Vice President Of Ecuador Reiterates Control Of Imports Of Shoes

Ecuador vice president Jorge Glas said the government began to take measures to control the import of footwear products to maintain 100 thousand domestic employment opportunities.

President Rafael Correa announced that since January 15th, tariffs on imported shoes have been raised to 21%.

The move has attracted criticism from Ecuador's trading partners, including Columbia.

In an interview with broadcast media recently,

It can bring 100 thousand jobs directly and indirectly to the country.

"We now produce more than 36 million pairs of shoes per year," the vice president explained. "In 1980s, this figure is 20 million, but if the WTO dropped to 8 million pairs,"

He said that the only way to develop footwear industry in Ecuador is to impose import duties.

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According to data released yesterday by the Hongkong tourism board, the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong in March has plummeted by 45%.

In addition, the number of group visitors to Hong Kong is much reduced by 80%.

The government of Hongkong believes that the drop in sentiment of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong has led to a decline in the flow of tourists to Hong Kong.

Tourists are the main target group of retail sales in Hongkong, so retailers have been significantly affected during this period.

It is reported that Hongkong fashion products sales performance continued to slump, of which jewellery and other precious commodities sales all showed a two digit decline.

In fact, the shrinkage of Hongkong's retail industry has long been a clue. In January, Hongkong officials released data that the sales volume of retailers dropped by 14.6% in the same period last year. In February, the sale of Zhou Dafu's jewellery, Sasa's beauty chain and so on, the first time in the golden week holidays, fell in Hongkong.

In addition, sales of clothing products also declined.

Analysis shows that Chanel's price cut in China since mid March has stimulated retail sales in Hongkong, but has not reversed the overall retail situation.

Meanwhile, Japan and Korea, which are also very close to the mainland, are becoming more popular shopping destinations.

The sale is too cold, which directly leads to further pressure on retail rents in Hongkong.

According to foreign media reports, some luxury retailers in Hongkong have begun bargaining on store rentals, hoping to renew them at around 15% off, otherwise they will move away.

Analysts believe that luxury retailers act directly to save costs, and the rental of prime locations in Hongkong has always been very expensive.

In fact, most small retail businesses in Hongkong have shrunk in 20%-30% since last year.

Compressing rent is a way to save costs.

In this regard, Yang Dayun, President of UTA Fashion Management Group, said that the drop in sales of luxury retail industry marked the decline of Hongkong's trade status and the impact will be long-term. More mainland port cities will become the new focus of foreign trade.

With the development of the mainland free trade zone and the promotion of the global price integration strategy of the major luxury brands, the price advantage of Hongkong's retail industry will no longer exist. In the face of rich overseas shopping choices such as Japan and South Korea, "consumers will make their own judgments".