and
more specifically China, which is forecast to produce 60% of all footwear
by 2008, according to the Deutsche Bank report published in 2002, after
China's entry into the WTO in December 2001, the 2004 edition of ACLE
is set to be the biggest and most successful ever, both in terms of the
number of visitors and exhibitors.
At the 2003 fair, the number of visitors almost surpassed 12,500 - 30%
more than the 2002 edition, and a similar increase is expected this year.
So far, national pavilions from Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil,
Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, Korea and of course China amongst other, have
confirmed their participation at ACLE. More information at www.aplf.com
Polyurethane
From 18th – 20th October in Las Vegas the 2004 Polyurethane Conference. The aim is to present the latest information and trends related to polyurethane in th shoe industry. The use of automatic systems, the application of lightweight materials and production methods for reducing costs in an efficent and reliable way will all be covered.
