Wenzhou Shoe Companies Enhance Design Capabilities To Fight Emerging Markets

According to the statistics of Wenzhou customs, in the first seven months of this year, 394 million pairs of shoes exported to Wenzhou were worth $1 billion 960 million, representing an increase of 33.51% and 33.2% over the same period last year, of which 79 million pairs were exported in July, the highest monthly value since Customs Statistics, and a record high after June.

Since March of this year, the monthly export volume of shoes in Wenzhou has maintained a growth rate of 4 consecutive months, and the export average price has increased for 4 consecutive months. With the gradual recovery of the world economy, the export of shoes in Wenzhou has recovered and exceeded the level before the financial crisis. Since the beginning of spring this year, the export of shoes enterprises in Wenzhou has become increasingly busy. They have recruits to expand their production capacity to meet customers' needs. The shortage of skilled workers has emerged again. Many enterprises have reflected that too many orders can't be completed, and some orders have to be abandoned.

Wenzhou shoe companies enhance their design capabilities

Pan Jianzhong, general manager of giant one group Co., Ltd., said that the group's shoe design ability often surprises the international purchasing giants such as America, Poland, CCC and Spain ZARA. The value of export in May is close to US $10 million.

In the first half of this year, European and American enterprises were in intensive replenishment during the first half of this year, which made the comparison of data in the same period very bright. From the perspective of the distribution of export trade, the EU is still the largest market for shoes exports in Wenzhou, and exports to the United States and Croatia countries are growing rapidly. In the first seven months, the Wenzhou region exported 131 million pairs of shoes to the EU, an increase of 20.5%, accounting for 33.2% of the total exports of shoes in Wenzhou in the same period, 42 million pairs of exports to the United States, 85.3% growth, 22 million pairs of exports to Russia, an increase of 41.7%, and 30 million pairs of Croatia export shoes, an increase of 96.2%.

Jin Jianfeng, deputy director of the textile and light Export Department of Wenzhou entry exit inspection and Quarantine Bureau, said that the competitiveness of Wenzhou's leading shoe enterprises is mainly reflected in the direct access to the consumer terminals to accurately and timely access to consumer market information, complete industrial chain support and product structure of regional advantages.

The export of high-end shoes is decreasing.

In the case of limited external demand recovery, the relatively high price of leather products has been discouraged by some foreign buyers. The proportion of leather shoes representing high-end products in Wenzhou shoes exports has gradually decreased. In the first five months, the export of leather shoes accounted for 17.07% of the total value of Wenzhou's footwear exports, down 1.71 percentage points from the same period last year, 7.35 percentage points lower than the same period in 2008.

Li Haijun, manager of storage and Transportation Department of AOKANG import and Export Co., said that since the second half of last year, they felt the pressure gradually. AOKANG's development of the European market has always been targeted at high-end shoes. However, in recent months, the amount of GEOX that has maintained cooperation with AOKANG has been declining for a long time, and the fluctuation of GEOX orders has caused AOKANG to shrink a lot in the European market.

"Before the guests bought shoes, there are 80% genuine leather, 20%PU (leather), but now under the pressure of local consumption level, the purchase proportion of leather and PU shoes has just collapsed." Xu Xiaodong, director of the foreign trade department of Zhejiang shemet shoe industry Co., Ltd., said that he had participated in the latest issue of the Canton Fair. He was very helpless for the shrinking of the European market. "At present, we can only try to maintain the market and retain some old customers."

Wenzhou customs officials said that at present, the developed countries have not yet fully recovered from the financial crisis, and the recovery of external demand is not yet stable. At the same time, the outbreak of the Greek debt crisis has triggered a series of economic problems, which will greatly reduce the pace of economic recovery in the euro area. As expectations for the future are not clear, and the appreciation of the renminbi is expected, the buyer's wait-and-see mentality is obvious. Foreign buyers have adopted the order splitting method, which has led to an increase in short-term orders this year. Because of the spin off of orders, foreign buyers have more convenience and opportunity to replace suppliers. At present, China's main export competitors such as Indonesia, Vietnam and India have been in a favorable position in the competition with China's footwear exports because of their cheaper labor cost advantages. {page_break}

Wenzhou shoe enterprises switch to emerging markets

Although the EU is still the largest market for shoes exports in Wenzhou, its anti-dumping duty is still a major obstacle to Wenzhou's leather shoes. In January this year, the EU decided to extend anti-dumping duties on leather shoes imported from China and Vietnam for a period of 15 months.

Deng Yunshou, business manager of the giant shoe industry Co., Ltd. said that the giant leather shoes exported to the EU had dropped from 15% of the total share to below 10%. Because the EU's anti-dumping duties are mainly aimed at China and Vietnam, some international purchasing giants have transferred genuine leather shoes to Malaysia, India and other places.

The EU's high barriers are forcing Wenzhou shoe companies to firmly grasp the major markets such as the United States. Huang Wanyi, deputy general manager of Dongyi shoes industry Co., Ltd., said that unlike the previous one in the EU market, Dongyi gradually increased its development and achieved results in the US market.

On the other hand, the resumption of exports of Wenzhou shoes to Russia and Ukraine is also beginning to see the dawn. It is reported that after the closure of the Cheel Guizo J market, many shoe traders in Wenzhou have moved to Russia to stay in such a large market. According to past experience, the peak season for delivery will be welcomed in the second half of the year.

For the ASEAN emerging markets with high hopes, leather products are relatively high-end, while the consumption capacity of ASEAN market needs to be cultivated. However, Kangnai and other Wenzhou shoe companies have already started testing water in ASEAN and opened a store in Vietnam. Before the Malaysia Wenzhou China Famous Products Fair held in, more than 160 enterprises entered the ASEAN Member States, many of them shoe companies.