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ent from Canada into the Italian market last year.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The first Expo Riva Middle East show, held in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in January, proved positive for the 13 Brazilian companies that exhibited at th
onths.
AUSTRALIA
K-9 Concepts, Inc. has completed its acquisition of 100% of the outstanding membership interests of Australian casual footwear company Aussie Soles International LLC. The new company intends to build itself into
yor of the city, Jair Foscarini, is analysing the proposal, which includes a request that the city authorities provide premises for the new factory. The company says it would use the new facility to produce footwear for different brands, startin
get for the programme will be around $50 million. The minister said half of this would go into a federal government fund while the other half would be in the hands of state governments throughout the country. He said the most likely use of
r this year remains positive. Currency-adjusted global brand sales grew more than 3% to reach
€
2.7 billion, even brand sales in euros fell slightly. Footwear sales climbed 1.9% on a comparable basis to reach
€
1,477.9 million.
FRANCE
The
that sat just outside the collection of fashion events known as ‘Paris Capitale de la Création’, which yearly draws around 600,000 buyers. The next time Midec is held, in September, it will form part of this mega-event.
ITALY
Sports brand
nce in March. They have predominantly blue uppers to match Italy’s colours, but have an amazing design on the sole. Inspired by the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican, the boots depict the creation of mankind from one of Miche
n of Le Marche has revealed that it invited the Russian delegation to travel south after the exhibition to attend a special workshop on local footwear offerings in a famous monastery in Fiastra. The Russian market has become one of the mo
h general elections in Spain. The opening day of the fairs, Friday, March 7 attracted 1,500 more visitors than the corresponding day last year. The organisers, Ifema, believe that this pattern repeated itself on the middle day, Saturday, leavin
ll picture for the industry looks far from positive. According to the latest figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, year-to-date exports for the first seven months of the fiscal calendar (July 2007 to January 2008) fell 2.3% to 7.9 m
ntry. Bata, which currently has 237 retail outlets in Bangladesh, has announced that it will open 40 new stores in the course of this year. And rival Apex Adelchi has said it will open 20 new outlets to add to the 70 it has already.
CHINA
W
ong-based Yue Yuen Industrial and owned by Yue Yuen’s parent company, Pou Chen Group of Taiwan—is now around $210 a month. The average footwear worker’s monthly wage in the area is $135. There are 27,000 people working at th
w selling our footwear to Costco, this is untrue,” said Ron Snyder, Crocs president and chief executive, in a statement. “We have not sold Crocs-branded products to Costco nor have we authorised any of our customers to sell our products
a, with leather footwear—along with wine—leading factors in the growth east-to-west. The government office said the two nations traded goods worth ?5.6 billion in 2007, an increase of 12.4% on the year before. Canadian imports of Itali
e United Arab Emirates in January, proved positive for the 13 Brazilian companies that exhibited at the event, generating a possible $8 million-worth of business. According to a report published by the Arab Brazilian News Agency (ANBA)
asual footwear company Aussie Soles International LLC. The new company intends to build itself into a “globally known brand of footwear and accessories for the fashion, surf, travel, and medical industries”.
BRAZIL
A footwear manuf
factory. The company says it would use the new facility to produce footwear for different brands, starting with 1000 pairs per day and 200 workers.
MEXICO
Mexico’s economy minister, Eduardo Sojo, has confirmed in a radio interview th
ther half would be in the hands of state governments throughout the country. He said the most likely use of the money would be to construct modern business parks to house new and existing manufacturing firms.
GERMANY
German athlet
ros fell slightly. Footwear sales climbed 1.9% on a comparable basis to reach
€
1,477.9 million.
FRANCE
The new organisers of the Midec footwear event in Paris have declared themselves satisfied with the latest edition of the Paris event in
yers. The next time Midec is held, in September, it will form part of this mega-event.
ITALY
Sports brand Le Coq Sportif has designed a new boot for the captain of Italy’s national rugby team, Sergio Parisse. The Number 8, who was act
y the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican, the boots depict the creation of mankind from one of Michelangelo’s paintings there.
RUSSIA
The impressive delegation of Russian footwear buyers attending the Micam exhibition in Mila
on local footwear offerings in a famous monastery in Fiastra. The Russian market has become one of the most important for high-end Italian leather shoes in recent years.
SPAIN
The organisers of the spring edition of Madrid’s leather an
ng day last year. The organisers, Ifema, believe that this pattern repeated itself on the middle day, Saturday, leaving lower numbers on Sunday as buyers from Spain wanted to be at home to vote.
PAKISTAN
Although Pakistan’s footwear
, year-to-date exports for the first seven months of the fiscal calendar (July 2007 to January 2008) fell 2.3% to 7.9 million pairs worth $ 63.4 million, down from 8.6 million pairs worth $64.9 million in same period of the previous year.
BAN
f this year. And rival Apex Adelchi has said it will open 20 new outlets to add to the 70 it has already.
CHINA
Workers in a factory in southern China who make footwear for Nike have been given a big increase in their salaries. According t
month. The average footwear worker’s monthly wage in the area is $135. There are 27,000 people working at the site, producing 14 million pairs of Nike shoes a year.
UNITED STATES
The maker of colourful plastic shoe brand Crocs has
ve not sold Crocs-branded products to Costco nor have we authorised any of our customers to sell our products to Costco ” He added that when Crocs had found instances of resellers supplying it had ended its relationship with those cus
WF NEWS
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WORLD FOOTWEAR | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
News
BRAZIL
Brazil’s ministry for overseas
trade has said the country’s footwear
sector achieved exports with a value of
$88.4 million in September, a decline of
8.7% compared to the corresponding
figure for September 2011. However, in
terms of volume, Brazilian footwear
manufacturers exported fully 30% more
pairs in September 2012 compared with
the same month last year. The US,
Argentina and France were the main
markets that Brazilian shoe companies
shipped to, followed by Paraguay,
Bolivia, the UK, Chile, Peru, Australia
and Angola.
UK
Footwear in September was the best-performing
category out of seven in UK retail for the fifth consecutive
month. As a result of the Olympics, the industry benefited
from the delayed back-to-school timing at the beginning
of the month and from the colder weather towards the
end, resulting in good footfall. Demand was strong across
ranges, from transitional products to winter boots, and
was better for children’s and men’s ranges than for
women’s. Overall, boots were driving the trade and
promotional activity was down.
•
The British Footwear Association (BFA) has
announced a new collaboration with two London-based
PR agencies to offer six emerging footwear brands access
to PR expertise. The organisation has said it believes this
will allow the brands to develop brand identity and
expand. Cow PR, under a newly launched fashion and
lifestyle division, Cow Boutique, will be developing
campaigns for Julian Hakes, Miista and John White Shoes.
Wingfield PR will be representing Northern Cobbler, Red
by Wolves and Coco Rose London to create brand
awareness and exposure.
NORWAY
Norwegian outdoor
brand Helly Hansen has
launched a range of snow-
inspired fashion boots for the
coming winter season. The new
range includes the Iskoras, slip-
on, mid-cut boot featuring full
grain leather uppers, faux-fur
lining and outer decorations,
plus a patterned textile band
above the ankle inspired, the
brand has said, by “Norway’s
rich sunsets and green forests”.
The boot has a rugged outsole
made from proprietary
technology called Helly Grip for
non-slip protection.
SERBIA
Breathable
footwear manufacturer Geox
is to open a factory in Serbia
with an annual capacity to
produce 1.25 million pairs of
shoes. The
€
15.8 million plant
in the southern city of Vranje
will employ 1,250 people and
receive government aid for
creating jobs, according to the
office of finance and economy
minister Mladjan Dinkic. The
chairman of the Italian shoe
company, Mario Moretti
Polegato, signed an agreement
with Serbian officials, which
included a government pledge
to provide
€
9,000 for each
new job. Production is
expected to begin in 2014.
ITALY
Official figures from Micam,
the international footwear event based
in Milan, show more than 41,000
passed through its doors for the
September 2012 edition, with equal
amounts of Italian and non-Italian
visitors. At a press conference on the
Tuesday of the show, Cleto Sagripanti,
president of the Italian Footwear
Manufacturers’ Association, said the
number of exhibitors was up, which
was a “positive sign in a time of crisis”.
He added: “Micam is a business-
orientated trade show; despite what
politicians say, countries still need
footwear orders and that’s what’s
going on in our stands.”
SPAIN
The September
2012 edition of the
Modacalzado+Iberpiel event
in Madrid attracted a total of
7,526 visitors, the organisers
have announced. The figure
represents a 5% increase on
the March 2012 edition of
the exhibition. Most of the
visitors were from Spain, but
footwear buyers from 69
different countries attended,
with Russia, the US, Mexico,
Belgium, Poland and
Switzerland particularly well
represented. More than 500
footwear brands took part,
showcasing their collections
for spring-summer 2013.