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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
ayor 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 Michel
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
ow 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
da, 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 actu
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 | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
News
BRAZIL
Leather footwear manufacturer
Villione has said it is experiencing high levels
of growth in the Middle East and North Africa.
The company has been exporting high-end
men’s shoes to eight countries in that part of
the world for six years, but said recently that
it expects growth of between 25% and 30% in
the second half of this year. These already
have a 30% share of all export sales for
Villione. The São Paulo-based footwear firm
limits its production to 800 pairs a day,
around one-third of which are going for
export. It makes shoes under licence for a
number of prominent brands, including
Calvin Klein and Hush Puppies.
NORWAY
Reports from Scandinavia
suggest a revival of iconic 1980s
footwear brand KangaROOS is making
it one of the hottest sneaker brands in
the market there at the moment. Oslo-
based Viking Footwear is the licence-
holder for the brand in Scandinavia.
KangaROOS children’s shoes have
been popular across the region for
many years. More recently, however,
retro-style sneakers with the brand’s
iconic pocket have become a hot ticket
in some of the most fashionable stores
there, including Norse Store in
Copenhagen.
ETHIOPIA
Eight years ago,
Ethiopia’s Bethlehem Tilahun
Alemu set up SoleRebels, a
Fairtrade and eco-friendly
footwear brand. Established in
Zenabwork, a poor area on the
outskirts of Addis Ababa, the
company now ships its colourful
shoes to 55 countries including
Austria, Canada, Japan,
Switzerland and the US. The
shoes, which are made from
recycled materials including car
tyres, have now been certified by
the World Fair Trade
Organization, and the company
plans to expand its export
destinations in the near future.
UKRAINE
The chamber of commerce
for the island of Mallorca is encouraging
footwear manufacturers there to take
part in a trade mission to Ukraine in
November. Shoe brands from several
parts of Spain, including La Rioja and
Albacete, as well as Mallorca, will have
the chance to attract potential buyers in
Ukraine at a special event in Kiev on
November 20 and 21. Mallorca’s
chamber of commerce said it was
supporting the idea because it views
Ukraine as a market with great potential
for Spanish shoes.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Southern
African Clothing and Textile Workers’
Union has welcomed new government
legislation forcing public buyers to
source raw materials for the
manufacture of footwear, leathergoods,
textiles and clothing domestically. If the
materials cannot be sourced locally,
written permission from
the Department of Trade and Industry
must be obtained before materials are
sourced from elsewhere. "The
implementation of these regulations is
a boost for local jobs because it now
directs millions of state and state-
owned enterprise spending towards
local manufacturing,” said Andre Kriel,
general secretary at the trade union.
ITALY
The country’s footwear
manufacturers association
ANCI has issued a statement
calling on the Italian
government to take urgent
action to encourage growth.
The association said recently
published export figures for the
first quarter of 2012 were
“worrying”. Italian shoes
registered a 3.5% increase in
the value of its exports during
the quarter compared to the
first three months of 2011 and
a 15% rise in the average price
per pair. However, in terms of
volume, the number of pairs of
shoes fell by 10%.