EU MARKET SURVEY 2002 FOOTWEAR VOLUME II CENTRE FOR THE PROMOTION OF IMPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Transcription

1 EU MARKET SURVEY 2002 FOOTWEAR VOLUME II CENTRE FOR THE PROMOTION OF IMPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2 EU MARKET SURVEY 2002 FOOTWEAR Compiled for CBI by: Drs. Jan P. Servaas August 2002

3 DISCLAIMER The information provided in this market survey is believed to be accurate at the time of writing. It is, however, passed on to the reader without any responsibility on the part of CBI or the authors and it does not release the reader from the obligation to comply with all applicable legislation. Neither CBI nor the authors of this publication make any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy of the information presented, and will not be liable for injury or claims pertaining to the use of this publication or the information contained therein. No obligation is assumed for updating or amending this publication for any reason, be it new or contrary information or changes in legislation, regulations or jurisdiction.

4 Updated version of CBI s Market survey Footwear published in September 2001.

5 Photo courtesy: Jop Rijksbaron

6 CONTENTS REPORT SUMMARY 6 1 PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS Product groups Products Customs/statistical product classification 10 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE EU MARKET 11 3 CONSUMPTION OF FOOTWEAR Market size Market segmentation Consumption patterns and trends 18 4 PRODUCTION Footwear production in the EU EU Outward Processing Trade 24 5 IMPORTS Total imports Imports by product group The role of developing countries 38 6 EXPORTS EU exports of footwear 42 7 TRADE STRUCTURE EU trade channels Manufacturers Agents Importers/wholesalers Retailers Distribution channels for developing countries 53 8 PRICES AND MARGINS Margins Prices Sources of price information 55 9 OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY EXPORTERS 56 APPENDICES 1 Detailed classification of footwear, by Harmonised System Code 58 2 Detailed import and export statistics of footwear by product type and area of origin into the EU, Specification of imports of footwear by product type into major EU countries Trade associations 69 5 Trade fair organisers 71 6 Trade press 73 7 Business Support Organisations 75 8 Other useful addresses 76 9 List of developing countries List of major buyers of footwear in List of major buyers of footwear in the EU Useful internet sites 89 5

7 REPORT SUMMARY Introduction This survey profiles the market for footwear in the European Union (EU) and is an updated and extended version of the former CBI survey Footwear, published in July The emphasis of the survey lies on those products, which are of importance to developing country suppliers. The major national markets within the EU for those products are highlighted. The survey includes contact details of importers, trade associations, and other relevant organisations. Furthermore, statistical market information on consumption, production and trade, and information on trade structure and prices and margins is provided. As an exporter, you need this information to formulate your own market and product strategies. In order to assist you with this, CBI has also developed a matching EU Strategic Marketing Guide for Footwear. It offers a practical handbook for exporters engaged, or wishing to engage, in exporting footwear to the EU. It aims to facilitate exporters in formulating their own market and product strategies through the provision of practical information and a methodology of analysis and ready-to-fill-in frameworks. As mentioned above, statistical market information on consumption, production and trade, and information on trade structure and prices and margins, which is required for the ready-to-fill-in frameworks, can be found in this EU Market Survey. Market research This EU Market Survey and the EU Strategic Marketing Guide serve as a basis for further market research: after you have read this survey and filled in the frameworks in the strategic marketing guide it is important to further research your target markets, sales channels and potential customers. Market research depends on secondary data (data that have been compiled and published earlier) and primary data (information that you collect yourself). An example of secondary data is this EU Market Survey. Primary data are needed when secondary data fall short of your needs, for example when researching your specific type of consumer about the acceptance of your specific product. Sources of information are among others (statistical) databanks, newspapers and magazines, market reports, (annual) reports from branch associations, but also shops in target countries, products or catalogues from your competitors, and conversations with suppliers, specialists, colleagues and even competitors. After you received/collected your information you should analyse it. In order to judge the attractiveness of the market, sales channel or customer, you should use/develop a classification or score system. For more detailed information on market research, reference is made to CBI s Export Planner (2000). Together with other CBI publications, like Products and the Environmental Quick Scan Leather, a fairly complete overview is given to manufacturers/ exporters in developing countries, who wish to sell to the EU market. Seasonal fashion information on clothing and colours, which may be an indication for footwear fashion, can be obtained from CBI s Fashion Forecasts. Some of these sources of information are also available on the CBI web site. Survey The survey Footwear includes outdoor footwear, sports and leisure footwear and indoor footwear for men, women and children. Consumption of footwear in the EU grew by 3.3 percent in the period to 53.2 billion (US$ 47.9 bn). Based on preliminary figures, a further growth is expected for the next five years. The footwear market has tended to be characterised by cheap, mass-produced items, but in recent years there has been some movement away from such products towards higher quality, more individual footwear. Germany is still the most important country in footwear consumption in the EU, despite a smaller growth than the EU average. Germany is followed by Italy, UK, France, and Spain and at a distance by. The five first mentioned leading countries account for 81 percent of EU footwear consumption. In many EU countries, the demand for formal (dress shoes) footwear is declining in favour of casual and leisure/sportswear, which implies higher increasing sales in terms of volume rather than in terms of value. Footwear production in the EU decreased from 1,081 million pairs in 1997 to 910 million in It sank for the first time below the one billion pair level in 1999 and continued its fall with 5 percent in 2000 as it relocated to other, and especially former Eastern bloc, countries. Italy remained the EU s leading footwear producer with almost 43 percent of total EU production, followed by Spain (22%), Portugal (12%) and France (11%). Around 280,000 employees worked in the EU footwear industry in 2000, while this number was still 325,000 in The footwear industry is relatively labour-intensive, added to which increasing costs and competition from cheap imports have pressed manufacturers to specialise in niches (luxury, safety or orthopaedic footwear) or to shift production to abroad via the outward processing route. The footwear manufacturing industry in two countries, Italy and showed (limited) positive developments, but at the other end of the scale, significant reductions had been recorded by many other EU producers. For example, UK footwear production plummeted nearly 46 percent, followed by Belgium 25%, France 13%, Germany 9% and Spain 4%. 6

8 EU imports of footwear amounted to 19.4 billion (US$ 17.9 bn) in Germany remained the leading importer, with an import share of 22 percent in terms of value, followed by UK (17%), France (15%), Italy (13%) and (8%). Belgium ranked sixth, followed by Austria. EU imports of footwear decreased by 4.4 percent in the period Developments in import of footwear vary strongly per country. EU countries can be divided, by developments in value of imports during this period, into very strongly decreased imports (falling more than 10%) in Portugal, Finland, Germany and Belgium and booming imports (rising more than 10%) in Spain. Between these extremes, imports in Italy, France,, Denmark and Ireland grew, while imports in the other EU countries fell. EU imports from developing countries increased in terms of volume (+ 19%) but against lower prices (-6%). Developing countries gain from the lower intra-eu imports, just like other countries from outside the EU like Romania and Taiwan. Italy remained the leading supplier to the EU market in the category outdoor footwear with uppers of leather with 141 million pairs in 2000 above Portugal, Vietnam, Spain and China. China remained the EU s leading supplier in the product groups plastic/or rubber footwear for sports and outdoor. Sports footwear with uppers of textiles came mainly from China, Belgium and Vietnam, indoor footwear with uppers of textiles from China and Spain; outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles from Vietnam and China. China remained the leading exporter of footwear to the EU, however, the difference with number two Vietnam became very small in terms of value. EU imports from China rose from US$ 1,261 million in 1998 to US$ 1,661 million in 2000, while imports from Vietnam rose from US$ 967 million in 1998 to US$ 1,509 million in The growth in imports from developing countries in 2000 can be ascribed to the following categories: Asian low price suppliers, like China and Vietnam. Other countries from the Far East with sharply increased exports to the EU were Cambodia, Macao and Malaysia. CEECs, like Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova and Slovenia. The EU member states exported US$ 16.5 billion ( 17.9 bn) in 2000, representing a fall in value of almost 10 percent in the period In terms of volume, EU exports decreased from 967 million pairs in 1998 to 936 million in The fall in EU exports was the result of lower exports to countries outside the EU: in value (- 12%) and in volume (- 7%). The leading EU exporter is Italy with 43 percent of total EU exports, at a distance followed by Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, France and. The main destinations outside the EU were the USA (13 percent of total exports and 35 percent of extra-eu exports in 2000, followed by Switzerland, Japan and Russia). Specialised retailers (footwear multiples and independent footwear retailers) accounted for 65 percent of total retail sales in The market share of non-specialised distributors became limited. Other important developments are increasing concentration and growing internationalisation or cross-border activities, of which the main (besides many others) examples are Garant Schuh AG in Germany and sports formula like Intersport and Sport Generally spoken, domestic manufacturers and wholesalers/importers distribute footwear directly to the retail trade. With regard to imports from outside Europe, wholesalers/importers, large multiples and buying cooperatives mainly act as contractors. The keen competition on the footwear market will steadily increase and this leads to further possibilities for exporters from low-cost countries. A start for exporters, which involves limited risks, is to try to acquire fixed orders for products specified by the client, because the latter has the best knowledge of his market. Exporters in the footwear sector are confronted with many aspects like sizing, packaging, environmental aspects. These result in a lot of legal and technical requirements, added to which are aspects of design and fashionability leading to quality requirements, market developments etc. The role of wholesalers/importers will stabilise, while the role of footwear multiples and, to a lesser degree, buying groups or franchise formula will increase in the coming years. The buying policies of super- and hypermarkets vary from direct imports by the international operating chains to buying from wholesalers/importers. 7

9 1 PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS 1.1 Product groups Footwear is categorised in several ways in official statistics, according to: end use: waterproof footwear, safety footwear, sports footwear, indoor footwear and other footwear (outdoor footwear if not classified before); raw materials used for the uppers and the soles. Uppers can be of leather, synthetic leather, plastic, rubber or textile (canvas). Outer soles may be of leather, plastic, rubber, wood, cork and other materials; end user: for children, for women and/or for men; footwear height: varying from not covering the ankle, covering the ankle but under the calf, and other covering the ankle (calf-, mid-calf-, knee- and thigh-length); in some cases a distinction is made for aspects like the height of the heels including soles (more than 3 cm) or the presence of a vamp of straps or pieces cut out. Other definitions can be made by the method of attaching the upper to the sole or other production techniques. Defining types of footwear by their end use or wearing circumstances gives the following breakdown (besides the breakdown into women s, men s and children s footwear) into four major segments: Outdoor footwear; this segment which is also indicated as town or street wear, is made up of a wide variety of products such as shoes (pumps, moccasins, loafers, Oxford shoes etc.), boots (ankle-, calf-, knee- or thigh-high), clogs, some types of sandals etc. Using the link to clothing behaviour, a breakdown can be made in formal (dress shoes), casual and leisure/sports footwear. However, sandals can be classified as casual as well as leisure/sport footwear, while some models even can be classified as formal wear. Sports and leisure footwear; this segment covers sports wear with on the one side, trainers or runners, made for jogging and other sports activities, but which are also worn for every day use, and on the other side more specific technical products for football, cycling athletics, skiing etc. This segment also includes footwear with a leisure character, like textile uppers especially for summer wear such as sneakers, rope-soled sandals, plimsolls etc. Indoor footwear; this segment includes slippers (carpet, bedroom and house slippers) and mules. Carpet slippers are indicated as Pantoffel in Germany and in and as charentaise in France. Work, hunting and safety footwear. Safety footwear offers protection adapted to the type of work involved and often covers shoes and boots with a built-in steel toecap designed to prevent crushing damage to the toes. Distribution and end-use is completely different from the other segments of footwear. For that reason this segment is not considered in this survey and we refer to the CBI survey and guide Personal Protective Equipment. Besides the distinction based on wearing circumstances, a breakdown can be made by: materials used for uppers (leather, rubber/plastic, canvas/textile etc.) and outer soles (leather, rubber, plastic, synthetic leather, wood etc.). The criterion for footwear for adults or for children in statistics is the size of the inner sole: an inner sole of less than 24 cm is considered to be children s wear in this survey. 1.2 Products In this paragraph a (not exhaustive) overview is given of the enormous varieties in types of footwear. Most of these types are not used in statistics and for that reason not discussed further in this survey. Types of footwear Footwear is the generic term for foot coverings. Footwear with the opening below the ankle is a shoe, those with the top of the foot exposed are pumps, and those with the opening above the ankle are classified as boots. In addition, those items which do not fully enclose the foot are sandals when used outdoors and slippers when used indoors. A classification can be made in shoes, sandals and slippers, boots and sport shoes or sneakers. Shoes - outer covering for the foot which does not reach higher than the ankle, basically made up of the sole (under the foot), the vamp (front part), the quarter (back part) and the shank (portion under the instep). Shoes may be of the slip-on variety (pumps or moccasins) or closed with laces (oxford-type), buckles or Velcro. Pumps; this kind of slip-ons has a large opening for the foot (rounded or V-shaped) so the top of the foot 8

10 is exposed. It usually has a medium to high heel, sometimes covered with the same material as the upper, sometimes with open toe and/or open heel in sling back style. Names of pumps are for instance: high heel (5 cm or more), mid/low heels, ankle strap, sling backs, one-strap shoe, open toe, cross strap, flat shoes, T-strap shoes, back and side open, one-point shoes, ballet pumps etc. A British name for a pump is court shoe. Moccasins and loafers; characteristics of the moccasin are that upper and sole are in one piece and the shoe is closed by stitching in the vamp (not at the back as is usual); in this form mainly used as indoor wear. For outdoors, the outer sole and heel are attached to the bottom and can be identified by the absence of an inner sole. The loafer is essentially a two-piece moccasin but has a hard sole and a strap or saddle, made of leather, over the instep. Names of loafers are: tassel-top loafers, chain loafers, and penny loafer. The loafer is an example of a dressy type of shoe, while the moccasin (Indian moccasin, leather deck shoes etc.) can be classified as a sport or leisure type. Oxford shoes is the generic name for lace-up shoes, like Brogue shoes a closed front tie shoe, the upper comprising several parts each punched and serrated (gimped) along the margins, together with a punched and gimped wing cap. A brogue effect is often achieved in other styles of shoe by punching and gimping. Brogues are the formal name for wing tip shoes. Sandals - open type of shoes (backless, with or without a heel); held on foot by means of straps, like: chappal or chuplee (originating in India), ankle-strap, T-strap, gladiator and platform sandal or with a band over the instep that holds the shoe on the foot, like: slides, clogs (made with thick sole of wood or cork), mules with heel open or the so-called Hepburn sandal with toe and heel open. Boots - the generic term for footwear with the opening above the ankle and indicating several lengths (anklehigh and calf-high or reaching the knee or the thigh). Can be classified as utility (hunting, climbing etc.) boots and fashion boots, the latter is not intended to be waterproof. Ankle boots are: jodhpur boot, desert boot (or chukka boot or floats), side gore boot (or Chelsea boot), mukluk, demi-boot, george boot etc. The generic name for calf-length boots is high-low boots, specific types are cowboy boot, Courrèges boots etc. Types of knee-length boots are Wellington, (turnover) top boots etc. Boots that reach the thigh are called stocking or fit boots. Sports footwear - nearly all sport activities require specific footwear. The link with leisure started already in the 1920s when tennis became popular and adults adopted sneakers and plimsolls, before that time only worn by children. In the 1950s the basketball boot overtook the sneaker in particular for men s footwear, of which the most famous brand was Converse s All Stars. Training shoes (trainers) and runners are some of the many other names. The name of sneakers was replaced by gym shoes or tennis shoes of white canvas and is now used for a range of low and high sports shoes. The leading brands (Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma and Fila) use some of the following types of sports shoes in their assortment: running (with or without reflecting details), cross training, conditioning (aerobics and fitness), workout, outdoor or hiking, leisure, walking and fitness. Most of these sports items are now worn in non-working circumstances by consumers of every age. Slippers - include several types of carpet, bedroom or house slippers, mules (UK), evening slippers etc. Slippers are not intended to be worn outdoors. Examples of slippers are the low-heel boudoir slipper, the hostess slipper, Grecian slippers etc. 9

11 Usage of sports shoes for sports like soccer, athletics (spikes), baseball, skiing, surfing etc. is limited to their specific activities. 1.3 Customs/statistical product classification Products can be specified by the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS). These numbers are used for both Customs and statistical purposes in EU member countries. The number clearly identifies a specific product, so it is possible to see which types of footwear are concerned and which materials are used. Referring to the code number can therefore facilitate communication and eliminate misunderstanding about the type of footwear. Chapter 64 Footwear, leggings, similar articles and parts thereof - is the relevant section of the HS code. The key product group headings are: HS code Product group Waterproof footwear Footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or artificial plastic material Footwear with leather uppers Footwear with textile uppers, soles of rubber and plastic Footwear with synthetic leather uppers, slippers and other indoor shoes with textile and other uppers Parts of footwear Appendix I of this survey gives full information on the HS codes relevant for all different types of footwear. Please note that the product groups falling under the HS codes presented in section 1.3 are not completely in line with the product groups mentioned in section 1.1 and section 1.2. Moreover, different statistical sources use different product groups or specifications. This places limitations on in-depth interpretation of trade figures and of the possible relationships between import figures and production and consumption data. 10

12 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE EU MARKET The European Union (EU) is the current name for the former European Community. Since 1 January 1995 the EU has consisted of 15 member states. Negotiations are in progress with a number of candidate member states, many of which already have extensive trade and co-operation agreements with the EU. In 2000, the size of the EU population totalled million, of which two thirds in the age category years. The most important aspect of the process of unification (of the former EC countries), which affects trade, is the harmonisation of rules in the EU countries. As the unification allows free movement of capital, goods, services and people, the internal borders have been removed. Goods produced or imported in one member state can be moved around between the other member states without restrictions. A precondition for this free movement is uniformity in the rules and regulations concerning locally produced or imported products. Although the European Union is already a fact, all the regulations have not yet been harmonised. Work is in progress on uniform regulations in the fields of environmental pollution, health, safety, quality and education. On 1 January 1999, the euro ( ) became the legal currency within eleven EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg,, Spain, and Portugal. Greece became the 12th member in June Their national currencies are now subdivisions of the euro and continued to circulate as legal tender until mid Circulation of euro coins and banknotes started on 1 January 2002 and these will gradually replace national currency notes and coins, which must be withdrawn by 1 July The most recent Eurostat trade statistics quoted in this survey are from the year On 1 January 1999, statistical and contractual values in ECU were converted into euro ( ) on a 1:1 exchange rate. The euro/us$ exchange rate stood ultimo June 2002 at US$ for one euro. The US dollar is the basic currency unit used to indicate value in this market survey, while most recent years are also expressed in euros. Table 2.1 Overview population and age groups in the EU at 1 January 2000 Total years Yearly average population years years and older growth in % in millions in % in % in % Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU (15) Source: Eurostat 11

13 Table 2.2 Exchange rates of EU currencies in US$, Country Currency mid 2002 European Union ECU Austria Ash Belgium Bfr Denmark Dkr France Ffr Finland FM Germany DM Greece GRD Ireland I Italy L Netherlands NLG Portugal Esc Spain Ptas Sweden Skr United Kingdom GB Source: CBS Statline (January 2002) Trade figures quoted in this survey must be interpreted and used with extreme caution. The collection of data regarding trade flows has become more difficult since the establishment of the single market on 1 January Until that date, trade was registered by means of compulsory Customs procedures at border crossings, but, since the removal of the intra-eu borders, this is no longer the case. Statistical bodies like Eurostat cannot now depend on the automatic generation of trade figures. In the case of intra-eu trade, statistical reporting is only compulsory for exporting and importing firms whose trade exceeds a certain annual value. The threshold varies considerably from country to country, but it is typically about 100,000. As a consequence, although figures for trade between the EU and the rest of the world are accurately represented, trade within the EU is generally underestimated. This market survey highlights the following countries besides the EU in total: Germany, UK, France, Italy and. These countries are the major importers of footwear in the EU in the ranking as mentioned. The ranking in order of consumption is Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain and. 12

14 3 CONSUMPTION OF FOOTWEAR Information about consumption of footwear is significant different between the separate EU member states. For that reason an uniform detailed overview of consumer expenditure on footwear by product types etc. cannot be given in this survey for the major countries under review. 3.1 Market size EU Consumption of footwear in the EU grew by 3.3 percent in the period , 2.2 percent in 1999, stabilised in 2000 and grew by 1.4 percent in 2001 to 53.2 billion (US$ 47.9 bn). Based on preliminary figures, a further growth is expected for the next five years. The footwear market has tended to be characterised by cheap, mass-produced items, but in recent years there has been some movement away from such products towards higher quality, more individual footwear. Germany is still the most important country in footwear consumption in the EU, as can be derived from table 3.1, despite a smaller growth than the EU average in the period Germany is followed by Italy, UK, France, and Spain and at a distance by. The five first mentioned leading countries account for 81 percent of EU footwear consumption. The footwear sector accounts for about 1.1 percent of total consumer expenditure in the EU. Consumption patterns of households vary substantially across the EU, due to differences in culture, traditions and tastes. Looking at the major EU countries, Spanish and Italian consumers are the biggest spenders on footwear. French, UK and Netherlands consumption were higher than the EU average consumption of footwear, while German consumption was lower. Germany The value of footwear consumption in Germany increased in the period after some years of declining, however, this growth occurred only to a very slight degree. In volume terms, the German market reached 379 million pairs in Average prices decreased in the period under review, while the footwear spending per capita stabilised. Demographic developments and a (weak) price inflation are the main factors of a slightly growing footwear market. Developments in the footwear market are the result of many factors like economic limitations Table 3.1 Consumption of footwear ( million) in EU countries in and expected developments in *) Per head Expected annual consumption growth (in ) in % Germany 10,507 10,554 10,560 10, Italy 8,824 8,998 9,116 9, United Kingdom 9,023 9,414 8,892 9, France 8,044 8,121 8,197 8, Spain 5,810 5,868 5,886 5, ,836 1,983 2,107 2, Belgium 1,421 1,437 1,446 1, Portugal 1,113 1,160 1,173 1, Greece 998 1,089 1,120 1, Austria 1,065 1,078 1,094 1, Sweden 1,036 1,052 1,062 1, Denmark Finland Ireland Luxembourg EU (15) 51,407 52,535 52,461 53, *) partly estimated Sources: FSO, Retail Intelligence and Eurostat 13

15 Table 3.2 Consumer expenditure on footwear in Germany, Volume Value Volume Value Volume Value Value mln pairs mln mln pairs mln mln pairs mln US$ mln Footwear with leather uppers: Sports 22 1, , ,088 1,002 Sandals Town wear for: Women 73 3, , ,749 3,453 Men 44 2, , ,406 2,216 Children Other Footwear with other uppers: Slippers Other 146 1, , ,602 1,475 Total , , ,560 9,725 Sources: HBD and Euromonitor (consumer spending in Germany is weak compared to other major EU countries), intensive price competition (increasing market shares for non-specialist retailers), growing imports from low-cost countries (direct imports as well as production abroad under the regime of German manufacturers) etc. Women s footwear captures about 54 percent of the footwear sector in Germany, while men s footwear accounts for 34 percent in terms of volume. Per capita consumption decreased from 4.8 pairs per person in 1996 to 4.6 pairs in 2001, of which 2.4 pairs leather, 1.8 pairs non-leather and 0.4 pairs of slippers. Per capita spending valued 132 (US$ 122) in 2001, lower than the EU average of 136 (US$ 125). The German footwear market has been polarising for several years. High priced footwear covers high-fashion branded footwear for women, health and comfort footwear for children and older adults (of which more women than men), while branded sports footwear is very popular among young people. Lower priced footwear mostly covers unbranded imported footwear, especially shoes with textile uppers, mainly from China and other East Asian countries like Vietnam, partly as a result of an ineffective EU anti-dumping policy. These developments resulted in a fall in sales of mid-priced shoes. The most popular brands remained the shoe names of the two top retail chains Deichmann and Salamander. Branded shoes from clothing retailers have been doing well (C&A). Popular brands in the sector comfortable shoes are Ara, Jenny, Gabor, Rieker, Domdorf, Ganter, Salamander and Sioux and in the sector children s footwear Elefanten, Ricosta and Salamander. In the sports sector, the two leading brands Adidas and Nike together take around half the market, while Puma and Reebok together take a quarter. In the health sector Birkenstock (sandals), Bama and Ganter are the most popular brands. In 2001, total consumer expenditure on footwear in amounted to 2.2 billion (US$ 2.1 bn), or 5.9 percent more than in the previous year. In 1999, there was even an increase of 6.1 percent to almost 2.1 billion (US$ 1.9 bn). The average consumption was 139 per head, which is higher than the EU average. A lower annual growth of around 2 percent is expected for the next 5 years. In terms of volume, consumption grew 3.7 percent in 1999, 5.2 percent in 2000 but decreased 0.8 percent to reach almost 68 million pairs in Average prices of footwear rose 0.9 percent in 2000 and 6.7 percent in Increased expenditure was the result of the following aspects: Consumers bought higher priced footwear. Higher priced footwear concerns mainly luxury and high-quality shoes and for women also leather boots. Luxury and high-qualitity shoes (especially for men) are often made by domestic manufacturers (mainly abroad); Consumers expanded their footwear collection, for instance by buying footwear for special events or occasions; and, Popularity among (female) consumers for fun shopping. Brand loyalty is rather low in the footwear sector. According to an inquiry by Shoemonitor in 1999: 75 percent of the Dutch consumers does not have a favorite brand. The most popular brands in the women s 14

16 Table 3.3 Consumer expenditure on footwear in, Value % of Value % of Value Value % of 000 total 000 total 000 US$ 000 total Women Men Children Sports Other Total 1, , ,231 2, Source: EIM, CBS sector are Ecco, Gabor and Clarks; in the men s sector van Bommel, Ecco and Van Lier; in the children s sector Piedro, Elefanten and Renata; in the sports sector Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma and Fila, and in the indoor footwear sector Rohde, Blenzo and Romika. It has to be noted that the so-called spontaneous brand knowledge is rather low, with the exception of the sports sector. Italy Until 1997, the Italian consumer footwear market showed a trend towards more expensive products. In the years, which followed the market grew very slowly in terms of volume and value. The decrease in Italian production (mainly fashion and sports) as well as in export, a strong increase of imports (from Asian countries as well as from other EU countries) caused a pressure on prices. In terms of the Italian market for footwear by sector, leather footwear accounted for 70 percent of total consumption in Leather footwear was followed by footwear with synthetic and textile uppers, accounting for 13 and 9 percent of total consumption respectively. Compared to other sectors of the market, consumption of leather shoes decreased slightly over the past three years, but nevertheless has been affected somewhat by the general reduction in consumer expenditure. Per capita spending valued 143 (US$ 132) in 2000, which was far above the EU average of 137. No detailed figures concerning footwear consumption in Italy were available, so for that reason the figures in table 3.4 are derived from apparent consumption (calculated as production plus imports less export). The availability of detailed production figures combined with trade statistics from Eurostat gives the following figures. The sector sports footwear performed well in the period under review, primarily due to an increase in imported branded goods such as Nike and Reebok. The wearing of sports shoes, for purposes other than for sports, as a replacement for everyday leather shoes has been changed by an increased usage of casual varieties of sports shoes. Table 3.4 Consumer expenditure (in volume and value) on footwear in Italy, Volume Value Volume Value Volume Value Value mln pairs mln mln pairs mln mln pairs mln US$ mln Footwear with uppers of: leather , , ,445 5,935 synthetic , , ,196 1,102 rubber textile other Slippers Total , , ,116 8,396 Sources: Eurostat and Euromonitor 15

17 Women s footwear accounted for 54 percent of the market in value in The share of this market has been maintained by the relative unit value of more expensive types of footwear like women s boots. Men s and children s footwear accounted for 25 and 21 percent respectively. France Nearly 320 million pair of shoes were sold in France in According to the French Shoe Federation equivalent amounts will be sold in the next five years. Women s footwear captures about 50 percent of the footwear sector in France, men s footwear 33 and children s 17 percent in terms of value. Per capita consumption stabilised in the period under review at about 5.5 pairs per person, of which 2.2 pairs leather, 2.7 pairs non-leather and 0.6 pairs of slippers. Per capita spending valued 138 in 2000, which is just above the EU average of 137. The casual footwear segment, including leather and textile uppers, was one of the fastest growing sectors of the last decade, particularly for children and young people. The dictates of fashion play a more important role for ladies and teenagers footwear than for men s shoes. Women buy shoes more often than men, while teenagers of both sexes are the most prolific purchasers. UK Consumer expenditure on footwear in the UK rose by 1.4 percent in terms of value in the period to almost 9.0 billion (US$ 8.1 bn) and 5.4 percent in volume to 220 million pairs. The British footwear market is dominated by imports. The strength of the local currency (pound sterling) coupled with competition on the high street has seen the index of footwear retail prices rise only 17 percent since 1987 compared to a 67 percent inflation rate for all retail goods in the same period. Per capita spending valued 140 (US$ 129) in 2000, which is above the EU average. In value terms, women s footwear accounted for 49 percent of consumer expenditure in 2001, men s footwear for 34 percent, with children s shoes taking the balance of 15 percent. In volume terms, a different picture emerges because men buy fewer pair of shoes each year but tend to spend a higher sum of money per pair. Consequently, women s footwear accounts for 50 percent of volume sales, children s footwear for 23 percent and men s footwear takes 27 percent. In terms of purpose, trainers and sport shoes take around 22 percent of the market with formal and casual footwear (both categories excluding children s footwear) being the other major sectors with 25 and 28 percent respectively, which indicates a move from trainers to casual footwear. 3.2 Market segmentation Segmentation by price/quality ratio The footwear market comprises several officially recognized sectors. In trade statistics, the market is mainly categorised by end user and materials used in manufacturing, in particular for uppers. In terms of demand and fashion, five different market segments can be identified: Table 3.5 Consumer expenditure (in volume and value) on footwear in France, Volume Value Volume Value Volume Value Value mln pairs mln mln pairs mln mln pairs mln US$ mln Footwear with leather uppers: Sports Sandals Town wear for: Women , , ,330 2,146 Men , , ,496 1,378 Children Other Footwear with textile uppers Footwear with other uppers , , ,466 1,350 Slippers Total , , ,197 7,549 Source: derived from FNICF and Eurostat 16

18 Table 3.6 Consumer expenditure (in volume and value) on footwear in UK, Volume Value Volume Value Volume Value Value mln pairs mln mln pairs mln mln pairs mln US$ mln Men s Formal shoes and boots Casual shoes and boots , ,135 1,022 Trainers and sport shoes , , , Slippers Other Women s Formal shoes and boots , , ,630 1,467 Casual shoes , , , Sandals Canvas and sport shoes Slippers Other Children s Shoes and boots Sport shoes Sandals Other Total , , ,026 8,124 Sources: TNS Fashion Trak and BFA Price/Quality Fashion/level 1. Low/very low price/quality Trend imitators 2. Low to middle price/quality Trend takers 3. Middle/high price, classical, Comfort, fit branded shoes fashion 4. High fashion price/quality, Trend makers not necessarily high 5. High price/quality Trend takers The size of the segments distinguished varies per country. Generally spoken can be said that the two extremes are represented in all (major) EU countries. Concerning the other segments, some different patterns are shown: German consumers, with the exception of young people, are less fashion conscious than consumers in the other major EU countries and the segments 3 and 2 are most important; French and Italian consumers are more oriented on segments 4 and 3 with preferences for the dressual shoe (a combination of dress and casual); consumers in the UK and are mainly oriented on segments 2 and increasingly on 4. In the UK, high fashion can be combined with casual and sports shoes. It has to be noted that price is no longer the first consideration in the latter-mentioned countries as it was for many years. One of the consequences is that the consumer expects retailers to have a clear image. In order to meet these consumer demands, we see many shoe stores going in for upgrading and, on the other side, discounters maintain their operating at discount level. This will be discussed in more detail in chapter 7 Trade structure. Segmentation by user based on demographics The size and age structure of the population is one of the basic determinants of how much will be spent on footwear. Table 2.1 in the previous chapter showed the composition by age groups of the population in the EU. Although this may appear to be a rough method for categorising the market, it is interesting because: generally speaking, different age categories have different clothing behaviour including accessories like footwear, and developments within the various age categories can be followed, by comparing results with projections. The EU population has a declining birth rate and an ageing population. The category below 20 years decreased considerably in the selected EU countries,. The categories 40 and older increase substantially. In 2000 about 40% of the total population was older than 45. As the baby boom generation becomes older, we see the population as a whole becoming greyer, apparent in the number of senior citizens above 55 years of age. However, the healthy and active senior citizens make up an important and growing market segment including sports and leisure activities and this 17

19 age group has a growing share of available disposable income. Consumer requirements and aspirations differ by segment of the population. Children are an important segment and purchasing patterns vary according to age. For children of the age of three years and younger, parents pay particular attention to the structure of the shoe (shape, rigidity, stiffeners which maintain the back of the shoe) and, more often than not, they are ready to buy expensive good quality articles, to ensure a perfect development of the child s foot. In this age group, it is the adults who choose the footwear. When the children are aged between three and ten, parents still seek to acquire a sensible quality shoe, which will not damage the foot, but choice is also guided by the size of the family budget and the child s tastes. Pre-adolescents (10-14 years of age) have a strong desire for freedom of choice. Boys have a preference for sportswear and often demand a certain model or brand, which is particularly popular with their friends. Girls meanwhile often have long slim feet which have not gained full maturity and consequently it is not always easy for them to find shoes that fit. The juniors aged years are nearly totally independent in their choice of footwear, the only curb being the family budget. Sports and outdoor-wear are very much to the fore, fired by the popularity of brands such as Nike and Adidas (sportswear), Doc Martens and Caterpillar (outdoor wear). Their choice is geared to social recognition and group membership. Meanwhile today s parents have tastes which differ from those of their own parents. Fashion-wise, the trend is towards easy to wear and easy to care garments; city wear has become more relaxed and more geared to outdoor and sportswear. Products need to be versatile so that the same footwear, for instance, can be worn during the day at the office and in the evening at parties of restaurants. based on socio-economic factors The slowdown in the global economy, the first signs of which appeared in the middle of 2000 continued into Private consumption in the EU has become more subdued as consumers have become less optimistic regarding their financial prospects. Weaker employment and wage prospects led to slower private consumption growth. There are significant differences in consumption habits in the varying EU countries, due to differences in culture, traditions and tastes. Footwear accounted for 1.15 percent of household expenditure in the EU in 2000, while this percentage was 1.30 percent in Consumer expenditure was higher on sectors like health, housing/energy, transport/communication and leisure/education activities. In 2000, spending on footwear was higher than the EU average in Spain and Italy, while it was lower than the EU average in Germany, UK and. Spanish consumers devoted the highest share of expenditure on footwear at 1.96 percent in The UK showed a modest growth in the last decade in spending on footwear, while in most other countries it has significantly declined. Table 3.7 Share of spending on footwear in major EU countries, (in % of total consumer spending) France Germany Italy Spain United Kingdom EU (15) Sources: Retail Intelligence and own research based on life styles Today, two consumers of the same age, same family structure and same income may have extremely different life styles, reflected in different buying habits and product preferences. Clothing and footwear, more than ever, serves as the means of expression of personality. Character, ideas and attitude to life are emphasised by the way a person dresses. Combination fashion is eminently suited to expressing a personal style. Today, consumers set priorities in their pattern of expenditure according to their life style. The increasingly individualistic nature of society will bring about a rise in demand for goods with an expressive value. People do not mind spending their money on such goods, while for products with a lower priority, a low price is the main criterion. based on seasonal aspects Generally spoken, weather has an impact on the timing of expenditure, which tends to be highly seasonal. Unexpected weather changes influence consumers in their purchasing decisions. 3.3 Consumption patterns and trends Fashion and fashion trends Footwear fashion is strongly related to fashion developments in clothing behaviour. Fashion trends in footwear must necessarily be in harmony with those of clothing and fashion requires substantial investment in creativity: highly skilled designing, the right colours, materials etc. Fashion in footwear can be based on a basic model but also on specific features like colour, materials, shape, outer sole and heel-heights, decoration 18

20 (bows, buckles, ribbons etc.). There are also segments where the idea of more or less permanent articles exist: safety footwear, wellingtons, rope soled sandals, slippers etc. However even in these segments the pressure of fashion is not absent. In all EU countries we see a switch from formal clothing in favour of more casual wear; this trend has also affected the footwear market. Canvas casual footwear and sports footwear (trainers) have become acceptable wear for non-work situations and are now worn by every age group. Slippers traditionally worn around home are partly replaced by slip-on canvas shoes, espadrilles (rope-soled) or sports shoes. Waterproof and water-repellant footwear have become more popular in the EU, following the trends in the USA. New leather techniques and high-tech membranes are used in all kinds of shoes, mainly developed for the sports sector, but also applied to casual and town shoes. Developments are also derived from the applications in mountain-climbing shoes and special work shoes. Italian producers and designers lead footwear fashion and dominate the market for leather fashion shoes, while leading brands mainly from the USA dictate fashion in sports footwear. The fashion trends which originate there are in turn adopted and modified by foreign importers including multiple buyers, who then specify their requirements to contract manufacturers. Although the number of older consumers is increasing and this will raise the demand for better fitting high quality shoes, there is a gradually increasing demand for fashionable shoes for this age group as well. The effects of fashion vary according to the type of product. Women s footwear is obviously the segment most influenced by fashion. According to the trade, around half of sales of women s footwear is geared to fashion. Men meanwhile are far less influenced by the latest styles and are said to be more interested in comfort and quality. They are even ready to spend a little more so that their shoes last longer. The following footwear trend prognoses apply to summer 2003 and are published by the French trade fair Midec-Paris: Changing moods Prospective studies of Summer 2003 announce a turning point in trends and consumer behaviour. New values are emerging and current fashion behaviour is taking a gentler tone. People aspire to more softness and serenity, to temper the tensions in the outside world. Peace, patience, simplicity, delicacy, slowness, pleasure and hedonism are up-and-coming values. They express a desire to preserve inner balance as a way of withstanding environmental stress and strain. A refocus on the essential excludes anything futile and fleeting. Although brands are still attractive, they are used as a refuge rather than for show. Simplicity is enjoyed as a luxury and confirms the need for a laid-back form of personal sophistication. The rejection of standardisation is another striking feature. Consumers now surf and zap, take pleasure in mixing genres and slip easily from one stylistic code to another. In this shifting environment, commercial success depends on many factors: innovation and creativity and the imaginative touch that makes all the difference. A detail, an unusual material, an original finish or way of wearing the item... and the product rises out of the purely functional sphere and goes straight to the consumer s heart. Colour highlights Delicate bleached colours and pale neutrals, which can be extended to pastels. The sophisticated colours of cosmetics, powder and faded petals, which go with the feminine touch. Always a safe bet: traditional leather tones, symbolising refinement and elegance, beige, blond, ochre, honey, hazelnut, caramel and even very dark browns. Midsummer calls for sunny, mouth-watering colours: apricot, cherry, papaya, mint, lemon... A new palette of cool, grey, indeterminate colours, inspired by the mineral and vegetable kingdoms. A range of clinical, refreshing colours suggesting well-being and modernity, which harmonise with neutrals or take a dynamic turn with bright accents. Highlights in materials Sensual textures and a trend towards softer leathers with natural effects. A wave of romanticism and femininity is expressed in leather or textiles by floral prints, hope-chest lace and embroidery, broderie anglaise, upholstery fabrics, brands and trims, refined materials such as satin and feathers. A craze for cult materials (meaning genuine) leather, denim, linen, jute as a fabric or cord, wood, straw, raffia. Oil cloth used in fun ways. Sophisticated rough and vintage effects which opt for the subtlety of imperfection. An interest in leather and weaving which suggest handcrafts and artistic skill just visually: leather or mixed medium plaiting, backed leather, macramé, decorative effects, painted leather or canvas. The increased use of laser techniques in design, and in cutting leather or technical materials, opens up endless possibilities for decoration: cut-out motifs, lacy effects, an impression of broderie anglaise, tattooing or wear and tear. 19

21 Women and young adults Women s fashion hesitates between practicality and pleasure. Being fashionable is no longer a matter of heel heights, or shapes (pointed, round and square toes get along very well together), but of proportions, materials, colours and impulses, and mixing and matching genres. City: Old favourites that are easy to walk in are still going strong: derbies, moccasins, brogues, city training shoes, stylish or retro sneakers given a sophisticated clever use of materials, colour and tapered lines. Simpler, flat heels prevail: urban or romantic ballerinas from the dance world, low-cut on mini heels, point to a comeback of childhood values. New uses for sandals, babouches, flip flops, barefoot sandals and ethnic elements: beads, plaiting, feathers, embroidery and quirky mixes set the tone for a tribal or sophisticated hybrid fashion. Midsummer: High-arched wedges are significant, especially in wood, cord and cork. Leg-wrapping sandals are in, and with them all uppers that tie high around the leg, in rustic, poetic or even sexy versions. Wooden clogs are gaining ground, in a Zen spirit, or galoshes version for indoor- and outdoor wear. Charming or sophisticated espadrilles are still with us. Outsider: The Western spirit for mules and summer boots and ankle boots. Revamped pumps are back, tapered or rounded and on heels of all heights. Men and young adults Men are taking more care of their appearance. It is not longer socially out of place to be fashionable; on the contrary it is a sign of modernity. Reassured by the media, men are more confident in their tastes and open to more daring clothing. City: The boot-maker spirit with fine soles or broad welts is still strong, along with sophisticated city-sport models on thin soles. For everyday comfort, casual slip-ons, sometimes inspired by indoor footwear, and supple moccasins take the lead. Confidence in the new technologies leads to new behaviours and interest, practical footwear such as sporty modes with innovative fastenings and high-performance materials. Retro sports play on authenticity in all its forms and renovate biking, boxing, tennis shoes and city sneakers, while the pioneer spirit comes to town with high uppers leather or leather and canvas mixes. Sportswear and Midsummer: The nautical look is still in but with a freebooter style for moccasins, soft-toed slip-ons, and barefoot sandals with a penchant for cord, vintage buckles, brushed off leather and faded canvas. Comfort, protection and ergonomics are the buzzwords for walking sandals and foot-hugging models with straps and functional ties. The interest in the primitive arts, crafts and tradition is also found in menswear, an African or Oriental trend for barefoot sandals, Berber babouches, slip-ons and thongs in plaited, plain or backed leather. Espadrilles are back with a casual, rustic or refined look. Children Except for the tiny tots, children s footwear follows the lead of the grown-ups. Children have appropriated the styles of their elders but added a dash of dream and escapism. For future playground champions, there are still unisex models from the sports world, just the thing for running wild: boat shoes with a new twist, cycling, bowling, boxing, running and tennis shoes in canvas or leather, low-cut or with high uppers in a colourful, graphic spirit. Two or three colours personalised with stripes, topstitching, lettering, designs and, as a novelty, straps. Mary Janet, ballerinas and city sandals, follow suit for girls with simpler lines and a modern air. The outdoor spirit in a safari mood for girls and boys alike, in warm sand and desert colours. Technical rangers, Mohican moccasins, adventure sandals, genuine barefoot sandals and tough training shoes advocate an all-terrain spirit and use tough canvas shockproof materials, rivets and treaded soles. The ethnic trend can be found in girls footwear in plaits, perforations, flowers patchwork, beads, fringes, mirrors, sequins and incrustations. The romantic wave also seduces little Lolitas with a range of tender colours: white tinted whites and delicate pastels. The hope chest spirit, broderie anglaise, floral patterns, fresh stripes, embossed effects, and pleats for Mary Janes, sneakers, sandals, tennis shoes with simply irresistible charm. And for midsummer, a decidedly gay, optimistic mood. Decorated sneakers, ballerinas, sandals and quirky beach sandals copy grown-up styles and play around with iridescent and coloured translucent materials, plastic inclusions, and kitsch details: frills, ribbons, and screen prints to seduce the mini pin-ups. Brands In the EU market for footwear, manufacturers brands are important for the high-fashion, classical, health and sports sectors. These shoes come mainly from European manufacturers with the exception of sports footwear. Retail chains and importers use fantasy labels and brands to distinguish their collections from those of competitors and also to target particular segments e.g. clothing brands are increasingly used as distinguishing promotional features (with agreement/royalty payment to the brand name owner). Brand names are of little importance for cheap gym shoes, slippers and other textile and plastic shoes. One sector, that of specialist sport shoes, is dominated by well promoted brands. These sport shoes are frequently promoted alongside fashion clothing ranges for individual sports. Examples of these labels are: Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma and Lotto. The main source of production for these sport shoes is the Far East. 20

22 4 PRODUCTION 4.1 Footwear production in the EU EU Footwear production in the EU decreased from 1,081 million pairs in 1997 to 910 million in 2000, sank for the first time below the one billion pair level in 1999 and continued its fall with 5 percent in 2000 as it relocated to other, and especially former Eastern bloc, countries. Preliminary EU production figures for 2001 indicate a further decrease of 2.1 percent to 889,000 pairs. Italy remained EU s leading footwear producer with almost 43 percent of total EU production, followed by Spain (22%). Other major producers are Portugal (12%) and France (11%). Around 280,000 employees worked in the EU footwear industry in 2000, while this number was still 325,000 in The footwear industry is relatively labour-intensive, added to which increasing costs and the competition of cheap imports have pressed manufacturers to specialise in niches (luxury, safety or orthopaedic footwear) or to shift production to abroad via the outward processing route (OPT). The footwear manufacturing industry in two countries, Italy and showed (limited) positive developments, but at the other end of the scale, significant reductions had been recorded by many other EU producers. For example, UK footwear production plummeted nearly 46 percent, Belgium 25%, France 13%, Germany 9% and Spain 4%. There are large differences between the member states in production regarding number of output as well as type of product. Many footwear manufacturers in the EU are now importing uppers and to a lesser degree outer soles and other parts for final assembly in their products. EU imports (from outside the Union) of parts of footwear amounted to US$ 1,426 million, of which 85 percent uppers. Romania is the main supplier of uppers followed by India (for many years leading supplier and passed by Romania in 1999), Tunisia and Hungary. Almost all sports and sports leisure shoes continue to be made in the Far East (almost 80% of the global production!) and Eastern Europe, including production for the major international manufacturers such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Fila, Hi-Tec and Puma. Europe accounts for 20 percent of the world s production of leather uppers, for an important part fashion and quality production coming mainly from Italy, Portugal and Spain. Germany German production of footwear has been on the decline for many years, as imports from low labour cost countries have increased. HDS, Germany s footwear industry association, has released figures for 2001 showing a 9.6 percent increase in exports to DM 1.67 billion (US$ 785 million). In terms of production, the good growth in exports counteracted the weakness in Table 4.1 Production of footwear by EU member states (in million pairs) % change % change 1997/ /2000 Italy Spain Portugal France Germany UK Austria Denmark Greece Finland Ireland Sweden Belgium/Luxembourg Total EU Source: CEC 21

23 Table 4.2 Overview of German footwear industry, Plants (average number) Employees (average number) 18,577 17,766 16,964 16,457 Volume of output ( 000 pairs) 41,500 39,840 35,820 33,884 Value of output (DM bn) Domestic sales (DM bn) Foreign sales (DM bn) Source: HDS the domestic market where sales fell 2.7 percent to DM 4.28 billion (US$ 2.0 billion). Salamander is the biggest shoe manufacturer in Europe ( 1.29 billion in 2001) and includes besides the brand Salamander: Lurchi, Yellowmiles, Sioux, Betty Barclay and Apollo. The Salamander Group also has a retail division with 115 shops in Germany, as well as abroad (Austria, France and East European countries) Many German manufacturers are doing well in the so-called health and comfort sector, of which Birkenstock and Ganter are well-known with important exports to respectively the USA and Japan. Imports of footwear parts (uppers and soles) for final assembly in Germany increased from US$ 316 million in 1999 to 360 million in 2000, coming mainly from Portugal, Italy, India and Hungary. Footwear production in accounted for almost 6 percent of the domestic market in The number of footwear manufacturers in the Netherlands has declined too and numbers only 20 companies (with more than 20 employees) with an annual output of 4 million pairs, including production abroad. The leading companies like Van Lier, Van Bommel, Greve, Berkelmans, Avang and Durea are specialised in the more expensive footwear. Italy Italy plays a major role in global footwear production, in spite of high costs of labour and is concentrated on quality, well designed footwear in leather. Italy is Europe s largest producer of footwear (ahead of Spain, France and Portugal) and fifth largest on a global scale. However, Italian footwear production decreased from 460 million pairs in 1997 to 375 million in Italian footwear manufacturers ended with a turnover of 8.3 billion (US$ 7.6 bn) in 2000, 11 percent more than 1999, with 390 million pairs produced (up 2.4%). In 2001, production fell again just like in the period This period showed falls of respectively 8 and 10 percent, while production figures in 2001 reached million pairs (3.8 percent less than 2000) at a value of 8,670 million (+4.8%). This downturn reflects a deterioration in export sales in the face of intense competition, especially from low-cost countries and higher imports, which have made it increasingly difficult for Italian producers to retain their shares of the home market. Export figures showed negative signs compared to the previous year with million pairs (- 2.4%) at a value of million (equal to an increase of 9.5 percent). The average price of exported footwear ( per pair) has increased by 12.1 percent. The quantity of goods manufactured and exported has dropped considerably whilst this trend has not affected the total value and average prices; Table 4.3 Overview of the footwear industry in, Plants (average number) Employees (average number) 1,814 1,734 1,688 1,650 Volume of output ( 000 pairs) 5,550 3,650 3,800 3,925 Value of output ( mln) Domestic sales ( mln) Foreign sales ( mln) Source: CBS 22

24 Table 4.4 Overview of Italian footwear industry, Plants (average number) 8,880 8,510 7,660 7,570 7,500 Employees (average number) 120, , , , ,100 Production (in mln pairs) Value of output ( million) 8,052 7,907 7,417 8,269 8,670 Domestic sales ( mln) 2,128 2,064 1,915 1,663 1,439 Foreign sales ( mln) 5,924 5,843 5,502 6,606 7,231 Source: ANCI the overall Italian offer reached a higher bracket with each product sector being positioned on a higher level, although to different degrees. The Italian footwear industry is very fragmented. The number of companies amounted to 7,500 in Footwear producers employ an average of about 15 persons. In 2001, leather accounted for 86 percent of total production value and 70 percent of the total volume of 375 million pairs. All the main types of footwear suffered falls in output. In particular, production of sports footwear and textiles uppers fell. Many companies are now importing uppers and soles for final assembly in Italy. In 1995 imports of these amounted to US$ 404 million, while they increased to 652 million in 1999 and to 740 million in Romania is the main supplier of uppers and soles with an import share of 37 percent (in terms of value), at a distance followed by Tunisia, Albania, India, Bulgaria and Hungary. France France is the fourth leading shoe manufacturer in the EU. It ranked third for many years but was passed by Portugal in French production decreased 20 percent in the period to less than 100 million pairs in 2000 with a value of FF 11.8 bn. The ten leading companies are Eram, Bacou, Bata, Mephisto, Pindière, Lafuma, Aigle, Jalatte, Allemand Industries and Polygone. Eram is not only the leading manufacturer but also the leading retailer in France. Bacou and Jalatte are manufacturers of safety footwear, besides other safety products. Bata is active in around 70 countries as a manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing organisation. Mephisto is specialised in walking shoes and an estimated 85 percent of its turnover is covered by exports. The other companies are all active in fashionable footwear, of which Allemand Industries is the leading children s footwear manufacturer. Just like manufacturers in Italy, French companies imported an increasing degree of uppers and soles for (final) assembly. In 1995 these imports amounted to US$ 140 million and even 213 million in 2000, coming mainly from Tunisia (27%) and Morocco (18%), followed by Italy, Spain and India.. Leading categories in French footwear production in 2000 were footwear with leather uppers (47 million pairs or 47 percent of total production) and footwear with uppers of textiles (36 million pairs or 36 percent). The remaining 17 percent included footwear with rubber or plastic uppers. In terms of value, the leading product group was footwear with leather uppers (67% of total production). The trend to move production to foreign sites is likely to continue as a cost-saving measure. The sluggishness of the home market and the intense competition from the low-wage countries has led French manufacturers to Table 4.5 Overview of French footwear industry, Plants (average number) Employees (average number) 26,300 24,800 23,300 20,800 Volume of output (million pairs) Value of output (FFr.mln) 14,000 13,800 13,200 11,800 Foreign sales (FFr.mln) 5,220 5,470 5,780 5,140 Source: CNC 23

25 react in order to survive. A number of companies has created brands along with a selective distribution or specialised in specific products, such as children s footwear. Other strategies consist of moving into specialised niches like safety wear, hiking and mountain boots. UK For a number of years, the UK was the fifth largest producer of footwear in the EU. Germany passed the UK in terms of volume in 2000, after a fall of 46 percent in UK output. In 2001 around 12,000 people were employed in completed footwear manufacturing, with perhaps a further 5,000 in supplier and allied trades. UK production of footwear has been in decline for many years (103 million pairs in 1995 and 34 million in 2000) as imports from low labour cost countries have increased. The closure of UK s largest retail chain, BSC (British Shoe Corporation) a subsidiary of the Sears Group in 1999, resulted in heavily discounted sales of large quantities of stock by retailers. The severe price competition has put pressure on manufacturers, which have responded by closing some or all UK factories and sourcing overseas to retain market share. However, this action has tended to lower footwear prices further. C&J Clark International Ltd is the UK s top-ranked shoe company in terms of sales. The company continues to introduce new ranges, while at the same time refining classics. R Griggs & Company Ltd, which manufactures the Dr Martens shoe range, is the second most successful shoe company. Other manufacturers are Church & Co, Start Rite, Pentland-Group, Peter Black, Lambert Howarth etc. Clarks and Church are significant retailers as well as manufacturers. Imports of uppers and soles for final assembly into the UK increased strongly until In 1999 the imports of uppers more or less stabilised at US$193 million, whereas ten years ago this was only US$ 45 million. In 2000, these imports decreased to US$ 177 million, caused by the considerable fall in domestic production. The main suppliers of uppers and soles were India (31% of total imports), Thailand (24%), China (18%) and Brazil (6%) in EU Outward Processing Trade The restructuring policy of many manufacturing companies in the EU has also involved the outsourcing of more labour intensive operations in area inside the EU (Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Greece) and outside the EU, like Central and East European countries (CEECs), Mediterranean countries and Asian countries. Table 4.6 Overview of UK s footwear industry, est Plants (average number) Employees (average number) 22,980 21,300 20,700 17,500 17,000 Production (in 000 pairs) 88,900 82,800 62,900 34,100 33,800 Value of output ( bn) 1,233 1,068 1, Foreign sales ( bn) Source: British Footwear Association Table 4.7 EU developments in OPT of footwear in total and by trade partners, US$ mln Leading trade partners in 2000 EU 556 Romania (41%), Hungary (13%), Albania (12%), Croatia (5%) of which: Italy 386 Romania (54%), Albania (17%), Serbia Montenegro (5%), Croatia (4%) Germany 83 Hungary (58%), Czech Rep. (28%), Croatia (10%), Moldova (6%) Denmark 19 Poland (72%), Hungary (9%), Lithuania (8%) France 18 Tunisia (26%), Morocco (24%), Slovakia (23%), Croatia (9%) UK 12 India (77%), Thailand (17%) Other EU countries 38 Romania (43%), India (18%), Hong Kong (9%), Slovakia (8%) Source: Eurostat 24

26 This policy, outward processing trade (OPT), gives EU manufacturers the possibility to maintain control over the management and quality of the outsourcing operations and to respond quickly to changing market demands. EU OPT for footwear increased steadily in the period from US$ 308 to 604 million, followed by a small decrease of less than 2 percent in 1999 and a strong decrease of 16 percent in Almost 90 percent of total OPT value came from CEECs. The most important OPT country outside Europe was India (2.4%), followed by the Mediterranean countries Morocco (0.9%) and Tunisia (0.9%). OPT with India decreased from US$ 26.7 million in 1998 to 12.7 million in OPT with Tunisia almost halved in one year: from US$ 9.5 million in 1999 to 4.8 million in 2000, while imports from Morocco stabilised at US$ 5.0 million. 25

27 5 IMPORTS 5.1 Total imports Before we take a look at the import figures for footwear into the EU, it should be noted that all data presented in this chapter are official trade figures provided by Eurostat. We therefore refer to the remarks in chapter 1, explaining that official statistics are not always all-embracing and should be interpreted with care. It should also be noted that the statistics do not take into account the considerable volume of fraudulent imports of Chinese products via other countries. Anti-fraud investigations, among others by the European Anti Fraud Office (OLAF ), on this issue for instance in verifying certificates of origin, learned that large volumes of shoes originating in China were declared as originating in certain countries of the Middle and Far East. Control on trade policy measures and other instruments against fraud are discussed in chapter 1.2 of the EU Strategic Marketing Guide. EU Total EU (15) imports of footwear amounted to US$ 17.9 billion ( bn) in Germany remained the leading importer, with an import share of 22 percent in terms of value, followed by UK (17%), France (15%), Italy (13%) and (8 %). Belgium (6%) ranked sixth, followed by Austria (4%). EU imports of footwear decreased by 4.4 percent in the period EU countries can be divided, as to developments in value of imports during this period, into: Very strongly decreased imports (more than 10%) in Portugal, Finland, Germany and Belgium; Strongly falling imports (between 5-10 %) in UK and Austria; Slowly falling imports (less than 5%) in Sweden and Greece; Slowly growing imports (less than 5%) in Italy, France,, Denmark and Ireland; Booming imports (more than 10%) in Spain. Developments in imports of footwear vary strongly per EU country. This depends on several factors like size and structure of domestic production of footwear, the possibilities and size of re-exports and developments in demand as described in chapter 3.1. The growth in Spanish imports covered for an important part leather shoes and special sports footwear. International brands came from other EU countries (mainly Belgium, Portugal, Italy and ) while lower priced products came from developing countries (mainly Vietnam, China and Morocco). Spanish production satisfies the demand for medium and medium-high articles. Figure 5.1 EU import of footwear by member states, Finland Greece Ireland Portugal Sweden Denmark Spain Austria Belgium/Lux Netherlands Italy France UK Germany US$ million 26

28 Table 5.1 Developments in EU imports of footwear by member states in terms of value, % change % change US$ mln US$ mln US$ mln US$ mln Germany 4,776 4,580 4,503 4, % % UK 3,141 3,143 3,326 3, % - 9.7% France 2,778 2,802 2,711 2, % + 1.9% Italy 2,174 2,177 2,298 2, % + 4.2% Netherlands 1,150 1,201 1,337 1, % + 1.7% Belgium/Lux. 1,296 1,117 1,266 1, % % Austria % - 7.6% Spain % % Denmark % + 1.4% Sweden % - 2.0% Portugal % % Greece % - 1.6% Ireland % + 3.2% Finland % % EU (15) 18,519 18,404 18,686 17, % - 4.4% Source: derived from Eurostat The fall in Portuguese imports was mainly caused by the product group parts of footwear, of which imports fell from US$ 153 million in 1999 to 116 million in About 52 percent of the total value of EU imports came from other EU countries in 2000, mainly from Italy (17% of total EU imports and 32% of intra-eu imports). Other major suppliers to the EU market were Portugal (7%), Belgium (6%) and Spain (6%), followed by (5%). The total import share of other EU countries decreased, this percentage being 11.8 percent in 2000 and 12.5 percent in1998. Imports from the leading EU supplier Italy decreased by 20.9 percent in the period to just under US$ 3 billion in 2000, while imports from Portugal decreased 16.6 percent and imports from Spain 18.4 percent in the same period. This means that Portugal ranked fourth (in terms of value) under China and runner-up Vietnam. Imports from Belgium and increased respectively 2.1 and 28.5 percent in the period rd and 4 th in 2000 before China. China remained the EU s leading supplier in the product groups plastic/or rubber footwear for sports (39%) and outdoor (27%), while Vietnam in the latter category accounted for 20 percent of total imports. Sports footwear with uppers of textiles came mainly from China (26%), Belgium and Vietnam (each country 14%), indoor footwear with uppers of textiles from China (26%) and Spain (22%) and outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles from Vietnam (25%) and China (19%). A more detailed overview of EU import sources is given in appendix 2.2, while the role of developing countries will be discussed in chapter 5.3. EU imports from developing countries increased in terms of volume (+ 19%) and value (+ 11%) against lower prices (- 6%). Developing countries gain from the decreased intra-eu imports, just like other countries from outside the EU: CEECs (mainly Romania) and Asian countries (mainly Taiwan). Italy remained the leading supplier to the EU market in the category outdoor footwear with uppers of leather with 141 million pairs in 2000, above Portugal (61 million pairs). Vietnamn (55 mln pairs) passed Spain (44 mln pairs) in 2000, these countries ranked 27

29 Table 5.2 Imports of footwear into the EU by area of origin, in terms of volume and average import prices, % change % change mln Average mln Average mln Average pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total 1, , , % % of which from: Other EU countries % % Developing countries % - 6.3% Total other countries % % Source: Eurostat Total imports by selected markets within the EU Germany Germany is the largest EU importer of footwear and accounted for 22 percent in terms of value in However, this percentage was just above 30 percent in Germany imported footwear at a value of US$ 4.0 billion ( 4.3 bn) in 2000, of which 44 percent was sourced outside the EU. Of the total footwear imports, 31 percent came from developing countries. Between 1998 and 2000, German imports decreased by 12.6 percent in terms of value and increased 3.6 percent in terms of volume. The general trend in German imports of footwear in the period under review was growing imports in volume against much lower prices: imports fell 12.6 percent in value and grew 3.7 percent in volume, which indicates 15.7 percent lower prices. In 1999 imports grew in terms of volume (+ 6.1%) but fell 2.3 percent in The period showed a decreasing import share from other EU countries to 46 percent in volume and 56 percent in value of total German imports in 2000, while these percentages were respectively 52 and 61 in This was caused by decreased imports from Italy, Spain Austria, France and the UK, in favour of Asian developing countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Macao and to a much smaller degree CEECs, like Romania, Ukraine, Poland and Hungary. Italy retained its leading position as leading supplier to the German market in terms of volume, despite a slight fall (- 1.5%) in 1999 and a strong fall of 11 percent in Imports from Vietnam rose from 34.6 million pairs in 1998 to 53.2 mln in 2000, while imports from China (ranked 2 nd in 1998 and 3 rd in 1999 and 2000) fell from 46.0 mln in 1998 to 44.3 in Imports from EU countries varied considerably: imports from Portugal (4 th ) increased slightly and from (5 th ) strongly (14.8 million pairs in 1998 and 20.4 mln in 2000), while imports from Spain (7 th ) and France (12 th ) decreased in the period , respectively 25% to 19.6 mln and 33 percent to 7.1 mln pairs. China was the leading supplier to the German market in sports footwear and indoor footwear with textile uppers in Italy was the leading supplier of Germany in the product groups waterproof outdoor, indoor footwear with plastic uppers, indoor and outdoor footwear with leather uppers and indoor footwear with textile uppers. Table 5.3 Imports of total footwear into Germany by area of origin, mln Average mln Average mln Average % change % change pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total % % of which from: Other EU countries % - 8.0% Developing countries % % Other countries % + 3.1% Source: Eurostat 28

30 Table 5. 4 Leading (5) suppliers of footwear to Germany for major product groups in 2000 (in thousand pairs) 2000 Five leading suppliers in 2000: Plastic or rubber footwear (import share in % between brackets) waterproof outdoor 7,296 Italy (48), China (35), Czech Rep. (6), Netherlands (4), France (2). sports 3,819 Italy (31), China (22), Netherlands (9), Belgium (9), Vietnam (8). indoor 3,219 Italy (45), Poland (11). Netherlands (7), Spain (6), Austria (6). other outdoor 77,926 Vietnam (28), China (20), Italy (18), Netherlands (7), Cambodia (3). Footwear with leather uppers: sports 4,799 Slovakia (22), Vietnam (16), China (16), Italy (14), Indonesia (7). indoor 3,955 Italy (23), Portugal (16), Spain (12), Moldova (11), Austria (8). outdoor, outer soles of leather 10,545 Italy (52), Spain (12), Vietnam (8), Portugal (4), India (4). outdoor, other outer soles 148,838 Italy (21), Vietnam (11), Portugal (10), Spain (7), Hungary (5). Footwear with textile uppers: sports 13,342 China (38), Vietnam (18), Belgium (9), Indonesia (8), Netherlands (7). indoor, rubber/plastic outer soles 17,454 Italy (15), Spain (14), France (13), Portugal (13), Turkey (9). indoor, other outer soles 11,499 China (62), Poland (16), Netherlands (15), Belgium (2), Italy (1). outdoor, outer soles rubber/plastic 30,590 Vietnam (31), Italy (16), Netherlands (7), China (7), Cambodia (5). Other 17,238 Total imports of footwear 350,520 Italy (21), Vietnam (15), China (13), Portugal (6), (6). Source: Eurostat United Kingdom The UK is the second largest EU importer in terms of value and accounted for almost 17 percent of the EU total imports of footwear in Imports of footwear amounted to US$ 3.0 billion ( 3.3 bn) in British importers sourced around 50 percent of footwear in non-eu countries (in 1999 this percentage was 43%). UK imports fell in the period by 4.3 percent, which was somewhat higher than the EU average of 3.6 percent. Of the total imports, almost 46 percent came from developing countries. In 2000, China and Vietnam passed Italy as leading suppliers to the UK market in terms of volume. China ranked 2 nd and Vietnam 3 rd in 1998 and Spain (4 th ) and Portugal (5 th ) retained their positions despite a considerable fall in exports to the UK in Italy retained its position as leading supplier to the UK market in terms of value, despite a fall of 8 percent in 2000 to US$ 532 million. Other main EU suppliers to the UK were Portugal, Spain, Belgium and. Imports from Spain and increased while imports from Belgium and Portugal decreased in Imports from the major Asian suppliers (China, Vietnam, India and Indonesia) increased considerably in the period under review. Italy was the leading supplier to the UK market in outdoor footwear with uppers of leather in China was the leading supplier to the UK in sports footwear and indoor footwear with textile uppers and sports and outdoor plastic or rubber footwear. Table 5.5 Imports of total footwear into UK by area of origin, mln Average mln Average mln Average % change % change pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total % - 9.0% of which from: Other EU countries % - 2.2% Developing countries % - 6.6% Other countries % - 2.8% Source: Eurostat 29

31 Table 5. 6 Leading (5) suppliers of footwear to UK for major product groups in 2000 (in thousand pairs) 2000 Five leading suppliers in 2000: Plastic or rubber footwear (import share in % between brackets) waterproof outdoor 1,900 Italy ( 31), China (29), France (10), Lithuania (7), Romania (4). sports 6,604 China (34), Ireland (14), Indonesia (13), Vietnam (11), Italy (10). indoor 1,534 Spain (25), China (21), Vietnam (16), Belgium (8), Malaysia (5). other outdoor 50,294 China (34), Vietnam (26), Indonesia (9), Italy (7), Taiwan (5). Footwear with leather uppers: sports 6,543 Vietnam (17), Italy (15), Indonesia (14), China (12), USA (8). outdoor, outer soles of leather 18,636 Italy (39), Portugal (24), India (10), Spain (7), Netherlands (5). outdoor, other outer soles 96,113 Italy (17), Portugal (12), Vietnam (11), India (9), China (9). Footwear with textile uppers: sports 16,757 China (31), Vietnam (17), Indonesia (12), Belgium (10), Pakistan (7). indoor, rubber/plastic outer soles 19,092 Spain (40), China (30), Vietnam (11), Sri Lanka (6), USA (4). indoor, other outer soles 17,289 China (84), Vietnam (4),Sri Lanka (3), Hong Kong (2), Spain (1). outdoor, outer soles rubber/plastic 19,258 Vietnam (44), Spain (12), Italy (9), China (5), India (4). Other 22,014 Total imports of footwear 276,034 China (22), Vietnam (15), Italy (14), Spain (8), Portugal (7). Source: Eurostat Spain retained its leading position in some indoor footwear sectors. Vietnam became the leading supplier of sports footwear with leather uppers in 2000 and passed many countries including China. France France accounted for 15 percent of EU imports of footwear in Around 52 percent in volume and 33 percent in value of French imports was sourced outside the EU, while 47 percent in volume representing 28 percent in value came from developing countries. French imports of footwear fell by 1.4 percent in value terms between 1998 and 2000, despite a small growth of 1.9 percent in In 2000, most French imports of footwear (in terms of value) came from the other EU members: Italy (23%), Spain (11%), Belgium (10%), Portugal (9%) and (8%). The leading non-eu suppliers were Vietnam (7%) and China (6%). Other suppliers to France were Tunisia (3%), Germany (3%), Morocco (3%), Romania (2%), UK (2%) and Indonesia (2%). Imports from Italy decreased in the period but grew by 4 percent to US$ 622 million in Imports from the other EU countries increased too with the exception of Portugal. Imports from all mentioned developing countries increased. Other developing countries with booming exports to France were Cambodia (US$ 1.6 million in 1998 and 14.4 million in 2000!) and, with somewhat less growth, Slovakia, Bangladesh and Macao. In 1999, China passed Italy as leading supplier to the French market in terms of volume. In 2000, China Table 5.7 Imports of total footwear into France by area of origin, mln Average mln Average mln Average % change % change pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total % % of which from: Other EU countries % % Developing countries % - 4.4% Other countries % % Source: Eurostat 30

32 Table 5. 8 Leading (5) suppliers of footwear to France for major product groups in 2000 (in thousand pairs) 2000 Five leading suppliers in 2000: Plastic or rubber footwear (import share in % between brackets) waterproof outdoor 3,730 Italy (45), Slovakia (14), China (13), Morocco (8), Netherlands (4). sports 5,263 Romania (25), China (23), Italy (23), Belgium (8), Indonesia (4). other outdoor 52,762 China (21), Vietnam (21), Italy (14), Belgium (10), Netherlands (6). Footwear with leather uppers sports 3,963 Italy (23), Spain (19), Belgium (15), Netherlands (11), UK (9). outdoor, outer soles of leather 14,889 Italy (36), Spain (25), Portugal (19), Bulgaria (5), Morocco (3). outdoor, other outer soles 77,066 Italy (22), Portugal (14), Spain (11), Netherlands (9), Vietnam (9). Footwear with textile uppers sports 18,362 Belgium (22), China (20), Netherlands (15), Vietnam (8), Italy (7). indoor, rubber/plastic outer soles 26,428 China (39), Spain (18), Vietnam (10), Morocco (5), Czech Rep. (5). indoor, other outer soles 21,311 China (83), Belgium (5), Netherlands (4), Italy (3), Germany (2). outdoor, outer soles rubber/plastic 37,387 Vietnam (28), China (13), Italy (11), Belgium (7), Spain (6). Other 17,581 Total imports of footwear 278,742 China (20), Italy (16), Vietnam (12), Spain (9), Belgium (8). Source: Eurostat improved its position as leading supplier to the French market in terms of volume. Imports from China rose from 51.7 million pairs in 1999 to 55.7 in 2000, while imports from Italy fell from 45.9 million in 1999 to 44.1 in Vietnam retained its position and ranked 3 rd during the whole period , followed by Spain, Belgium, and Portugal. Italy, Spain and Portugal were leading suppliers to the French market in the category outdoor footwear with uppers of leather in China was the leading supplier to France in the product groups plastic or rubber outdoor footwear and indoor footwear with textile uppers. Sports footwear with upper of textiles came mainly from Belgium and China and outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles from Vietnam. Italy In 2000, Italy imported footwear for US$ 2,395 million ( 2,598 mln) of which 77 percent was sourced outside the EU, 39 percent from developing countries and 38 percent from other countries. Besides and France, Italy increased its imports of footwear among the major EU countries. Imports rose in terms of volume by 5.5 percent, and by 4.2 percent in terms of value in 2000, after a much bigger growth of respectively 11.9 and 5.6 percent in Romania (25%) was the leading supplier of footwear (in value) to Italy in 2000, of which 55 percent concerned OPT. Other suppliers to Italy included Belgium (8%), China (8%),Tunisia (6%), Vietnam (5%), Bulgaria (4%) and several countries with a share of around 3 percent, such as, Albania, Spain, India and France. Table 5.9 Imports of total footwear into Italy by area of origin, mln Average mln Average mln Average % change % change pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total % - 6.8% of which from: Other EU countries % - 2.3% Developing countries % - 7.3% Other countries % % Source: Eurostat 31

33 China retained its leading position as leading supplier to the Italian market in terms of volume. Imports from China rose from 43.7 million pairs in 1998 to 54.2 mln in 2000, while imports from Romania (ranked 2 nd during the period under review) grew from 26.7 mln in 1998 to 38.5 in Belgium ranked 4 th after Vietnam, followed by Tunisia, Indonesia, Thailand, Spain and Bulgaria. Imports from Belgium, Indonesia, Thailand and Spain decreased in 2000, while imports from Vietnam, Tunisia and Bulgaria increased. China was the leading supplier to the Italian market in several types of footwear, except waterproof outdoor and footwear with leather uppers. Vietnam became the new leading supplier of sports footwear with leather uppers and passed China, while the leading position in the other product groups was taken by Romania. Table 5.10 Leading (5) suppliers of footwear to Italy for major product groups in 2000 (in thousand pairs) 2000 Five leading suppliers in 2000: Plastic or rubber footwear (import share in % between brackets) waterproof outdoor 2,852 Romania (41), China (30), Serb. Monten. (9), Czech R. (4), France (4). sports 9,219 China (54), Vietnam (6), Belgium (6), Hungary (5), Bosnia/H. (5). other outdoor 30,838 China (28), Thailand (17), Indonesia (11), Vietnam (11), Belgium (6). Footwear with leather uppers sports 5,152 Vietnam (20), China (18), Indonesia (9), Germany (7), Romania (6). outdoor, outer soles of leather 7,112 Romania (32), Spain (9), Serb. Monten. (9), Tunisia (8), India (6). outdoor, other outer soles 54,408 Romania (37), Vietnam (6), Belgium (5), Bosnia Herz. (4), Bulgaria (4). Footwear with textile uppers sports 18,556 China (25), Belgium (20), Vietnam (18), Netherlands (7), Indonesia (6). indoor, rubber/plastic outer soles 7,901 China (45), Spain (19), Vietnam (8), Bulgaria (8), Poland (5). indoor, other outer soles 18,926 China (83), Romania (6), France (4), Tunisia (1), Ukraine (1). outdoor, outer soles rubber/plastic 22,983 China (38), Romania (20), Vietnam (13), Spain (5), Indonesia (3). Other 20,579 Total imports of footwear 198,526 China (27), Romania (19), Vietnam (8), Belgium (5), Bosnia/Herz. (2). Source: Eurostat ranked fifth as EU importer of footwear with an import value of US$ 1,360 million ( 1,475 mln), of which 55 percent came from non-eu sources and 39 percent from developing countries. Between 1998 and 2000, Netherlands imports increased by 13.3 percent in terms of value and volume. China became Netherlands leading supplier in terms of value. Chinese imports rose from US$ 129 million in 1998 to 213 million in 2000 and reached an import share of 15.6 percent, followed by Belgium (13%), Italy (11%), Vietnam (9%), Germany (7%), Hong Kong (6%), Portugal (6%) and Indonesia (4%). China improved its leading position as the leading supplier to the Netherlands market in terms of volume. Table 5.11 Imports of total footwear into by area of origin, mln Average mln Average mln Average % change % change pairs price pairs price pairs price in volume in price in US$ in US$ in US$ Total % = of which from: Other EU countries % - 4.2% Developing countries % + 9.9% Other countries % + 3.8% Source: Eurostat 32

34 Table Leading (5) suppliers of footwear to for major product groups in 2000 (in thousand pairs) 2000 Five leading suppliers in 2000: Plastic or rubber footwear (import share in % between brackets) waterproof outdoor 1,338 Italy (44), Portugal (32), China (7), France (4), Germany (4). sports 1,632 China (32), Belgium (15), Italy (12), Hong Kong (9), Taiwan (8). other outdoor 29,833 China (33), Vietnam (17), Taiwan (7), Italy (6), Romania (5). Footwear with leather uppers: sports 2,362 China (16), Vietnam (16), Germany (13), Taiwan (11), Italy (9). outdoor, outer soles of leather 3,095 Italy (42), Portugal (16), Spain (12), Germany (6), India (4). outdoor, other outer soles 48,385 China (12), Vietnam (11), Italy (10), Portugal (9), Hong Kong (8). Footwear with textile uppers: sports 9,289 China (35), Belgium (19), Hong Kong (12), Indonesia (10), Vietnam (7). indoor, rubber/plastic outer soles 3,080 Turkey (28), China (25), Belgium (13), Spain (9), France (7). indoor, other outer soles 9,384 China (91), Belgium (2), Hong Kong (2), Germany (1), Taiwan (1). outdoor, outer soles rubber/plastic 15,147 China (31), Vietnam (27), Taiwan (10), Italy (4), UA Emirates (3). Other 6,865 Total imports of footwear 130,410 China (29), Vietnam (12), Italy (8), Belgium (6), Hong Kong (5). Source: Eurostat Imports from China rose from 30.1 million pairs in 1998 to 37.3 mln in 2000, while imports from Italy (ranked 2 nd in 1998 and 3 rd in 1999 and 2000) fell from 10.7 mln in 1998 to 10.2 in Vietnam retained its position and ranked 2 nd since Imports from Vietnam increased considerably (almost 11% in 2000), while imports from Hong Kong fell almost 57 percent and became the 5 th supplier to The Netherlands after Belgium and before Portugal. Hong Kong was the leading suppliers to the Netherlands market in all kinds of sports footwear and in the category outdoor footwear with uppers of leather in China took over these positions in 2000, while several other countries passed Hong Kong, too. China remained the leading supplier to in the product groups plastic or rubber outdoor footwear and indoor footwear with textile uppers and became the leading supplier of other sports footwear, outdoor footwear with leather uppers. Outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles came mainly from China and Vietnam. 5.2 Imports by product group According to the official import statistics, footwear can be classified: by type of product (outdoor, indoor, sports or safety footwear), and/or by materials used for uppers and outer soles. For some products, mainly outdoor footwear, a more detailed classification is possible, for instance: by user, like children (inner sole less than 24 cm.), men, women or for both sexes, and/or by type of footwear, like whether or not covering the ankle, height of the heel etc. EU Five product groups covered almost 90 percent (in value) of total EU imports of footwear (excluding safety footwear and parts of footwear): outdoor footwear with uppers of leather outdoor footwear with uppers and outer soles of plastic or rubber outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles sports footwear with uppers of textiles, including training, tennis and basketball shoes, however this product group is not further specified in the available statistics sports footwear with uppers of leather Outdoor footwear remained by far the most important type of footwear in EU imports. Imports increased more strongly in volume than in value, meaning that average import prices decreased from US$ in 1998, to in 1999 and in Imports of sports footwear increased slightly (1.0%) in volume and decreased 7.9 percent in value during the whole period , while average import prices fell from US$ in 1998 to in 1999 and to in 2000, mainly caused by sports footwear with uppers of leather. Imports of parts of footwear stabilised just above US$ 2 billion for several years but decreased in 2000 to just under US$ 1.9 billion, of which almost 40 percent went to Italy. Leather outdoor footwear EU imports of leather outdoor footwear rose from 575 million pairs in 1998 to 649 million in These imports of footwear with leather uppers accounted for 87 percent soles of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, for 11 percent leather soles and the 33

35 Table 5.13 Imports of footwear into the EU by end use and material in volume and value, (excl. safety footwear and parts of footwear) mln mln mln mln mln mln pairs US$ pairs US$ pairs US$ Outdoor footwear: of leather 575 9, , ,477 waterproof of plastic/rubber 257 1, , ,908 of textiles of other materials Total outdoor footwear 1,053 12,670 1,158 13,107 1,186 12,515 Sport shoes: of leather of plastic/rubber of textiles 115 1, , ,359 Total sport shoes 192 2, , ,484 Indoor footwear: of leather of plastic/rubber of textiles Total indoor footwear Total imports 1,444 15,933 1,553 16,226 1,592 15,547 Source: Eurostat remaining 2 percent soles of other materials, like wood, cork etc. About 22 percent of leather outdoor footwear with soles of rubber etc. imports was footwear covering the ankle and 78 percent not covering the ankle; these percentages were respectively 18 and 72 percent in Imports of footwear covering the ankle amounted to million pairs in 2000, of which 86 percent concerned a height under the calf. These imports rose in the period by 12 percent, while average import prices fell 35 percent in this period. Imports of footwear covering the ankle, but under the calf, include for 41 percent children s footwear, 18 percent for men and 30 percent for women, while the remaining 14 percent is for both sexes in These percentages were rather stable in the preceding years with a much lower import share of children s footwear (22%) and higher share for men (27%) and women (39% ). Footwear not covering the ankle can be divided into shoes with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, and other shoes. Around 29 percent of imports of the first-mentioned category includes women s shoes with height of heel more than 3 cm. (mainly pumps), an increase of 7 percent compared with Imports of the latter category increased from almost 297 in 1998 to 367 million pairs in 2000, with average import prices of US$ in 1998 and US$ in Just like other leather footwear, the majority of pumps has outer soles of synthetic leather (thunit): 86 percent in 1998 and 84 percent in Plastic or rubber outdoor footwear EU imports of outdoor footwear with uppers and outer soles of plastic or rubber accounted for 15 percent of total outdoor footwear imports in 2000, which compared with 1998 was a growth of 14 percent. During this period, the imported volume grew by 22 percent. Average import prices fell from US$ 6.58 in 1998 to 6.08 in Import prices of all products decreased, however, the biggest fall was for rubber boots. Imports of all types of rubber/plastic footwear increased with the exception of footwear not covering the ankle with uppers of plastic, which fell from 27.4 million pairs in 1998 to 23.0 million in The most important growth was shown footwear not covering the ankle with vamp of straps or pieces cut out and a heel height of 3 cm or less, namely from 40.7 million pairs in 1998 to 60.3 million pairs in This was followed by a growth of 45 percent to 36.7 million pairs 34

36 Table 5.14 EU imports of footwear with leather uppers and rubber, plastic or synthetic leather outer soles, mln mln mln mln mln mln pairs US$ pairs US$ pairs US$ Footwear covering ankle: under calf , , ,271 other footwear Footwear not covering ankle: with vamp of straps or pieces cut out other footwear , , ,383 Total , , ,882 Source: Eurostat in imports of footwear, not covering the ankle with vamp of straps or pieces cut out and a heel height of more than 3 cm. Outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles into the EU increased from 176 million pair in 1998 to 186 million in 1999, but then decreased to 175 million in This product group covered for 89 percent rubber or plastic soles, 2 percent leather soles, 1 percent wood or cork and 8 percent other soles Average import prices remained rather stable around US$ Sports footwear Sports shoes with textile uppers covered 56 percent of EU sports footwear imports in the period under review. This product group, despite a fall in imports, remained very important. Official statistics make no further specifications of this product group. Imports of ski and snowboard boots with uppers of rubber or plastic increased from 4.7 million to 5.9 million pairs in the period , while imports with leather uppers almost halved. Leather sports footwear imports include for a very small part (less than 1%) ski and snowboard boots. EU imports of sportswear with uppers of rubber or plastic (other than ski and snowboard boots) were 10 percent higher in 2000 than in 1998, with uppers of leather also 10 percent, while the most important category sports footwear, namely uppers of textiles, were 5 percent lower. The popularity of the specific sports shoes in several EU countries is declining, because the fashion trend is towards easy-to-wear and easy-to-care footwear. Differences between town or city wear and sportswear became much smaller. Indoor footwear EU imports of indoor footwear increased more than 3 percent annually in the period under review, mainly caused by indoor footwear with textile and leather uppers, both with outer soles of rubber or plastic. Imports of textile uppers increased from 73 million pairs in 1998 to 89 million in 2000 and leather uppers from 11 to 13 million pairs. Just like in the case of sports footwear, the product group with uppers of textile dominated with around 87 percent of total imports of indoor footwear. Average import prices decreased on average 4.7 percent annually. Germany Five product groups: outdoor footwear with uppers of leather (and soles of rubber etc.), plastic/rubber and textiles, sport shoes of textiles and leather indoor footwear) covered 88 percent of German imports in terms of value in Total imports decreased, mainly caused by a fall in imports of the leading product group outdoor footwear with leather uppers. The main developments in German imports of the product category leather outdoor footwear, besides a general decrease in imports of most items, were: decrease in imports of footwear for men and women with outer soles of synthetic leather etc. and not covering the ankle with vamp or straps or pieces cut out, from 30.3 million pairs in 1998 to 26.9 million in 2000; increase in imports of footwear for men and women with outer soles of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather and not covering the ankle (without vamp or straps or pieces cut out), from 77.6 million pairs in 1998 to 86.2 million in 2000; decrease in imports of footwear covering the ankle (under calf) for men, women and children with outer soles of synthetic leather etc. from 28.2 million pairs in 1998 to 20.2 million in 2000; increase in imports of footwear covering the ankle (above calf) for men and women with outer soles of synthetic leather etc. from 4.5 million pairs in 1998 to 6.4 million in

37 Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic increased from 58.3 million in 1998 to 77.9 million pairs in In this product group, the following items showed the biggest growth: footwear not covering the ankle with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out (10.0 million in 1998 and 18.4 million pairs in 2000) and with heels of more than 3 cm. (6.8 million in 1998 and 10.2 million pairs in 2000). Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles into Germany increased from 28.5 million pairs in 1998 to 33.2 million in Imports of shoes with soles of rubber or plastic increased from 141 million in 1998 (US$ 4.70/pair) to 157 million in 2000 (US$ 5.50/pair), however, imports of textile uppers with other soles fell from 26 to 12 million pairs in the same period, with average import prices of respectively US$ 2.30 in 1998 and US$ 3.75 in German imports of leather (other than ski and snowboard boots) and textile sport shoes decreased considerably: uppers of leather from 5.5 to 4.7 million pairs and uppers of textiles from 18.4 to 13.3 million. Imports of sports shoes with rubber or plastic uppers increased from 2.4 million in 1998 to 2.9 million pairs in Imports of ski boots with rubber or plastic uppers decreased 5.5 percent to 807 thousand pairs in favour of snowboard boots of rubber and plastic and leather boots. Imports of indoor footwear decreased just like the categories outdoor and sports footwear during the period Indoor footwear with textile uppers covered 78 percent (in terms of volume) of total imports in 2000 and increased from 28.4 million pairs in 1998 to 29.2 million in 2000, while imports of all other types of indoor footwear decreased. United Kingdom Leather outdoor footwear covered almost two thirds of UK imports (in terms of value) in The growth of imports in the period from 260 million to 272 million pairs was mainly caused by outdoor footwear of all materials and indoor footwear with textile uppers. Imports of low (not covering the ankle) outdoor shoes with leather uppers and rubber, plastic or synthetic leather soles increased for children by 45 percent to 20.4 million pairs, for men by 21 percent to 29.4 million pairs in the period , while footwear for women in this product group fell 2.7 percent to 43.5 million pairs in Imports of women s shoes with high heels (more than 3 cm) rose from 3.7 million to 6.7 million in Imports of high outdoor footwear decreased: under calf from 10.0 to 8.9 million pairs and other (higher) footwear from 2.7 to 2.1 million. Imports of outdoor footwear into the UK, with uppers of rubber or plastic, increased by 5.5 percent annually to 50.3 million pairs in Imports of children s footwear showed the biggest growth in this category (9.8 million in 1998 and 11.1 million pairs in 2000 followed by several other items, like shoes with high heels (from 4.9 to 6.1 million pairs). Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles into the UK fluctuated: they grew from 23.2 million pairs in 1998 to 25.4 million in 1999 and fell to 23.1 in These imports concerned for 83 percent footwear with rubber or plastic soles and for 12 percent footwear with soles of wood or cork, while the remaining part concerned other materials for the sole, like leather. Imports of nearly all types of sport shoes decreased with the exception of snowboard footwear, of which imports are very limited, and leather uppers. Imports of sport shoes with uppers of leather grew modestly by 1 percent to 6.5 million. Imports of sport shoes, other than ski boots, decreased in a strong variety: uppers of rubber or plastic decreased from 7.3 million in 1998 to 6.5 million pairs in 2000; sport shoes with uppers of textiles from 18.3 to 16.8 million. UK imports of indoor footwear increased strongly during the period from 32.7 million to 39.9 million pairs in Indoor footwear with textile uppers covered 92 percent (in terms of volume) of total imports in Imports of indoor footwear with uppers of leather and uppers of rubber or plastic increased considerably, namely from 1.1 million in 1998 to 1.7 million pairs in 2000 for leather uppers and from 1.1 to 1.5 million for rubber or plastic uppers. France Outdoor footwear covered 80 percent of French imports of footwear (excluding safety footwear and parts of footwear) in Imports of all major types of outdoor footwear increased in 2000 compared with 1998 (and 1999). Sport shoes imports increased slightly and imports of indoor footwear increased, caused by increased imports of slippers with uppers of textiles with rubber or plastic soles, while indoor footwear with other uppers decreased. Imports of low (not covering the ankle) outdoor shoes with leather uppers and rubber, plastic or synthetic leather soles increased from 44.6 million pairs in 1998 to 54.5 million in 2000, while high (covering the ankle) fell from 18.0 to 14.9 million pairs in the same period. In this product group imports of footwear for children increased from 11.6 million in 1998 to 14.7 million pairs in 2000, for men from 16.6 million to 21.1 million and for women from 25.7 million to 28.6 million pairs. Imports of women s shoes with high heels (more than 36

38 3 cm) did not grow so fast, like in the UK, and rose from 4.8 to 5.3 million pairs. Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic increased from 43.1 million in 1998 to 52.8 million pairs in In this product group, the following items showed the biggest growth: low shoes (not covering the ankle) with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out (6.7 million in 1998 and 9.4 million pairs in 2000) and with high heels (5.7 million in 1998 and 10.1 million pairs in 2000). Imports of other low shoes for all sexes decreased, while rubber boots increased in the period under review. French imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles more or less stabilised in the period and covered for 94 percent footwear with rubber or plastic soles and to a much lesser degree other soles like wood, cork or leather. The trend in French fashion, the change from the daily wearing of sports shoes to more casual outdoor footwear is illustrated by developments in imports. In the period , outdoor footwear imports increased by 10 percent (almost 18 million pairs), while sports footwear imports increased 2 percent (a growth of 0.6 million pairs). French imports of nearly all types of sport shoes increased, with the exception of footwear with rubber or plastic uppers other than ski boots and snowboard boots. Imports of ski and snowboard footwear with plastic uppers increased from 19.6 to 23.7 million pairs in 2000, while leather uppers decreased considerably. Imports of sport shoes, other than ski and snowboard footwear, increased: uppers of leather from 3.5 to 3.9 million and uppers of textiles from 18.1 to 18.4 million, while (as mentioned above) uppers of rubber and plastic fell from 3.3 to 2.9 million pairs in Imports of indoor footwear into France increased strongly during the period , namely from 44.1 million to 51.1 million pairs in 2000, mainly caused by a considerable increase in imports of indoor footwear with uppers of textiles and soles of rubber or plastic from 19.0 million in 1998 to 26.4 million pairs in Indoor footwear with textile uppers accounted for 96 percent (in terms of volume) of total imports in Italy Italian imports of footwear (excluding safety footwear and parts of footwear) increased 9.4 percent annually in terms of volume to 190 million pairs in 2000, caused by increased imports of outdoor footwear. Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of leather increased from 45 million pairs in 1998 to 62 million in 2000, and uppers of rubber or plastic from 24 million to 31 million pairs. Imports of low (not covering the ankle) outdoor shoes with leather uppers and rubber, plastic or synthetic leather soles increased considerably by almost 18 million pairs, while imports of high (covering the ankle) outdoor footwear fell from 8.6 to 8.4 million in In this product group, imports of footwear for children increased from 4.1 million in 1998 to 5.1 million pairs in 2000, for women from 10.1 to 18.0 million, for men from 18.7 to 23.8 million and for both sexes from 5.3 to 7.4 million pairs. Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic into Italy grew 34 percent in the period under review, namely from 22.9 million in 1998 to 30.8 million pairs in The following items showed the biggest growth in this product group: footwear with upper of straps attached to the sole with plugs (4.9 million in 1998 and 8.9 million pairs in 2000), footwear not covering the ankle with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out (3.4 million in 1998 and 5.2 million pairs in 2000) and high (more than 3 cm) heels (1.9 million in 1998 and 2.8 million pairs in 2000). Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles into Italy increased from 27.1 million pair in 1998 to 30.6 million in 2000 and consisted mainly (75%) of footwear with rubber or plastic soles. This percentage fell considerably because imports of indoor footwear with textiles uppers increased from 5.4 million pairs in 1998 to 6.3 million in Italian imports of all sport shoes increased from 31.2 million in 1998 to 32.9 million in 2000, caused by increased imports of footwear with rubber or plastic uppers including snowboard and ski boots and despite a fall in imports of sportswear with leather and textiles uppers. Imports of sport shoes with leather uppers, other than ski and snowboard boots, decreased considerably: from 7.1 million in 1998 to 5.1 million pairs in 2000 and uppers of textiles decreased very slightly to 18.6 million pairs in Italian imports of indoor footwear decreased on average 2.5 percent annually during the period , namely from 32.6 million to 31.0 million pairs in Indoor footwear with textile uppers covered 87 percent (in terms of volume) of total imports in This percentage decreased in comparison with 1998, because imports of indoor footwear with uppers of leather increased from 1.0 million in 1998 to 3.0 million pairs in 2000 and despite a fall in imports of plastic/rubber uppers from 1.7 to 1.1 million pairs. 37

39 Imports of footwear (excluding safety footwear and parts of footwear) into increased 16 percent in terms of volume to 131 million pairs in 1999, caused by increased imports of the product categories: outdoor and sports footwear. In 2000, imports fell by 2.2 percent to 129 million items. Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of leather increased from 43 million pairs in 1998 to 52 million in 2000, and uppers of rubber or plastic from 24 million to 30 million pairs. Imports of outdoor shoes with leather uppers and rubber, plastic or synthetic leather soles increased by 10.3 million pairs, namely for children from 5.6 million in 1998 to 6.0 million pairs in 1999, for women from 13.3 to 18.3 million, for men from 13.4 to 14.9 million and for both sexes from 5.8 to 9.2 million pairs. Imports of women s shoes with high heels (more than 3 cm) grew 5 percent from 695 thousand pairs in 1998 to 718 thousand in Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of rubber or plastic into increased from 24.5 million in 1998 to 29.8 million pairs in Imports of the major items in this product group increased strongly, except for footwear with upper of straps attached to the sole with plugs. The following items showed the biggest growth in this product group: rubber boots (3.9 million in 1998 and 6.9 million pairs in 2000) and footwear not covering the ankle with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out (2.8 million in 1998 and 6.3 million pairs in 2000). Imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles into fell from 22.6 million pairs in 1998 to 16.6 million in 2000 and consisted for 91 percent of footwear with rubber or plastic soles and for 9 percent of other materials, like wood, cork or leather. Imports of nearly all types of sport shoes increased, with the exception of sportswear of plastic or rubber uppers, including ski and snowboard boots while imports of ski and snowboard boots with leather uppers increased. Imports of sport shoes, other than ski and snowboard boots, increased considerably: uppers of leather from 1.2 to 2.3 million and uppers of textiles from 5.6 to 9.3 million. Netherlands imports of indoor footwear increased on average 15 percent annually during the period , namely from 10.9 million to 14.2 million pairs in Indoor footwear with textile uppers covered 89 percent (in terms of volume) of total imports in This percentage increased compared with 1998 because imports of indoor footwear with uppers of plastic/rubber decreased from 0.9 million in 1998 to 0.7 million pairs in 2000 and imports of leather uppers from 1.2 million to 0.9 million pairs. 5.3 The role of developing countries China remained the leading exporter of footwear to the EU, however, the difference with number two Vietnam became very small in terms of value. EU imports from China rose from US$ 1,261 million in 1998 to US$ 1,661 million in 2000, while imports from Vietnam rose from US$ 967 million in 1998 to US$ 1,509 million. The growth in imports from developing countries in 2000 can be ascribed to the following categories: Asian-low price suppliers, like China and Vietnam. Other countries from the Far East with sharply increased exports into the EU were Cambodia, Macao and Malaysia. It should be noted that statistics do not take into account the considerable volume of (fraudulent) imports of Chinese products via other countries from the Far and Middle East. CEECs, like Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova and Slovenia. Just over 81 percent of total EU imports of footwear from developing countries came from Asian developing countries, while in 1997 this was 78 percent. Leading countries were China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Table 5.17 Imports of footwear from leading developing countries by major EU countries, 2000 (in % of value of total imports) EU (15) China (9.3%) Vietnam (8.5%) Indonesia (3.5%) India (2.5%) Tunisia (1.6%) Germany Vietnam (9.8%) China (6.9%) India (2.4%) Indonesia (2.2%) South Korea (1.4%) China (15.7%) Vietnam (9.2%) Indonesia (4.2%) Thailand (2.8%) Macao (1.4%) France Vietnam (7.4%) China (6.2%) Tunisia (3.4%) Morocco (3.1%) Indonesia (1.6%) UK China (12.3%) Vietnam (10.7%) India (6.2%) Indonesia (5.4%) Brazil (3.9%) Italy China (7.6%) Tunisia (6.1%) Vietnam (5.4%) Albania (2.9%) India (2.8%) Source: derived from Eurostat 38

40 Table 5.18 Imports of footwear from area of developing countries in value, 2000 (in US$ mln) Total ACP- CEECs Mediter- Asia Central & Other developing countries ranean Southern countries America EU 6, , UK 1, , Germany 1, , Italy France Belgium Netherlands Spain Sweden Denmark Austria Other (5) Source: derived from Eurostat India and Tunisia as mentioned before. Imports from ACP countries rose from US$ 8.7 million in 1991 to US$ 32 million in 1995 and to US$ 38.5 million in 1999 but fell back to US$ 27.9 million in The leading country remained the Dominican Republic (65% of ACP imports) followed by Cape Verde (20%), Senegal (4%) and Mozambique (3%). Imports from Mediterranean countries fell by 1.4 percent to an import share of 8.2 percent and came mainly from Tunisia and to a lesser degree from Morocco. Imports from CEECs in total increased, countries like Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia increased their exports to the EU, while EU imports from Albania, Croatia and Macedonia decreased. Imports from Central & South American countries decreased by 3.3 percent in Imports from the leading country Brazil more or less stabilised, while imports from other countries (Mexico, Columbia and Argentina) decreased. The role of Asian developing countries in German imports of footwear became more important: 82 percent of total imports from developing countries in 2000, which is 3 percent higher than in the year before. Vietnam and China were the leading suppliers followed at distance by India, Indonesia and South Korea. Other developing countries with exports of more than US$ 10 million to Germany in 2000 were: Macao, Tunisia, Morocco, Croatia, Brazil and Cambodia. Almost 90 percent of UK imports from developing countries came from Asian countries, mainly China and Vietnam, followed by India, Indonesia and Thailand. The UK was also the leading importer from Central & South American countries (mainly Brazil). Imports with a value of more than US$ 10 million in 2000 came from Macao, South Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. Traditionally, an important part of French footwear came from the Mediterranean countries Morocco and Tunisia. These countries ranked 3 rd and 4 th after Vietnam and China. Other developing countries with exports of more than US$ 10 million to France in 2000 were: Indonesia, India, Thailand, Slovakia, South Korea, Cambodia and Brazil. Italian imports from all areas of developing countries increased with the exception of ACP countries. Italy was the leading importer from developing CEECs (Albania, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia). Almost 25 percent of Netherlands imports came from China and Vietnam. Other major suppliers to the Netherlands (valued at more than US$ 10 million) were: Indonesia, Thailand, Macao, Brazil, South Korea, India and the Dominican Republic. was the leading importer from ACP countries, however, almost all imports (98%) came from one country, the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic and Senegal were suppliers to France and Cape Verde to Portugal. Remarkable are the very low German and Italian imports from ACP countries. The role of developing countries in selected major product groups As discussed before, the imports of sports footwear increased slightly and remained rather important. The import share of developing countries was 56 percent in imports of plastic or rubber sports footwear: 48 percent in sports footwear with leather uppers and 61 percent in sports footwear with textile 39

41 uppers in These percentages were somewhat lower in 1998: 55, 44 and 60 percent respectively. 95 percent of sports footwear and plastic or rubber footwear came from Asian developing countries, of which imports from China increased to 17.5 million pairs (73 percent of total Asian exports). Imports from Vietnam (5.0 million in 1998 to 2.5 million in 2000) and Indonesia (2.8 million in 1998 to 2.5 million in 2000) decreased in favour of imports from China. Other Asian developing countries exported 1.6 million pairs in total to the EU in 2000 (11.1 million pairs in 1999); increased EU imports came from Macao, South Korea, Philippines and Malaysia. The role of developing countries from other areas, like Central and Eastern Europe (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia) and the Mediterranean (Turkey and Tunisia) was rather limited, with respectively 1.0 and 0.2 million pairs in total. Asian developing countries were also dominant in EU imports of sports footwear with leather uppers: 96 percent of the total imports from developing countries came from this area. Imports from China increased from 6.3 million pairs in 1998 to 8.1 million in 2000 and imports from Vietnam from 3.2 to 4.7 million pairs in the same period. Much smaller increase in imports came from countries like South Korea (from 0.6 to 0.8 million) and the Philippines (from 0.4 to 0.6 million). Indonesia was confronted with lower exports to the EU, because its imports fell from 3.5 million pairs in 1998 to 3.1 million in We saw a limited role again for other areas of developing countries, as mentioned above. Table 5.19 EU imports of sports footwear with uppers of textiles from developing countries, (in million pairs) Total EU imports From developing countries of which from: Asia China Vietnam Indonesia Thailand India Pakistan Central and Eastern Europe Croatia Mediterranean Morocco Other Source: Eurostat The leading product group in imports of sportswear were sports footwear with textile uppers, of which the developments can be deduced from the following table. Again, there was an important role for Asian countries in total, with China and Vietnam as leading exporters, despite a fall in imports from Vietnam. In this product group, Indonesia and Thailand were also confronted with a remarkable fall in exports to the EU. EU imports of outdoor footwear with plastic or rubber outer soles and uppers increased from 257 million in 1998 to 314 million pairs in The role of developing countries in EU imports became more important in absolute terms in the period under review, because total imports rose from 160 million to 200 million in the same period. In relative terms, imports increased from 62.2 percent to 63.6 percent in The leading suppliers in this product group were China with 81.7 million pairs (29% higher than in 1998) and Vietnam with 62.8 million (as much as 42% higher). Other EU suppliers were Indonesia with 15.9 million pairs in 2000 (23.8 million in 1998), Thailand with 15.4 million pairs (15.6 mln in 1998), Malaysia 5.4 million pairs (198 mln in 1998), Cambodia 4.8 million (0.6 mln in 1998), Macao 2.9 million (1.1 mln in 1998) and the Philippines 2.4 million (2.7 mln in 1998). Brazil exported 1.6 million and Morocco 1.2 million pairs to the EU in 2000, respectively 1.1 and 1.3 mln in Exports by Turkey to the EU increased from 1.4 million to 1.7 million pairs in An increase of imports from CEECs into the EU came from countries like Czech Republic, Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina; however, these imports were limited. The role of developing countries in EU imports of outdoor footwear with leather uppers and outer soles is very limited as compared to many other categories of footwear. Only 14 percent of a total of 70 million pairs in EU imports came from these countries. This was for a substantial part caused by the EU s trade policy measures such as quota restrictions and anti-dumping policy. More information is given in chapter 1.2 of the Strategic Marketing Guide Footwear. Around 60 percent of EU imports from developing countries came from Asian countries, of which India was the leading exporter with 3.2 million pairs followed by Vietnam (1.2 mln), Indonesia, China (each 0.4 mln) and Thailand (0.1 mln). Other suppliers were Tunisia (0.9 million in 2000), Croatia (0.7 mln), Morocco (0.5 mln) and Brazil (0.4 mln). Imports from all these countries increased, with the exception of Croatia. EU imports from developing countries of outdoor footwear with uppers of textiles and outer soles of rubber or plastic increased in absolute terms (from 82 to 96 million pairs) as well as in relative terms (from 58 to 61%). Leading suppliers in this product group were Vietnam (39.6 million pairs) and China (30.0 mln). 40

42 Much smaller volumes came from countries like Cambodia( 3.9 mln), Thailand (3.4 mln), India (2.8 mln), Macao (2.5 mln), Pakistan (2.4 mln) and Indonesia (2.4 mln) followed by Bangladesh and Malaysia. Imports from Asian developing countries accounted for 97 percent of total imports from developing countries in The remaining 4 percent came mainly from the Dominican Republic (1.2 mln), Turkey (0.5 mln), Brazil (0.5 mln), Croatia (0.4 mln) and Morocco (0.3 mln). The most important product group by far in EU imports of footwear in volume as well as in value remained outdoor footwear with uppers of leather and outer soles of plastic or rubber. The role of developing countries became much more important: imports from these countries rose almost 35 percent during , while total import rose 18 percent. As can be derived from the table below, the growth in imports can be ascribed to increased imports from Vietnam for a major part. Other Asian developing countries with increased exports into the EU were: Table 5.20 EU imports of outdoor footwear with uppers of leather and outer soles of plastic or rubber from developing countries, (in million pairs) Total EU imports From developing countries of which from: Asia Vietnam China Indonesia India Thailand Macao Central and Eastern Europe Croatia Bosnia & Herzegovina Slovenia Albania Mediterranean Morocco Tunisia Southern America Brazil ACP countries Dominican Rep Senegal Other China, Indonesia, India and Macao. The leading non-asian exporter in this product group remained Brazil with a growth in imports from 9.0 in 1998 to 9.2 million pairs in The above-mentioned product group of outdoor footwear includes many items, among which: low footwear (not covering the ankle) and without vamps or straps or pieces cut out: for children, leading supplier of the developing countries was Indonesia with 8.1 million pairs in 2000 or 15 percent of total EU imports, followed by Vietnam (8.0 mln), China (4.7 mln), Thailand (1.4 mln) and Macao (0.8 mln). Imports from all these countries grew, compared with imports in 1998, except for Thailand. for women, leading supplier of the developing countries was Vietnam with 11.5 million pairs in 2000 or 8.6 percent of total EU imports, followed by China (4.4 mln), Brazil (4.4 mln), Indonesia (3.8 mln), and India (2.8 mln). ). Imports from all these countries grew, compared with imports in 1998, except for Brazil. for men, leading supplier of the developing countries was Vietnam with 11.1 million pairs in 2000 or 9.2 percent of total EU imports, followed by India (9.0 mln); China (7.8 mln), Indonesia (5.8 mln) and Thailand (1.8 mln). ). Imports from all these countries grew, compared with imports in 1998, except for Thailand. women s shoes with height of heel more than 3 cm. (mainly pumps). EU imports of this product group were 7.3 percent higher in 2000 than in Again the role of developing countries was very important. Imports from the following countries increased: Vietnam (from 0.9 mln in 1997 to 1.5 mln in 2000 or 6.6% of total EU imports), Brazil (from 0.7 to 1.4 mln) and India (from 0.3 to 0.8 mln) and Macao (from 0.3 to 0.4 mln). Imports from developing countries of indoor footwear with uppers of textiles and outer soles of plastic or rubber increased in absolute terms (from 25 to 40 million pairs) as well as in relative terms (from 34 to 45%). Leading suppliers in this product group were China (23 million pairs) and Vietnam (8 million pairs). Much smaller volumes came from countries like Sri Lanka (1.2 mln) and Indonesia (0.6 mln). In total, 84 percent of EU imports came from Asian developing countries in Imports from Turkey increased from 0.8 million in 1998 to 3.7 million pairs in Other major developing countries in this product group were Croatia, Morocco and Mexico. Source: Eurostat 41

43 6 EXPORTS 6.1 EU exports of footwear The same restrictions for the import figures apply to the export figures below. Refer to chapter 1 for these restrictions. The EU member states exported footwear totalling US$ 16.5 billion ( 17.9 bn) in 2000, representing a fall in value of almost 10 percent in the period In terms of volume, EU exports decreased from 967 million pairs in 1998 to 936 million in were footwear with leather uppers and outer soles of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather and footwear with leather uppers and leather soles. These two product groups covered 63 percent of total EU exports in 2000, while the export share of these two product groups in total exports to outside the EU amounted to almost 36 percent in 1998 and in Germany, France and UK were the leading destinations for intra-eu trade. The USA was, after Germany, the Figure 6.1 EU exports of footwear by member states in terms of value, Greece Ireland Sweden Finland Denmark Austria UK Netherlands France Germany Portugal Belgium/Lux. Spain Italy US$ millions Intra-EU exports accounted for 689 million pairs or 74 percent of total exports in 2000, which was only 1.0 percent higher than exports to other EU countries in Therefore the fall in EU exports was the result of lower exports to countries outside the EU: in value (- 12.1%) and in volume (- 6.7%). The leading EU exporter is Italy accounting for 42.5 percent of total EU exports, at a distance followed by Spain (11.5%), Belgium (8.4%), Portugal (8.2%), Germany (7.8%), France (5.6%) and (5.3%). 36 percent of total EU exports went to countries outside the Union in 2000, while in 1998 this percentage was 35. The leading export product groups in terms of value most important destination for EU footwear, with respectively 12.5 and 16.1 percent of total exports. 35 percent of extra-eu exports went to the USA in Other main destinations outside the EU were Switzerland (3.2% of total EU exports and 8.7% of non-eu exports), Japan (6.1% of non-eu exports), Russia (5.0%), Romania (4.7%), followed by Canada, Norway, Poland and Hong Kong. Exports to the USA, Romania and Japan increased, while exports to the other countries mentioned decreased, of which exports to Russia showed the biggest fall. Russia ranked 3 rd after USA and Switzerland in 1998 with exports valued at US$ 525 million, and then fall back to 297 million in 2000; the sharply decreased exports to Russia were caused by economic problems in that country. 42

44 Table 6.1 Developments in EU exports of footwear by member states in terms of value, % change % change US$ mln US$ mln US$ mln US$ mln Italy 8,236 7,846 7,316 7, % - 3.9% Spain 2,158 2,157 1,881 1, % + 1.5% Belgium/Lux. 1,307 1,446 1,484 1, % - 6.7% Portugal 1,849 1,737 1,686 1, % % Germany 1,387 1,473 1,426 1, % - 9.0% France 1,005 1,033 1, % % % + 1.5% UK % - 9.6% Austria % - 4.9% Denmark % % Finland % = Sweden % % Ireland = = Greece % = EU (15) 18,656 18,357 17,644 16, % - 6.3% Source: derived from Eurostat Germany German footwear exports went to Austria (18% of total exports), (11%), USA (8%), Switzerland (8%), UK (7%) and France (7%). Other destinations outside the EU besides the USA were Poland, Hungary, Russia, Japan and the Czech Republic in Exports to other EU countries increased in the period in volume (5% to 43.4 mln pairs) and decreased in value (11% to US$ 811 mln). Exports to countries outside the EU, however, decreased in volume (10% to 17.0 mln pairs) and in value (13% to US$ 487 mln, which accounted for 38 percent of total exports), mainly due to much lower exports to Russia (from US$ 64.8 mllion in 1998 to 29.8 million in 2000). In terms of value, exports to all major destinations decreased, except exports to the USA and Poland. Export to the latter, mainly concerned outward processing trade (OPT). Many German manufacturers are doing well in the so-called health sector, of which Birkenstock and Ganter are well-known, with important exports to respectively the USA and Japan Exports by amounted to 71.7 million pairs with a value of US$ 8880 million ( 955 mln) in 2000, of which only 11 percent went to countries outside the EU. Leading destination within the EU were Germany, UK, France, Belgium and Italy. In total, 75 percent of Netherlands exports (in value) went to these five countries. Destinations outside the EU were the USA (6% of total exports in terms of value), Switzerland, Norway and Canada, however, exports to the three latter countries were even much lower. France French exports decreased in value (11.9%) and decreased in volume (6.5%) in the period , which indicates 4.9 percent lower export prices. Exports to countries outside the EU fell faster than exports to other EU countries. Around 44 percent of French intra-eu exports went to two countries: Germany and Belgium. Exports to the USA fell to US$ 98 million (25% of non-eu exports) though the USA remained the third most important destination, followed by the UK, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Other non-eu destinations were Japan, Tunisia, Morocco and Canada. Exports to these North African countries included for more than 90 percent parts of footwear. Italy The leading producing country Italy is also the leading exporting country. However, Italian exports decreased by 17.4 percent: from 422 million pairs in 1997 (valued US$ 8.2 billion) to 348 million in 1999 (valued US$ 6.9 billion). Half of Italian exports of footwear went to other EU countries, of which Germany is the leading destination (17% of total exports and 34 percent of the intra-eu trade). Exports to Germany were much lower in 2000 than in the two previous years. Exports to the USA increased considerably in volume and value, so that it passed Germany as the leading export destination with 18 percent of total exports, and 35 percent of Italian exports went to countries outside the EU. Other destinations outside the EU were Switzerland, Romania, Japan, Russia, Canada, Hong Kong and Poland. Exports to Russia, Poland and Hong Kong 43

45 decreased. Exports to the Central and East European countries mainly covered parts of footwear. UK UK exports of footwear increased very slightly in volume (+ 0.5%) and decreased strongly in value (-13%) in the two years after Exports amounted to US$ 778 million ( 844 mln) in 2000, of which 44 percent went to countries outside the EU, mainly the USA. The USA remained the leading destination in the period under review with an export share of 23 percent of total UK exports (no less then 52% of non-eu exports). The major destination inside the EU was Ireland (19 % of total UK exports) followed by France (7%), Germany (7%), Italy (6%) and, Belgium (5%). Other destinations outside the EU, besides USA, were Japan (4%), Canada and, Hong Kong. 44

46 7 TRADE STRUCTURE 7.1 EU trade channels Figure 7.1 shows the basic functions of the various kinds of exporting manufacturers and traders, agents, importing manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers either or not organised in buying or selling groups. Depending on its position in the market, the functions of a particular distribution organisation will be linked with up- or downstream organisations with the same kind of specialisation. It is also possible for a given organisation to take over (some of) the functions of the latter, in order to improve competitiveness (vertical integration). For instance, manufacturers, agents and retailer organisations, like multiples and department stores, may also function as importer/wholesaler. Each of these groups has a different approach to business and the market, with its own specific interpretation of the marketing mix. The enormous variety in existing relations between the companies mentioned in figure 7.1 in practice, makes it (nearly) impossible to reproduce these relations within this diagramme, which is the reason why no connecting lines are drawn. It is essential for the potential exporter to know into which product/market combination his products fit (or which kind of business he is in ) as well as being familiar with the marketing and distribution characteristics of these product/market combinations. These may differ significantly from combination to combination Manufacturers Manufacturing companies have more and more switched from manufacturing to assembling, by using imported parts of shoes, whether or not manufactured according to specific requirements. Besides this development, the high price of manufacturing in EU countries, like Germany, UK, etc. has led to the following four de-localisation strategies by suppliers of footwear: subcontracting, manufacturing by a third party of materials owned by the principal and according to his specifications; foreign production, production carried out in a foreign subsidiary of an European company; sourcing, buying goods according to specifications issued by the principal according to his specifications; outward processing trade (OPT), parts are exported to be made up into finished footwear in third countries. The footwear is then re-imported at preferential tariffs (on added value). OPT developments in the EU are discussed in chapter 4. Figure 7.1 Distribution pattern for footwear in the EU Domestic producer Foreign producer/exporter Agents Wholesaler/importer Agents Non-organised Footwear Buying/Selling Other independents multiple stores organisations outlets Franchise organisations Organised independents 45

47 Manufacturing companies play a pivotal role in the distribution system. Most footwear manufacturers wholesale their own goods to retailers, and some even function as retailer as well. Manufacturers with their own outlets are Clarks in the UK, Eram in France etc. Shoe manufacturers generally sell their products (mainly brands) themselves and therefore they have a direct relationship with the distribution network. According to the importance of the distributor and the size of the company, it is the sales manager (or the managing director himself) or the sales representative of a region empowered by the manufacturer, who ensures business dealings between production and distribution. Mainly products like slippers, roped soles footwear and items with textile uppers are traded through the wholesale channel. An increasing number of manufacturers of branded clothing has added footwear to their assortment, for instance: Marc O Polo, Esprit, Mexx, Hugo Boss, Jackpot, Cottonfield, More & More Agents Agents are mere intermediaries who do not take a stand on products. The agent may serve as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the retailer, receiving a commission from the former. The level of the commission depends on a number of factors, including the turnover rate of the product concerned; it averages an estimated percent of turnover. Most agents represent more than one manufacturer, although competition is avoided. More and more agents are starting to sell from stock, to meet their clients short-term demands. Stock-forming is often on a consignment basis. If the agent builds up his own stock, he is in fact functioning as an importer/wholesaler. Agents operate mainly in the segments high price/quality and in the middle/high price, classical, branded shoes fashion. Addresses of organisations of agents are given in Appendix Importers/wholesalers Contrary to the agent, the wholesaler holds his own stocks at own risk. The fact that many independent retailers as well as buying organisations and multiple stores are becoming more cautious about pre-ordering, prefer to sell from stock, is reinforcing the position of the importer/wholesaler. However, more and more bigger organisations buy directly or via buying offices and import by themselves. The choice of whether to sell directly to a wholesaler or through an agent depends on the type of supplier organisation concerned and its product/market combinations. All the factors relating to pricing, collection forming, sampling, fashionably, delivery times, delivery frequency, product quality, exclusiveness, labels and packing and promotion may play a role in this respect. Addresses of wholesale organisations are provided for reference in Appendix Retailers Retailers constitute the final stage before products reach the consumer. The various retailing outlets differ in the sales formula they apply, i.e. their assortment and the targeted consumer group, as well as in the way they distinguish themselves from competitors. As an aid to understanding the market, one can discriminate between service retailing, where the retailer offers the consumer substantial added value (quality, service, fashionably, choice etc.), and low-margin retailing, where the price-conscious consumer is offered low prices, at the expense of quality, service and so forth. Outlets of the first kind are often referred to as being at the upper end of the market, the latter at the lower end of the market; intermediate-type outlets may be termed mid-market. Another criteria for dividing the market is the composition of the total assortment: specialised in footwear eventually complemented with a limited number of related fashionable products like clothing, hand bags etc., indicated as specialised stores or specialists. The difference between independent retailers and multiples is formed by the number of outlets: multiples are organisations with 7 or more outlets. The main operations of independent retailers are in the middle and upper sections of the market. They lack the advantages of economies of scale and consequently have to work with higher margins. This means that the products must be fashionable and exclusive, otherwise customers will purchase in cheaper stores. Non-specialists cover stores with an assortment of various branches (department stores, variety stores), or specialists in a branch other than footwear, of which footwear forms a complementary product like textile discounters, drug stores, super- and hypermarkets, mail-order companies etc. The remaining channels are street markets, factory outlets, non-food stores like sport shops, etc. Table 7.1 gives an overview of how the consumer has been reached in several major EU member states. 46

48 Table 7.1 Types of retail channels by market share (in % of value) in major EU countries, 2001 Footwear Independent Department Mail- Hyper-/ Sports Other Total multiple specialised & variety order super- shops 1 ) stores retailers stores houses markets Germany United Kingdom France Italy Belgium EU (15) ) including clothing shops, street markets and other Sources: OETH and Retail Intelligence Besides the growing role of non-specialised distributors, as mentioned above, the most important developments are increasing concentration (developments in the major countries will be given below) and growing internationalisation or cross-border activities, of which the main (besides many others) examples are Garant Schuh AG in Germany and sports formula like Intersport and Sport Germany Around 8,400 specialised footwear retailers operated in Germany in However, they met strong competition from mail-order companies and from hyper and supermarkets, although their market share is still over 60 percent, while non-footwear specialised trade (sports shops and clothing shops) took 11 percent together. Table 7.2 Market shares for retail distribution of footwear in Germany, Specialists Independent retailers Footwear multiple stores Non-specialists Department and variety stores Mail-order houses Sports shops Hyper- and supermarkets Clothing shops Other outlets Total Source: BBI and BTE Independent specialised retailers: The high share of co-operating specialised retailers, which amounts to round 43 percent, is remarkable, also in comparison with other branches. Most of them belong to a buying group. The leading buying groups are: Garant Schuh + Mode AG and Ariston/Nord-West-Ring e.g. (ANWR). Garant included 4,850 members/retailers with 6,470 stores/outlets at the end of Garant operates in 12 European countries with 1,950 members in Germany, 1,260 in France, 740 in, 250 in Austria and 650 in other European countries, of which 3,160 specialised footwear retailers, 1,090 specialised sports and leisure footwear retailers and 600 specialist in leather ware and accessories. Garant s formula are, among others, Podo Linéa (comfortable footwear), Firetti (fashionable footwear), Fair Play (sports and leisure footwear) and Outdoor Center International (leisure footwear). ANWR was formed by a merger of Ariston and Nord-West-Ring at the end of ANWR had 2,100 members (of which 1,600 in Germany) with 4,300 outlets at the end of One of the formula is sports and leisure chain Sport 2000 with 700 members and 1,000 outlets. Other marketing formula are Quick Schuh, ABC-Schuhe, Arbell and Mania. ANWR operates in many other European countries and is associated with the buying group Hobo Faam in Belgium. Other buying groups are Rexor (around 500 shops) and Salamander-Bund. The latter is part of the Salamander Group, with some 1,000 retailers trading mainly as Salamander. Footwear multiple stores: About 50 multiple chains account for 30 percent of the market. The leading footwear multiple is Deichmann with 800 shops and selling its own labels in the several chains. Roland Schuhe (60 outlets), Dosenbach & Ochsner (250), Van Haren (100) and Rack Room Shoes (USA) are daughter companies in the retail sector. Besides Salamander, mentioned above, the following 47

49 chains are active: Reno (owned by discount chain Hamm); Görtz (200 outlets under differentiated concepts like Görtz, Lady Görtz, Görtz 17 and discounter Hess). Clothing shops: Leading clothing multiples with footwear in their assortment are C&A (192 outlets), Peek & Cloppenburg (West: 79 and North 27 outlets), Hennes & Mauritz (167), Sinn Leffers (43), K+L Ruppert (36), Vögele (205), Wöhrl (35), Boecker (21) and Hettlage (43). Ladies wear multiples are Appelrath-Cüpper (13) and BiBa (97), both part of Douglas; Orsay (227) from France; Jean Pascale (169); Bonita Mode (307) and Ulla Popken (265). There are a few men s clothing multiples in Germany of which can be mentioned: Pohland (12) and Nicolas Scholz (35). Leisure or jeans shops are, among others, Western Store Beran (202) and Werdin (70). Sports shops: Important channels for sport shoes but also for casual and leisure wear, are the sport speciality shops. Many of them are organised in co-operations (organisations of independent retailers) like Intersport (1,450 outlets) and Sport 2000 (1,000 outlets). Sport chains are: Runners Point (106 outlets, part of Karstadt/Quelle); Sport Voswinkel (35), Sport Treff (21). It is estimated that around half of the sales of sport shoes has been sold by sport specialists. Department and variety stores: Leading department stores are Karstadt and Kaufhof. Karstadt, with its 178 stores, is just like Hertie (26 stores) part of Karstadt/Quelle; Kaufhof (74 stores) is part of Metro. Another department store is Breuninger with 14 stores. Variety stores are Kaufhalle (143 outlets and owned by Divaco) and Woolworth (340 outlets). All these department stores have footwear in their assortment. Mail-order houses: Mail-order houses occupy a significant place in the German retail market. Total sales in footwear are about 1.2 billion in Leading companies are Otto, Quelle, Neckermann and Klingel. The Quelle Group, for many years market leader in Germany (and Europe), was passed by Otto. The Otto Group is the world s biggest mail-order house, due to its many foreign activities. Neckermann, the third mail-order company in Germany, is part of the Karstadt Group. Hyper- and supermarkets: Footwear can increasingly be found in super- and hypermarkets, like: Metro, Aldi, Edeka/AVA, Tengelmann and Rewe. Sport and leisure shoes are increasingly to be found in grocery stores. Other channels: Street markets and the coffee multiples Tchibo and Eduscho are other types of retail channels. UK There are some 3,300 businesses operating 11,000 specialist shoe shops in the UK. The structure of footwear retailing in UK is one of the most concentrated in the world. The market share of footwear specialised multiple stores covered more than a third of the market; variety stores decreased in the period under review, but still account for 11 percent of the retail footwear sales (including market leader Marks & Spencer) and clothing shops a further 10 percent. Independent specialist stores have a share of only 11 percent, compared with over 40 percent in and Belgium and over 30 percent in Germany. Table 7. 3 Market shares of retail distribution of footwear in the UK, (in % of value) Specialists Independent retailers Footwear multiple stores Non-specialists Variety stores Clothing shops Sports shops Department stores Hyper- and supermarkets Mail-order houses Street markets and other Total Source: TNS One of the major development in footwear retailing in the UK is the shift away from specialised stores to clothing and sports shops. Independent specialised retailers: The British footwear retail market is dominated by multiple chains, with only 10 percent supplied by independent retailers. The market share of the independent retailers was 13 percent in 1996 and 10 percent in The main reasons for this fall were: consumers became particularly price conscious, resulting in a shift towards buying in outlets which were widely regarded as offering value for money, such as variety stores like Marks & Spencer; secondly the increasing activities of clothing retailers. Footwear multiple stores: British Shoe, a subsidiary of Sears plc, was by far the largest footwear retailer in the UK with 1,100 branded outlets which include formula like Dolcis, Cable, Saxone, Manfield, Freeman Hardy Willis, Curtess and Shoe Express, but was broken up in , and many of its formula disappeared; others were acquired by competitors. 48

50 C&J Clark became the leading retail footwear chain with around 500 outlets, divided into several formula like Clarks (380), KShoes (70), Ravel (56) and a number of concessions. The leading position of C&J Clark is strongest in children s footwear. Other chains are Stylo plc (864 outlets including concessions). Stead & Simpson (472), The Shoe Studio Group (203), Shoefayre (366), Oliver Group (273), Dolcis (108 outlets and owned by Alexon Group). Clothing shops: Many clothing specialist multiples added footwear to their assortment: Top Shop/Top Man (302), Evans (319), Principles (239), Dorothy Perkins (511), Burton Menswear (367), Richards (202), Wallis (219), Warehouse (93), Miss Selfridge (fashionable wear for young women, 146 outlets) and Outfit (12). All belong to the Arcadia Group. Other general clothing multiples (in ranking of sales) are Next (327 outlets), at a distance followed by Matalan (96) and Mackays (271). All 113 outlets of C&A were closed in Other women s clothing stores are (in ranking of sales): Etam (212), New Look (452), Alexon (659) and Monsoon (189). Sports shops: The market share of sports shops (second after footwear multiples) is more important for men s and children s than for women s footwear. The shops offer branded high priced products like Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Kickers, Fila and Ellesse, as well as low-priced own labels. The most popular items are trainers and outdoor boots, both items being more used for leisure/fashion than for the original function. Important sports multiples are: JJB Sports with 425 outlets, JD sports (133 outlets), Allsports (250 outlets) and the recently started Blacks Leisure Group with 160 First Sport retail outlets, 266 Millets and some other chains,. More than 60 percent of the independent sport shops in UK has joined a buying group. The three major buying groups are: Intersport, the largest with 280 outlets, Southern Traders Alliance Group (STAG) with 200 outlets and Sport UK with 130 outlets. Department and variety stores: The most important variety chain is Marks & Spencer with 308 stores in the UK, in Canada and until the end of 2001 also stores on the European Continent. Marks & Spencer is Europe s leading clothing retailer, and an important retailer of foods, home furnishing and footwear. As mentioned before all M&S stores on the European Continent were scheduled to be closed in the course of Other variety chains are Bhs (160 stores), Littlewoods (115) and Woolworth (797). Catalogue showrooms are Argos (448 stores owned by GUS) and Index (Littlewoods) with 153 catalogue showrooms. Department store Debenham also sells footwear besides clothing in its 90 stores. Other department stores are: House of Fraser (50 stores) and John Lewis Partnership(25). Mail-order houses: Some companies active in the mail-order sector (catalogue-based but also direct-mail operations) are: GUS/Argos, Littlewoods, Grattan, Freemans and Empire Stores. Grattan and Freemans are owned by the German mail order giant Otto Versand, while French PRP owns Empire Stores. Super-and hypermarkets: Four major players Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA (part of American Wal-Mart) and Safeway dominate the UK grocery superstore scene, but in general they have not followed the trend of non-food development as have, for instance, the leading French hypermarkets. The market share in footwear sales of the leading grocery retailers is quite limited, caused among other factors by competition from variety stores such as M&S, Bhs and Debenham. France Major developments in French footwear retail in the period under review were growth in sales of footwear by footwear specialised discount chains at the expense of independent retailers and hypermarkets. Footwear products are distributed in France by approx. 6,700 retailers, including 42 chains. Footwear distribution channels of less importance in France are department and variety stores, clothing shops and mail-order houses. Independent retailers often buy from French manufacturers, while multiple stores import by themselves, rather than buying from domestic manufacturers. Table 7.4 Market shares of retail distribution of footwear in France (in value, in %), Specialists Independent retailers Footwear multiple stores Non-specialists Department and variety stores Hyper- and supermarkets Mail-order houses Clothing shops Sport shops Other channels Total Source: INSEE 49

51 Independent specialised retailers: Independent retailers have grouped themselves into associations which are buying organisations or franchise formula. However, these associations are relatively limited in importance. Footwear multiple stores: There has been a strong growth in specialist discount chains catering for customers seeking value for money. Three groups dominate in the field of footwear multiple stores: Groupe André operates with the chain André, selling mass market products in 242 outlets; discount chains Chaussland with 67 outlets and Halle Chaussures with 508 outlets, the chains Minelli (73 outlets), Besson Chaussures (55) and Orcade (70) sell medium and upper range products; Groupe Bata, under the name Bata, sells mass market products in 253 outlets; Groupe Eram operates with the largest chain Eram (1,200 outlets) on the mass market, fashion and young person s footwear, the France Arno chain (130 outlets) selling upper-medium range men s and women s footwear, Heyraud (47) selling boutique styles and fancy items and l Hyper aux Chaussures selling standard, good quality footwear at discount prices in 120 outlets. Some smaller chains each with outlets operate in the boutique style and fancy items for men, women and children. The formula Gemo (177 outlets) combines standard, good quality footwear and textile products selling at discount prices. Bata and Eram continue to manufacture in France, while only a very small part (less than 10 percent) of Groupe André s retail sales come from its own production facilities. Other footwear chains in France are Beryl, Bally, Multichauss, San Marina and from Germany Salamander operating with 29 outlets. Clothing shops: Despite the fact that the leading footwear retailers Groupe André and Eram also operate on the clothing market, the market share for footwear in clothing stores remained rather low because the formula specialises in clothing, with exception of the above mentioned discounter Gemo (Groupe Eram). Footwear sales by the leading clothing chains C&A, Zara and Alain Manoukian remained insignificant. Sports shops: The leading chains of sports shops in France are Déclathon (181 outlets), Intersport (413 outlets, also operating under the names Sport Expert and Sport Leader), Go Sport (85 outlets), Sport 2000 (420 outlets), Technicien du Sport (341 outlets) and Courir (124 outlets). Go Sport and Courir are part of Rallye and will be merged. Most of them are buying groups and operate on an international basis. Department and variety stores: The major department store chain in France is Galeries Lafayette (99 stores), also operating under the name Nouvelles Galeries. Another important department store is Printemps (27), owned by PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute). The major food-dominant variety chainstore is Citymarché (Prisunic/Monoprix/Inno) with in total 338 outlets and owned by Galeries Lafayette for 50 percent, while nearly all 18 variety stores of UK s Marks & Spencer (18) were closed in Super-and hypermarkets: The market share in footwear for supermarkets and hypermarkets decreased in importance in the period under review. The market share of hypermarkets was 10 percent in 2001, the share of supermarkets was 2 percent. Important retail groups are Casino with a total of 4,550 outlets, of which 112 Géant hypermarkets, 473 Casino supermarkets and 2,230 Petit Casino convenience stores; New Carrefour with a total of 1,700 outlets of which 178 Carrefour hypermarkets, 527 Champion supermarkets and 418 Ed s hard discount stores; Auchan with 940 outlets in total, of which Auchan hypermarkets (120) and Atac supermarkets (229). The German chains Metro, Lidl and Aldi also operate on the French market, with more than 1,100 outlets together. Mail-order houses: Redcats (PRP), Trois Suisses (Otto Versand Germany), Camif and Quelle La Source (Quelle Germany) are the leading mail-order houses with general catalogues. Clothing sales account for 36 percent of total mail-order sales; figures for footwear sales are not available but are very limited and are estimated at around 4 percent. The National Shoe Centre (Schoencentrum) of in Nieuwegein (Utrecht) plays a pivotal role in shoe distribution in. This is a permanent exhibition centre, where nearly all the major manufacturers, importers and agents own showrooms. It is estimated that 80% of all the footwear ranges on the domestic market can be viewed here, and all retailers visit the Centre on a regular basis to do their shopping. The Centre organises major expositions in March and September and there are open days several times a month, when all showrooms must be open. In addition, individual showroom owners are free to show their collections to customers at any time. The most important wholesalers/importers in are: Eegim, Hengst, Henkelman, Comforta, van Vliet, BP Orces. The address of the Association of Wholesale Import and Agency Companies of Footwear (Vimagro) is provided for reference in Appendix 4, while addresses of all wholesalers mentioned and many others are mentioned in Appendix 10. There were about 1,600 companies operating with in total 3,000 stores at the end of 2001 in footwear retail branch. Table 7.5 gives an overview of sales of footwear by several types of outlets for the period The number of non-organized (independent) retailers stabilised in the period under review, despite the strong 50

52 Table 7.5 Market shares of footwear by type of retailers in, (in % of value) are Tiptoo (19 outlets) and Podo Linéa (65 outlets). Euro Holland operates in the mid and luxury segments with 105 outlets. There are also some franchise organisations for footwear, such as Nimco (24 outlets) and Nelson (25). Specialists Independent retailers Footwear multiple stores Footwear discount chains Non-specialists Department and variety stores Clothing shops Sports shops Other outlets Total Source: EIM and HBD competition, but in a favourably growing market. The price consciousness of consumers can be illustrated by the growth of discount outlets. Penetration by foreign retailers in footwear market is limited and came mainly from organisations in neighbouring countries like Germany (buying corporations Garant and Ariston/Nord West Ring) and Belgium (Mitiska NV is the holding company of Brantano Nederland, former names Van Vorst and Toe Shoes and Euro Shoe Unie which owns Bristol and Van Woensel). In recent years, the specialist shoe multiples have lost market share to the discount chains. The latter has developed as a result of the flood of cheap imports from the Far East. They dominate the cheap end of the footwear market and account for 24 percent of total consumer expenditure on footwear. Independent specialised retailers: 45 percent of the independent specialist shoe shops in belongs to one of the three large buying cooperatives (Garant, Ariston/Nord West Ring and Euro Holland), which together account for about 25% of retail shoe sales. 55 percent of the independent specialist sports shops belongs to one of the three buying cooperatives in this field (Garant, Euretco Sport and Intres). Garant is part of the major German-based buying group Garant Schuh+Mode AG, which has a total of 3,160 members with almost 4,500 shops (excluding the sports and leisure sector) in 14 countries. Besides operating in Germany and (with 530 outlets), Garant is active in, among other countries, Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. The shoe division of Euretco was taken over by Garant at the beginning of 1998 and continued to operate under the name Promenade; it operates nowadays with 80 outlets. Other formula of Garant in Footwear multiple stores: The leading footwear retailer is Hoogenbosch (owned by Macintosh Retail group) with 220 outlets and includes the following chains for specific target consumer groups in the middle and upper segments: Dolcis (90 outlets), Invito (34), Manfield (61), Pro Sport (10) and Olympus (sports: 10 and shoes: 15). Van Haren (owned by Deichmann Schuhe from Essen, Germany) has 110 stores under the same name and operates just like Van Woensel (32), Nelson (25) and Ecco-Shop (40) in the lower segments of the market. The following multiple chains operate in the higher and medium price segments: Cinderella (19 outlets), Durlinger (21), Sacha Shoes (36), Ziengs (64) and Van Vorst. (18). Besides these footwear multiples, 56 small chains operate with a total of 306 outlets. Footwear discount chains: Discounters have a broad assortment of all kinds of footwear, sports, leisure and casual clothing and accessories on the one side, and expanded with sports hardware, camping articles etc. on the other side. In these lower-priced segments, we see an enormous rise in the number of outlets, as shown in the following table. Table 7.6 Development in major footwear discount chains in, Schoenenreus Schoenexpres Scapino Bristol Massa Schoen en Mode Total Scapino was sold by Vendex/KBB in 2001, together with some other chains, to a Dutch investment company. Scapino is a discount chain with sports-, leisure- and casual wear, sports hardware etc. just like Bristol and operates with 16 outlets in Belgium and 11 in Germany. Schoenenreus became the market leader in 1997 with the take over of Schoenexpres and reached the same number of outlets as Scapino in The assortment offered by Schoenenreus and Massa Mode consists mainly of footwear and clothing. Sports shops: Sport speciality shops are often members of buying organisations with (often internationally) operating selling formula, like Intersport, Fairplay and Sport These speciality shops and the sports 51

53 Organisation Formula Total outlets Total outlets Total outlets end 1997 end 1999 end 2001 Garant Fairplay International Sports Euretco Sport Sport Sportpoint Runnersworld Intres Intersport GOS Total specialists multiples remained by far the leading distributors of sportswear with a market share (in terms of value) of 40 percent, followed by department stores with 10 percent. Specialised footwear chains are Foot Locker (40) and Olympus Shoes (15). The following chains operate with sport articles, including clothing and footwear on the Dutch market: Aktie Sport (75 outlets); Coach (55 outlets), Perry Sport (40) and Favoriet Sport (32). Due to the increase in popularity of sports and the fashion for sports, specialist shops have gained a share of the footwear market. There are 900-1,000 sports shops selling shoes, mainly expensive branded ranges for active sports. Clothing stores: More and more clothing retailers have begun selling shoes and boots as an accessory to their main ranges. Some of them have their own buying department (like C&A), other retailers have footwear in their assortment of the same brand as the fashion sold, like Diesel, Esprit, Mexx, Marc O Polo, Hugo Boss etc. Department and variety stores: The major retail group in is Vendex/KBB. The leading department stores V&D (70 stores) and De Bijenkorf (10) and variety store Hema (254 both own branches and franchisees) are part of this holding company. Hema operates also in Belgium. V&D operates in the middle of the market; De Bijenkorf stocks high-quality, stylish and appropriately priced products and in variety store Hema, all articles are sold under a private label. The assortment of footwear in De Bijenkorf includes private labels as well as the better brand labels. V&D operates in the middle of the market, while Hema has good quality at lower prices (value-for-money concept). The assortment of footwear at Hema does not include leather footwear. Other: The relevant mail-order catalogues are Wehkamp, Otto, Neckermann and La Redoute, but their market share in footwear is limited. A more important part of this category is taken by the street vendors. They are involved in clearing up stocks from wholesalers and retailers and are not themselves involved in importing. Another part in this category is Makro (wholesaler with retail activities). Italy Major developments in the Italian footwear retail trade in the period under review were growth in sales by non-specialists like hypermarkets and by department and variety stores to the detriment of independent retailers. It is expected that this development will be continued in the coming years, while an increase of multiples is also expected. Manufacturers of classic and exclusive, higher-priced footwear sell mainly directly to retailers or through agents. Wholesalers play an important role in distribution and are generally used by manufacturers of cheaper, mass-market and standardised products. Big retail chains like the Coin Group and the Rinascente Group buy directly from producers but also import by themselves. Independent specialised retailers: Specialists dominate the Italian footwear retail sector, however, the share of independent specialists is nevertheless decreasing. This is due to the growth of specialised multiples, department/variety stores and hypermarkets. The decreasing, but still important, market share of Table 7.7 Market shares of retail distribution of footwear in Italy (in % of value), Specialists Independent retailers Footwear multiples Non-specialists Department/variety stores Clothing shops Sports shops Hyper- and supermarkets Mail-order houses Street markets Other Total Source: ANCI 52

54 independent retailers was realised by around 13,000 companies. Footwear multiple stores: The number of specialised multiples is very limited in Italy. The largest chain is Compar Bata (184 outlets) owned by Bata Canada, other chains are Spatafora with 80 and Rosetti with 16 stores. Clothing stores: Many specialist clothing shops also sell footwear in Italy, although shoe shops rarely sell apparel. Sports shops: The two major buying groups are: Intersport, the largest with around 300 outlets and Selezione Sport with 45 outlets. Important sports multiples are: Giacomelli Sport with 65 outlets, Big Gym/Sport Discount (65) and Sergio Tacchini (110). The latter combines sports goods and outdoor clothing. Giacomelli Sport is a fast growing and internationally operating chain with over 100 megastores in many West and East European countries. Sports chains from abroad come from France Déclathon (7) and from the USA Footlocker (39). Department and variety stores: The major department stores in Italy are Coin (80 stores) and La Rinascenta (15). The Coin Gruppo owns the leading variety stores La Standa (275) and Oviesse (110). Gruppo Rinascenta covers variety store Upim (330). Super-and hypermarkets: Hypermarkets grew in number, as did the clothing and footwear sales by these channels. The most important hypermarket chains are Citta Mercato, Rinascente, Joyland and Auchan. Mail-order houses: The Italian mail-order market remains relatively undeveloped, primarily due to problems with distribution and the generally poor postal delivery service. The leading mail-order company, with sales in footwear besides clothing and general goods, is Postalmarket. 7.2 Distribution channels for developing countries Distribution channels in the selected markets within the EU are different and each market has its own preferred distribution system. In countries like and Belgium, footwear is mainly distributed by specialised retailers (independents and multiple stores). and France have a high concentration of distribution by multiple stores. It has to be noted that the market share of multiples in consisted for more than half of the sales by footwear discounters. In France, sports shops and hypermarkets have high market shares, resulting in a relatively low share for independent retailers. The southern member states Portugal, Italy and Spain have high market shares for independent retailers. The market share of department and variety stores in the UK is rather high (16%), including market leader Marks & Spencer. Around 45 percent of the independent retailers belong to a buying group in Germany and. The large-scaled German buying groups (Garant, ANWR) expanded their activities to many other European countries, in particular to France and. In the field of sports goods, including footwear, the degree of organisation is even more important. Buying and selling formula like Fairplay, Intersport, Sport 2000 are active in almost all EU countries. Both systems obviously have various advantages for the retailers, the most important of which is a reduction in costs by centralising the functions of the collection department, buying and logistics. The buying departments of large retail outlets and the central buying organisations mainly purchase their goods directly from the manufacturer/exporter. Unorganised independent retailers, with decreasing market shares in most of the EU countries, buy directly from local or near-by manufacturers or agents representing these manufacturers, as well as from wholesalers/importers. Most independent retailers are organised via franchise, selling formula or buying groups. These organisations can be considered as multiple stores or chains. The original function of the buying groups was reduction in costs by centralising buying and logistics. More and more selling formula for the members are being developed and the successful ones have been exploited as franchising activities. In particular in Germany and, buying groups play a significant role for specialised independent retailers. The buying policy of buying groups becomes more and more similar to that of multiple stores. With regard to imports from outside Europe, wholesalers/importers, large multiples and buying cooperatives mainly act as contractors. They do not seek own designs and collections from the foreign manufacturer but rather competitive price levels and standards of workmanship. The importer then specifies the models, materials, seasonal designs and colours, and the brands or fantasy labels to be used. Frequently, the importer will provide the appropriate lasts to be used or copied, as well as technical advice and quality control. Some importers have their own local offices in the Far East and, in any case, their executives spend a lot of time at the supplier factories. It should be noted that importers invest considerably in the development of their contract producer to enable the factory to supply merchandise suitable for the European market. They therefore do not change suppliers frequently. 53

55 8 PRICES AND MARGINS 8.1 Margins As a rule, companies which import from developing countries are looking for low-priced merchandise. The margins at the various different levels of distribution are influenced by six factors and are different for each product/market combination. These factors are: degree of risk; volume of business; functions or marketing services rendered; general economic conditions (booming or depressed business); competition, and exclusiveness. High-risk, low-volume, service-intensive products require different margins to low-risk, high-volume standard products. It is impossible to draw up a schedule of actual margins for each and every product/market combination. Even within the same type of combination, different importers employ different margins, due to variation in economic conditions. The effect of low, medium and high margins on consumer end price, based on one CIF (costs, insurance, freight) price for three different products, Table 8.1 Calculation schedule: margins Low Medium High CIF Rotterdam/Amsterdam Import duties * * * Charges on CIF basis: handling charges, transport/ insurance and banking services Wholesaler s margin (30/35/40%) Retailer s margin (55/65/75%) net selling price Value Added Tax (VAT) (19% of net selling price **) gross selling price (consumer price) RATIO CIF/CONSUMER PRICE: *) 0, 2.4, 2.8, 3.5, 4.0, 4.9, 5.0, 5.6, 7.0, 8.0, 11.9 and 17.0 percent of CIF value **) In practice, footwear retailers calculate a % mark-up, incl. VAT and an important part of the assortment has been priced-off. In this calculation the VAT tariff valid for is used, but note that this tariff varies per EU country. is shown in table 8.1. A multiplier of between 2.6 and 3.1 on the manufacturer s or importer s price should be used to calculate an appropriate final consumer price. Caused by factors like increasing competition at all levels in the distribution columln, further concentration and integration, the factor decreased considerably in the last decade. Elimination of the wholesaler for instance can lead to a somewhat lower multiplier of used by footwear multiples, department and variety stores and mail order companies. Table 8.2 illustrates the percentages calculated at each level of the distribution column, based on a consumer price of 100 for three products. Wholesalers and other importers base their costing on a CIF basis and apply their margins. In other words the landed cost for the importer is the FOB (free on board) cost plus the cost of transportation to the importer s warehouse, including any import duty if applicable. If exporters find that their profit margins are too low, they should look at their costing and find methods to reduce or control costs to bring margins into line. If this is not possible, the export market should be abandoned. This means that exporters CIF prices should be in the range of percent of the final consumer price. In absolute terms, it is more attractive for an exporter to operate in the medium and high market. Margins vary greatly according to both type of product and retail channel. Thus the average footwear retailer marks goods up by 100 percent of the buying price, with selected goods retailing up to 150 percent higher than buying prices. In grocery stores (supermarkets and hypermarkets), footwear, mainly with uppers of rubber, plastic or textiles, achieves a gross margin of percent of the retail selling price. This figure is highly attractive compared with the typical profit margin on food and other grocery lines. Table 8.2 Calculation schedule: margins through the distribution Low Medium High Consumer price VAT (19% of net selling price) Net selling price Retailer s margin (55/65/75) Wholesaler s margin (30/35/40) Charges CIF prices

56 8.2 Prices The market is intensively competitive and prices vary widely according to the product and type of outlet. Below, an overview is given of (average) retail prices in. Retail prices include VAT (19%). 8.3 Sources of price information Consumer prices Travelling to the centres of style gives a comprehensive view of fashion trends and prices. Window shopping in European cities like London, Düsseldorf, Paris, Milan and to a lesser degree, Amsterdam will provide a good insight. Another indication of prices of similar shoes being sold in the major EU countries can be formed by browsing through the catalogues of mail-order houses and department stores, which can be found on Internet. For instance in : Neckermann ( and Wehkamp ( in Germany: Neckermann ( and Otto ( and in France: La Redoute ( All prices in these catalogues are given in euros ( ). Another possibility is the shop of Deichmann (one of the leading German footwear retailers) with an assortment of more than 1,000 shoe models ( Trade prices Observing prices quoted at trade shows provides another possibility to gather information. Trade fairs are discussed in the relevant chapter of the EU strategic marketing guide. Table 8.3 Retail prices for some selected footwear items in, 2001 Product Material Height Height Sizes Colours Prices in heel in cm leg in cm Women: mule Leather 8-5 (36 41) 2: bordeaux, black pump Artificial leather 5/9-5 (4 8) 3: black, navy, camel 22.67/40.82 ankle-boot Artificial leather (36-41) 2: black, bronze calf-boot Leather (36 41) 1: black ankle-boot Suede (3-8) 2: black, camel calf-/knee-length boots Suede - 30/40 7 (36-42) 3: beige, black, brown 63.51/72.58 knee-length boot Artificial leather (36-41) 3: lack-, suede-, leather-look sneaker Leather (36-41) 3: bordeaux, black, bronze moccasin Nubuck leather (3-8) 4: black, navy, beige, natural sandals Plastic (3-8) 2: black/white, orange/red slingback Satin 8-6 (3-8) 3: ivory, black, lila outdoor-slippers Plastic (3-8) 3: white, black, rose indoor slippers Textile (36-42) several Men: brogue lace-shoe 1 ) Leather (6 11) 1: black (7-11) 2: black and brown lace-shoe 2 ) Leather (6 11) 1: black lace-shoe Suede (40-46) 2: black, brown ankle-boot (laces) Leather (40-46) 2: black, brown ankle-boot (laces) Suede or leather (40-46) 2: black, brown loafer 2 ) Leather (7-11) 1: black ) resp brandless and branded (Berkelmans) 2 ) resp. brandless and branded (Wrangler) 55

57 9 OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY EXPORTERS Opportunities in EU major markets Demographic developments and a (weak) price inflation are the main factors of a slightly growing footwear market in Germany. Many factors like economic limitations (consumer spending in Germany is low compared to other major EU countries), intensive price competition (increasing market shares for non-specialist retailers), growing imports from low-cost countries (direct imports as well as production abroad under the regime of German manufacturers) etc. influenced the footwear market. The weak position of footwear in consumer expenditure in Germany will recover, according to the forecasts. The improved outlook for the German economy as a whole is expected to support consumer spending on footwear and growth is expected of around 1.5 percent per year for the coming period until There has been an increased focus on all varieties of casual and health/comfort footwear, which will be continued for the coming years. Prices of footwear in the UK declined much more in the last decade than in other EU countries. In the coming period footwear expenditure is expected to increase by about 2 percent per annum. Developments in retailing (British Shoe, M&S, C&A) in the UK are symptoms of a weak market. A further polarisation is expected, resulting in more price competition in the form of discounting. Consumption of footwear in France is expected to grow in line with the European average during the next 5 years. Increasing imports, mainly from low-wage countries have led to serious competition for French products. This has further aggravated the concentration process in footwear retail, which is already rather high in France. The retail market remained very fragmented in Italy, with a dominant role for independent specialists. Besides increased imports of parts of footwear for final assembly in the Italian industry and increased outward processing trade, the imports of ready-to-wear items from developing countries increased too. There is an intensive co-operation between independent unorganised retailers and domestic manufacturers, therefore other channels in retail and wholesale can present opportunities for exporters. The Italian market will grow more or less in line with the EU average, too in the coming years. Footwear expenditure in was very low in the last two decades. A signal of recovery was given in 1997, followed by strong increases in recent years. It is anticipated that the market will be saturated in The situation is worsening for independent retailers, but multiples in the mid-segments also met strong competition from footwear discount chains. These chains are increasing their retail space. Just like in Germany, the role of leisure and casual footwear will remain dominant. Demand for footwear in the EU will continue to increase in the coming years. The number of pairs of shoes purchased per head of population will continue to rise. In order to satisfy the requirements of importing European companies, exporters in developing countries will be faced with increased demands for higher quality and environmentally friendly products. With the correct strategy and carefully thought out development plan, there is no reason why these challenges cannot be met. Advice to exporters The importers wholesalers and the organised retailers desired time between buying and selling has to be shorter. This shorter lead time is necessary to meet the demands set by rapidly changing fashions. Effective competition by developing countries requires knowledge of the legal, technical, quality and fashion requirements. They have to monitor and understand developments in the target countries and to ensure that quality requirements are strictly met. Some experts are of the opinion that instead of concentrating on increasing volumes, developing countries should shift production profiles to highervalue footwear products. Another point of view, however, suggests to specialise based on experience and to try to obtain a higher degree of efficiency in production. It is evident that both production strategies have to be combined with the recommendations mentioned earlier. A start, which involves limited risks and is chosen by the majority of exporters in developing countries, is to try to acquire fixed orders for products specified by the client. The latter is at home in his market and knows all the ins and outs of his permanently changing market place. As mentioned above, exporters in the footwear sector are confronted with many aspects like sizing, packaging, environmental aspects, resulting in a lot of technical requirements, added to which are aspects of design, fashionability, market developments etc. For that reason, co-operation in a variety of forms between importer and exporter can be necessary. The most important determining factors for exporters operating on this basis are the combination of price, product quality and reliability of deliveries and delivery times. More further-reaching forms of potential co-operation are joint ventures and co-makership agreements 56

58 Companies in developing countries, which are continually adapting new technologies and have the advantage of low production costs, are at an advantage. Another advantage applies to exporters in economically and politically stable developing countries. The keen competition on the footwear market will steadily increase and this leads to further opportunities for exporters in low-cost countries. The role of wholesalers/importers will remain stable, while the role of footwear multiples and, to a lesser degree, buying groups or franchise formula will slightly increase in the coming years. The buying policies of super- and hypermarkets vary from direct imports by the internationally operating chains to buying from wholesalers/importers. The CBI Strategic Marketing Guide Footwear familiarises (potential) exporters with the requirements of the EU footwear market, offers a market opportunity analysis to determine suitable sales channels and a checklist for building up a trading link. 57

59 APPENDIX 1 HS Code DETAILED CLASSIFICATION OF FOOTWEAR, BY HARMONISED SYSTEM CODE Product description Waterproof footwear with steel toe-cap, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber, not stitched together Waterproof footwear with steel toe-cap, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, covering the knee, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, covering the knee, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, not covering the ankle or knee, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, not covering the ankle or knee, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber, not stitched together Other waterproof footwear, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, not stitched together Ski boots, outer sole and upper of rubber or plastic Snowboard boots, outer sole and upper of rubber or plastic Other sports footwear, outer sole and upper of rubber or plastic Footwear, outer and upper of rubber or plastic, upper of straps attached to the sole with plugs Footwear, incorporating a protective metal toe-cap with uppers of rubber, with outer soles of rubber or plastic Other footwear, covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of rubber Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out, heel including sole more than 3 cm Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out, heel including sole 3 cm or less Slippers and other indoor shoes, not covering the ankle, outer sole and upper of rubber or plastic Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, plastic cover, inner sole less than 24 cm Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of plastic, inner sole 24 cm or more Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of plastic, outer sole of rubber or plastic, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, not covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber of plastic, upper of plastic, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women Ski-footwear and snowboard boots, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or (synthetic) leather Other sports footwear, upper of leather, outer of rubber, plastic or (synthetic) leather Footwear, upper of leather straps across the instep or around the big toe, outer sole of leather Footwear, wooden basis, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or (synthetic) leather, without inner sole or steel toe-cap Footwear, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or (synthetic) leather, with steel toecap Footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole less than 24 cm Footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women Other footwear, covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole less than 24 cm. 58

60 Other footwear, covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women Footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out, heel including soles more than 3 cm Footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out, inner sole less than 24 cm, heel including soles 3 cm or less Footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, with v amp of straps or with pieces cut out, inner sole 24 cm or more, heel including soles 3 cm or less, for men Footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, with vamp of straps or with pieces cut out, inner sole 24 cm or more, heel including soles 3 cm or less, for women Slippers and other indoor shoes, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole less than 24 cm Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper and outer sole of leather, inner sole 24 cm or less, for women Other footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole less than 24 cm Other footwear, with outer soles of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with uppers of leather, covering the ankle but under the calf, inner sole 24 cm or more Other footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper of leather, outer of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, covering the ankle but under the calf, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women Other footwear, covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole less than 24 cm Other footwear, covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, upper of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more Other footwear, covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, upper of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, covering the ankle, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, upper of leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, heel including soles more than 3 cm Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, inner sole less than 24 cm, heel including soles 3 cm or less Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, inner sole 24 cm or more, heel including soles 3 cm or less Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, inner sole 24 cm or more, heel including soles 3 cm or less, for men Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, with vamp of straps or pieces cut out, inner sole 24 cm or more, heel including soles 3 cm or less, for women Slippers and other indoor shoes, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber plastic or synthetic leather Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole less than 24 cm Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole 24 cm or more Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for men Other footwear, not covering the ankle, upper of leather, outer sole of rubber, plastic or synthetic leather, inner sole 24 cm or more, for women. 59

61 Sports footwear, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of textile Slippers and other indoor shoes, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of textile Other footwear, outer sole of rubber or plastic, upper of textile Slippers and other indoor shoes, outer sole of (synthetic) leather, upper of textile Other footwear, outer sole of (synthetic) leather, upper of textile Footwear, upper of (synthetic) leather, outer sole of wood or cork Footwear, upper of (synthetic) leather, outer sole of other material Footwear, upper of textile, outer sole of wood or cork Slippers and other indoor shoes, upper of textile, outer sole of other material Other footwear, upper of textile, outer sole of other material Other footwear upper of other material, outer sole of rubber, plastic or (synthetic) leather Other footwear, upper and outer sole of other material Leather uppers, whether or not attached to soles other than outer soles Parts of leather uppers (excl. stiffeners) Uppers, whether or not attached to soles other than outer soles and parts thereof Outer soles and heels of rubber Outer soles and heels of plastic Parts of footwear, of wood Gaiters, leggings and similar articles and parts thereof Assemblies of uppers affixed to inner soles or to other sole components Removable in-soles, heel cushions and other removable accessories Outer soles of shoes, of leather or composition leather Other parts of footwear. 60

62 APPENDIX 2 DETAILED IMPORT AND EXPORT STATISTICS OF FOOTWEAR BY PRODUCT TYPE AND AREA OF ORIGIN INTO THE EU, Table 2.1 Imports of footwear into EU in volume and value, mln mln mln mln mln mln mln mln pairs US$ pairs US$ euro pairs US$ euro Waterproof footwear: safety outdoor Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports safety slippers/indoor outdoor , ,701 1, ,908 2, , ,267 2, ,453 2,663 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports safety slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather , ,633 1, ,462 1,586 rubber, plastic, synth. leather , ,327 7, ,882 8,549 other , ,256 10, ,587 11,484 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports , , ,359 1,474 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic other outer soles outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic leather other , ,796 2, ,671 2,895 Footwear with other uppers Parts of footwear 9.3 2, ,059 1, ,898 2,058 Total imports of footwear , ,686 17, ,855 19,367 Of which from: Extra EU , ,338 7, ,485 9,213 Developing countries , ,881 5, ,207 6,732 Source: Eurostat 61

63 Table 2.2 Imports of total footwear into EU by area of origin, mln mln mln mln mln mln mln mln pairs US$ pairs US$ euro pairs US$ euro From other EU countries Italy 244 3, ,505 3, ,964 3,215 Portugal 83 1, ,445 1, ,232 1,336 Spain 96 1, ,219 1, ,022 1, Belgium 56 1, ,129 1, ,156 1,254 other EU countries 117 2, ,307 2, ,114 2,302 Total intra-eu , ,348 9, ,354 10,154 From developing countries: Asia China 272 1, ,470 1, ,661 1,802 Vietnam ,366 1, ,509 1,637 Indonesia India Thailand Macao Cambodia other Mediterranean Tunisia Morocco other Central & Eastern Europe Croatia Slovenia Bosnia/Herzegovina other Central & South America Brazil Mexico other Other Total developing countries 661 5, ,881 5, ,200 6,732 From other countries: Western Europe Switzerland other Central & Eastern Europe Romania Hungary Poland Slovakia other North America USA other Asia Taiwan Hong Kong other Other Total other countries 161 2, ,457 2, ,285 2,481 Total 1,473 18,404 1,582 18,686 17,546 1,627 17,855 19,367 Source: Eurostat 62

64 Table 2.3 Exports of footwear by EU in volume and value, mln mln mln mln mln mln mln mln pairs US$ pairs US$ euro pairs US$ euro Waterproof footwear: safety outdoor Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports safety slippers/indoor outdoor ,000 1, , ,498 1, ,546 1,678 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports safety slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather , ,721 3, ,615 3,921 rubber, plastic, synth. leather , ,473 7, ,849 7,429 other , ,351 11, ,553 12,533 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic other outer soles outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic leather other , ,824 1, ,560 1,692 Footwear with other uppers Parts of footwear 2.0 1, ,604 1, ,557 1,684 Total exports of footwear , ,644 16, ,538 17,937 of which: Outside the EU , ,805 5, ,983 6,488 Source: Eurostat 63

65 APPENDIX 3 SPECIFICATION OF IMPORTS OF FOOTWEAR BY PRODUCT TYPE INTO MAJOR EU COUNTRIES, Table 3.1 Imports of footwear into Germany in volume and value, US$ 000 US$ euro 000 US$ euro pairs 000 pairs pairs Waterproof footwear: safety 504 5, ,034 4, ,533 3,832 outdoor 6,470 34,070 8,412 40,037 37,566 7,296 28,973 31,426 Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports 3,348 72,937 3,319 60,900 57,141 3,819 62,685 67,993 safety slippers/indoor 3,905 13,662 4,733 16,776 15,741 3,219 11,489 12,462 outdoor 58, ,049 66, , ,484 77, , ,201 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports 5, ,406 4,143 94,720 88,874 4,799 86,994 94,360 safety 5, ,324 5, , ,611 5,989 96, ,314 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 1,267 8, ,716 6, ,825 5,234 rubber or plastic 4, ,063 4, , ,529 3, , ,122 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather 14,730 36,076 13,529 35,388 33,204 10,545 28,886 31,332 rubber, plastic, synth. leather 149, , , , , , , ,435 other 4,187 49,124 2,641 36,401 34,155 1,836 15,887 17,232 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports 18, ,886 16, , ,003 13, , ,831 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather , rubber or plastic 18,289 78, ,553 66,198 17,454 60,166 65,260 other outer soles 10,104 22, ,368 23,800 11,499 23,798 25,813 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic 25, , , ,126 30, , ,891 leather , ,073 8, ,840 9,589 other 2,928 8, ,722 6,307 1,961 4,985 5,407 Footwear with other uppers 3,700 16, ,201 25,523 3,577 13,322 14,450 Parts of footwear 1, , , ,470 1, , ,363 Total imports of footwear 338, , , , , , , ,790 Of which Extra-EU 162, , , , , , , ,939 Developing countries 122, , , , , , , ,402 Source: Eurostat 64

66 Table 3.2 Imports of footwear into United Kingdom in volume and value, US$ 000 US$ euro 000 US$ euro pairs 000 pairs pairs Waterproof footwear: safety 360 5, outdoor 2,042 16, Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports 7,514 58,136 8,448 82,134 77,065 6,604 53,702 58,249 safety slippers/indoor 1,141 3,155 1,403 4,031 3,782 1,534 4,307 4,672 outdoor 45, ,425 46, , ,627 50, , ,642 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports 6, ,679 6, ,628 99,109 6, , ,176 safety 2,173 45,577 3,277 62,315 58,469 4,196 69,645 75,542 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 689 4, ,554 3, ,568 2,785 rubber or plastic 407 3, ,977 5,608 1,340 10,930 11,856 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather 19, ,508 21, , ,789 18, , ,306 rubber, plastic, synth. leather 89, , , , ,918 96, , ,146 other 11,487 40,854 9,036 46,397 43,533 6,323 35,725 38,750 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports 18, ,802 18, , ,716 16, , ,213 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 395 2, ,970 1, ,742 1,889 rubber or plastic 13,060 41,929 15,769 48,932 45,912 19,092 52,939 57,421 other outer soles 17,004 35,208 16,925 33,684 31,605 17,289 36,930 40,057 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic 14,868 99,447 17, , ,921 19, , ,847 leather 5,006 37,788 1,817 27,979 26,252 1,172 18,809 20,402 other 3,317 8,796 6,446 10,116 9,492 2,687 8,131 8,820 Footwear with other uppers 3,898 26,176 7,196 33,853 31,764 4,577 24,742 26,837 Parts of footwear , , , , ,534 Total imports of footwear 262, , , , , , , ,394 Of which Extra-EU 139, , , , , , , ,634 Developing countries 127, , , , , , , ,508 Source: Eurostat 65

67 Table 3.3 Imports of footwear into France in volume and value, US$ 000 US$ euro 000 US$ euro pairs 000 pairs pairs Waterproof footwear: safety 366 3, ,870 2, ,921 4,253 outdoor 3,756 20,794 3,770 20,109 18,868 3,730 17,674 19,170 Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports 5, ,253 4, ,838 99,306 5, , ,655 safety slippers/indoor 1,287 3, ,875 2,698 1,140 3,026 3,282 outdoor 43, ,955 45, , ,197 52, , ,149 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports 3,676 73,611 3,639 71,273 66,874 3,963 70,503 76,473 safety 2,523 39,297 2,586 39,451 37,016 3,936 48,935 53,078 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 320 2, ,261 3, ,709 1,854 rubber or plastic 711 5, ,620 6, ,260 5,705 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather 14, ,269 15, , ,978 14, , ,553 rubber, plastic, synth. leather 67, ,834 67, , ,278 77, , ,147 other 3,690 50,898 2,894 46,737 43,852 2,545 38,206 41,441 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports 18, ,459 14, , ,608 18, slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 1,313 3,726 1,726 5,611 5,265 1,207 4,396 4,768 rubber or plastic 18,984 39,889 21,448 42,758 40,119 26,428 46,539 50,480 other outer soles 21,521 28,717 21,477 28,623 26,856 21,311 28,577 30,997 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic 36, ,007 38, , ,204 37, , ,936 leather 1,264 15,222 1,079 14,906 13, ,158 11,018 other 3,879 13,139 3,179 11,327 10,628 1,866 9,608 10,422 Footwear with other uppers 2,371 12,186 2,872 15,505 14,548 3,491 13,304 14,431 Parts of footwear 1, ,245 1, , ,907 1, , ,418 Total imports of footwear 252, , , , , , , ,968 Of which Extra-EU 124, , , , , , , ,012 Developing countries 113, , , , , , , ,736 Source: Eurostat 66

68 Table 3.4 Imports of footwear into Italy in volume and value, US$ 000 US$ euro 000 US$ euro pairs 000 pairs pairs Waterproof footwear: safety 62 1, ,862 1, ,521 1,650 outdoor 1,479 10,188 1,704 9,597 9,005 2,852 8,714 9,452 Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports 5,194 70,044 5,875 66,044 61,968 9,219 77,298 83,843 safety slippers/indoor 1,126 3, ,841 2, ,798 1,950 outdoor 23, ,965 32, , ,483 30, , ,497 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports 7, ,730 5,455 95,777 89,866 5,152 87,384 94,783 safety 3,346 51,416 3,986 56,326 52,850 5,559 56,121 60,873 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 472 2, ,539 1, ,059 1,149 rubber or plastic 1,027 7,473 1,713 12,327 11,566 2,977 18,037 19,564 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather 6,135 95,694 7, ,688 99,165 7,112 96, ,630 rubber, plastic, synth. leather 38, ,094 46, , ,814 54, , ,479 other 915 8, ,192 7, ,225 6,752 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports 18, ,646 17, , ,348 18, , ,569 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic 7,037 19,087 8,021 19,303 18,112 7,901 17,103 18,551 other outer soles 22,614 35,040 20,660 33,043 31,004 18,926 29,010 31,466 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic 20,262 86,046 24,496 94,938 89,078 22,983 92, ,340 leather 385 3, ,433 4, ,707 4,021 other 2,948 6,932 2,253 5,896 5, ,364 2,564 Footwear with other uppers 2,509 11,876 4,669 14,334 13,449 5,409 19,189 20,814 Parts of footwear 4, ,371 2, , ,721 2, , ,028 Total imports of footwear 168, , , , , , , ,312 Of which Extra-EU 142, , , , , , , ,797 Developing countries 97, , , , , , , ,174 Source: Eurostat 67

69 Table 3.5 Imports of footwear into in volume and value, US$ 000 US$ euro 000 US$ euro pairs 000 pairs pairs Waterproof footwear: safety 736 3, ,301 4, ,623 2,845 outdoor 1,222 7,498 1,421 7,773 7,293 1,338 5,424 5,883 Footwear with outer sole and uppers of plastic or rubber: sports ,996 1,971 20,706 19,428 1,632 20,002 21,696 safety slippers/indoor 855 2, ,236 3, ,884 3,128 outdoor 24, ,051 27, , ,860 29, , ,034 Footwear with uppers of leather: sports 1,188 26,467 2,005 34,521 32,390 2,362 34,946 37,905 safety , ,413 16, ,311 20,946 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather 901 1, ,425 1, ,050 rubber or plastic 294 3, ,283 4, ,963 6,468 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: leather 3,295 89,010 3,474 77,636 72,844 3,095 69,674 75,574 rubber, plastic, synth. leather 38, ,778 47, , ,541 48, , ,288 other 1,870 8,165 1,434 5,067 4, ,890 3,135 Footwear with uppers of textiles: sports 5,586 81,974 9, , ,587 9, , ,671 slippers/indoor, outer soles of: leather rubber or plastic 2,653 8,427 2,182 6,259 5,873 3,080 7,043 7,639 other outer soles 6,208 12,757 8,851 15,969 14,983 9,384 15,931 17,280 Outdoor footwear, outer soles of: rubber or plastic 14,222 57,475 15,682 64,838 60,836 15,147 62,861 68,184 leather 333 3, ,322 2, ,531 1,661 other 8,062 17,463 3,184 5,956 5,588 1,218 2,448 2,655 Footwear with other uppers 2,667 5,766 4,167 10,339 9, ,895 4,225 Parts of footwear ,108 1,303 43,939 41, ,479 36,312 Total imports of footwear 115, , , , , , , ,346 Of which Extra-EU 83, ,359 96, , ,277 94, , ,096 Developing countries 57, ,779 67, , ,780 74, , ,121 Source: Eurostat 68

70 APPENDIX 4 TRADE ASSOCIATIONS EU Footwear Industry CEC European Confederation of the Footwear Industry Address: Francois Bossaertstraat 53, B-1030, Brussels, Belgium Phone: Fax: cec@videc.be Website: Retail CEDDEC European Confederation of the Shoe Retailers Associations Address: Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63, A-1045 Wien, Austria Phone: Fax: Sylvia.Kucera@wko.at Website: AUSTRIA Footwear Industry Fachverband der Lederverarbeitende IndustrieVerband der Schuhindustrie Address: Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63, A-1045 Wien, Austria Phone: Fax: fvleder@wko.at Retail Bundesgremium des Schuhhandels Address: Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63, A-1045 Wien, Austria Phone: Fax: Secretariat@wko.at BELGIUM Footwear Industry FDS Federatie van de Belgische Schoenindustrie Address: Francois Bossaertstraat 53, B-1030, Brussels, Belgium Phone: Fax: febic@vidac.be Website: Retail Fédération nationale de la Chaussure Address: Rue Neuve, 19 B-4500 Huy, Belgium Phone: Fax: DENMARK Footwear Industry DKSF Address: Dansk Industri, DK-1787 Copenhagen V, Denmark Phone: Fax: di@di.dk Website: Wholesale Danish Association of Commercial Agents Address: Borsen, DK-1217 Copenhagen K, Denmark Phone: Fax: denmark@coomercial-agents.dk Website: Retail Address: Danmarks Skohandlerforening H.C. Andersens Boulevard 48, DK-1553 Copenhagen V Denmark Phone: Fax: FINLAND Footwear Industry AFSLI Address: Eteläranta 10, 7th floor, FI-00130, Helsinki, Finland Phone: Fax: sari.vannela@rhyma.ttlii.tot.fi Retail Association of Fashion Retailers in Finland Address: Mariankatu 26 B 14, SF-Helsinki, Finland Phone: Fax: FRANCE Footwear Industry FFC Address: Rue de Miromesnil 51, Paris, France Phone: Fax: chaussuredefrance@telepost.fr Website: Retail Fédération Nationale des Détaillants en Chaussures de France Address: Boulevard de Magenta 46, F Paris, France Phone: Fax: fdc@chaussure.org Website: 69

71 GERMANY Footwear Industry HDS Address: Waldstrasse 44, Offenbach a/ Main, Germany Phone: Fax: hds-schuh@t-online.de Website: Retail Bundesverband des Deutschen Schuheinzelhandels e.v. Address: Salierring 44, D Köln, Germany Phone: Fax: bvb-verband@net.cologne.de GREECE Footwear Industry Elsevie Address: Rue Penelope Delta 27, Neopsychico Athens, Greece Phone: Fax: elsevie@hellasnet.gr Website : IRELAND Footwear Industry IRLSF Address: Coe s Road-Industrial Estate-Dundalk co. Louth, Ireland Phone: Fax: ITALY Footwear Industry ANCI Address: Via Monte Rosa 21, Milan, Italy Phone: Fax: info@anci-calzature.com Website : Retail Federcalzature Address: Piazza Belli 12, I Roma, Italy Fax: federcalzature@confcommerio.it THE NETHERLANDS Footwear Industry FNS Address: Reitseplein 1, Tilburg, Mail address: P.O. Box 90154, 5000 LG Tilburg, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Wholesale Vimagro Address: Beneluxlaan 909, Utrecht, Mail address: p.o. Box 3140, 3502 GC Utrecht, the netherlands Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) vimagro@wispa.nl Retail Address: Mitex-Schoenen P.O. Box 162, NL-3940 AD Doorn, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) p.feenstra@mitex.nl PORTUGAL Footwear Industry APICCAPS Address: Rue Alves Redol 372, Apt: 4643, Porto, Portugal Phone: Fax: apiccaps@mail.telepac.pt Website: SPAIN Footwear Industry FICE Address: Nunez de Bilbao 116, pl.3a Oficinas 5y6, Madrid, Spain Phone: Fax: fice@inescop.es Website: SWEDEN Footwear Industry Swedish Federation of the Footwear Industry Address: Arbesko, P.O. Box 1642, S Örebro, Sweden Phone: Fax: UK Footwear Industry BFA Address: 3 Burystead Place Wellingborough, Northants UK Phone: Fax: bfa@easynet.co.uk Website: Retail Independent Footwear Retailers Association Address: 24 Fairlawn Grove, Chiswick, London W453H, UK Phone: Fax: Sba@net.comuk.co.uk 70

72 APPENDIX 5 TRADE FAIR ORGANISERS GERMANY GDS International Shoe Fair Location: Messegelände Düsseldorf Segments: The entire range of footwear and leather accessories Frequency: Twice a year (March and September) In February and August, presentation of new trends in Salon Schuh Aktuell. Organisation: Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box , 4001 Düsseldorf, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) info@messe-duesseldorf.de Website : Inter-Jeans International Casualwear and Young Fashion In combination with Herren-Mode-Woche Segments: Jeanswear, sportswear, club and streetwear, including footwear Organization: Kölner Messe Messeplatz 1, P.O. Box , D Köln Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) ISPO International trade fair for sports equipment and fashion Location: Neue Messe München Segments: Active sportswear, fashion sport and sporting goods, including footwear Frequency: Annual (July/August) Organization: Messe München GmbH Messegelände, D München Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Internet: weber@messe-muenchen.de FRANCE MIDEC International Shoe Fashion Fair Location: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles Segments: Footwear for men, women, junior and children Frequency: Twice a year (March and September) Organisation: SEPIC Expositions 51, rue de Miromesnil, Paris, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) org@midec-paris.tm.fr Website : PAC Trade fair for casual wear Location: Espace Sofitel St. Jacques, Paris Segments: Slippers, espadrilles, plastic and rubber footwear Frequency: Twice a year (June and November) Organisation: SEPIC Expositions 51, rue de Miromesnil, Paris, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Website: ITALY MICAM Micam/Modacalzatura International Footwear exhibition Location: Fiera Milan Segments: broad range of footwear Frequency: Twice a year (March and September) Organisation: FICI Via Monte Rosa 21, Milan, Italy Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) Website : Expo Riva Shoe Location: Palafiere Fair Centre Riva del Garde Segments: high fashion footwear Frequency: Twice a year (January and June) Organisation: Pala Congressi srl Parco Lido, Riva del Garde Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) info@palacongressi.it Website : Fashion Shoe Location: Bologna Exhibition Centre Segments: mid market, mid-upper and top range footwear Frequency: Twice a year (January and June) Organisation: Bologna Fiere Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) dirgen@bolognafiere.it Website : 71

73 NETHERLANDS ISN International Shoe Fair Netherlands Location: Schoenencentrum Nieuwegein Frequency: Twice a year (March and September) Organisation: Schoenencentrum P.O. Box 6001, 3430 HA Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) shoectr@worldonline.nl SPAIN Expocalzado International Footwear Fair Location: Recinto Ferial- Elche/Alicante Segments: Footwear and leather goods Frequency: Twice a year (March and September) Organisation: FICE (Federacion de Industrias del Calzado Espanol) Nunez de Balbao, 116, Madrid, Spain Phone: + 96 (0) Fax: + 96 (0) ifa@feria-alicante.com Modacalzado Footwear and Leather Fashion Trade Fair Location: Recinto Ferial- Elche/Alicante Segments: Footwear and leather goods Frequency: Twice a year (April and September/October) Organisation: IFEMA Casilla 67967, Madrid, Spain Phone: + 91 (0) Fax: + 91 (0) infoferna@ifema.es DENMARK SSF Scandinavian Shoe Fair Location: Scandinavian Shoe Centre, Bella Center Segments: Footwear and accessories Frequency: Four times a year Organisation: Scandinavian Shoe Centre ApS, Center Boulevard 5, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark Phone: + 45 (0) Fax: + 45 (0)

74 APPENDIX 6 TRADE PRESS International fashion magazines for design, styling and forecasting departments Il Mondo della Calzatura (Shoe World) Publisher: Giardano Emporio SrL Via Einandi 206 Civitanova Marche, Italy Phone: + 39 (0) infogiordane@doriaf.com Frequency: 10 issues/year Languages: Italian and English Content: (forecasting) fashion information ARS/Arpel Publisher: ARS Arpel Group srl Via I. Nievo 33, Milan, Italy Phone: Fax: arsarpel@arsapel.it Frequency: 4 issues/year Languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian Content: Magazine for the international leather goods fashion. Information and fashion trends in leather goods and accessories. Vogue Pelle Publisher: Edizione Conde Nast S.p.A. Piazza Castello 27, Milan, Italy Phone: Fax: Frequency: 2 issues/year Language: Italian Content: Fashion information on leather goods, including footwear. Sportswear International Publisher: Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH Mainzer Landstrasse 251, D Frankfurt am Main,Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Frequency: 6 times a year Language: English Content: International fashion trends in jeanswear, leisurewear, accessories etc. International magazines with information about production and trade in footwear Euroshoes Magazine Publisher: ESPO Consorzio European Shoe Press Association E.S.P.A. Via Leonardo da Vinci 43, Trezzano S/Naviglio (MI) Italy Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) fotoshoe@dada.it Frequency: 2 issues/year Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Content: Information about production, trade and fashion in footwear in the EU. World Footwear Sales offices: Shoe Trades Publishing 36 Crosby road North Liverpool L22 0QN, United Kingdom Phone: + 44 (0) Fax: + 44 (0) wl@worldtrades.co.uk Internet: Frequency: 12 issues/year Language: English Content: Global magazine, especially interesting for manufacturers Schuhmarkt Trens & Mode Publisher: Broener Umschau Gruppe P.O. Box , D Frankfurt am Main, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) umschau@t-online.de Frequency: 12 issues/year Language: German Content: Official magazine for German retail association (Bundesverband des Deutschen Schuheinzelhandels). Developments in production and trade, fashion information etc., mainly focused on the German market. Schoenvisie Publisher: VNU Business Publications Ceylonpoort 5-25, P.O. Box 4020, 2003 EA Haarlem, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Frequency: 11 issues/year Language: Dutch Content: Developments in production and trade, fashion information etc., mainly focused on the Netherlands market. 73

75 Tred Publisher: Blauw Media Uitgeverij BV P.O. Box 1043, 3600 BA Maarssen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) tred@blauwmedia.demon.nl Frequency: 10 times a year Language: Dutch Content: Trade and fashion information for footwear retailers De Voorlichter/L Informateur Publisher: VDK Press bvba Marktplein 14, 8530 Harelbeke, Belgium Phone: + 32 (0) Fax: + 32 (0) vandenkendelaere@planetinternet.be Frequency: 10 issues/year Languages: Dutch and French Content: Developments in production and trade, fashion information etc., mainly focused on the Belgian market. Chausser Magazine Publisher: Societe des Publications le Cuir S.a.r.l. 1, Rue Garnier, F Neuilly/Seine, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) contact@chaussermagazine.com Website : ww.chaussermagazine.com Frequency: 10 issues/year Languages: French Content: Developments in production and trade, fashion information etc., mainly focused on the French market. 74

76 APPENDIX 7 BUSINESS SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS Organisations, which are active in the field of the promotion of imports from developing countries, like CBI in. CBI, Centrum tot Bevordering van de Import uit ontwikkelingslanden (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries) Address: Beursplein 37 (5th floor), Rotterdam Post address: P.O. Box 30009, 3001 DA Rotterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) cbi@cbi.nl Internet: ITC (International Trade Center) Division of Product and Market Development Address: Palais des Nations; P.O. Box 10, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Phone: + 41 (0) Fax: + 41 (0) itcreg@intracen.org Internet: DIPO (Danish Import Promotion Office for Products from Developing Countries) Danish Chamber of Commerce Address: Boersen, DK-1217 Copenhagen K, Denmark Phone: + 45 (0) Fax: + 45 (0) dok@commerce.dk PROTRADE/GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH) German organisation for technical cooperation Address: Dag-Hammerskjöld-Weg 1-5; P.O. Box 5180, D Eschborn 1, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) postmaster@gtz.de Internet: ICE (Instituto Nazionale per il Commercio Estero) National Institute for Foreign Trade Address: Via Liszt 21, P.O. Box 10057, Rome, Italy Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) sitoece@ice.it Bundeskammer der gewerblichen Wirtschaft Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Address: Wiener Hauptstrasse 63, P.O. Box 150, 1045 Vienna, Austria Phone: + 43 (0) Fax: + 43 (0) hotline@wkoe.wk.or.at Internet: NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) Address: Tollbugaten 31, P.O. Box 8034 Dep., N-0030 Oslo 1, Norway Phone: + 47 (0) Fax: + 47 (0) postmottak@oslo.norad.telemax.no Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) Address: Sveavagen 20, P.O. Box 3144, S Stockholm, Sweden Phone: + 46 (0) Fax: + 46 (0) sida@sida.org.se Internet: SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme) Address: Stampfenbachstrasse 85, 8035 Zurich, Switzerland Phone: + 41 (0) Fax: + 41 (0) info.zurich@osec.ch BfAI (Bundesstelle fur Aussenhandelsinformation) Federal Office of Foreign Trade Information, with offices both in Cologne and Berlin Address: Agrippastrasse 87-93; P.O. Box , Cologne, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) also: Address: Scharnhornstrasse 87-93, P.O. Box , Berlin, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0)

77 APPENDIX 8 OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES Quota, import duties, import licences The following organisations can supply useful information on quota, import duties, import licences and other trade regulations. Chamber of Commerce & Industries for Rotterdam and the Lower-Meuse Address: Beursplein 37 (3rd Floor), 3011 AA Rotterdam, Post address: P.O. Box 30025, 3001 DA Rotterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) post@rotterdam.kvk.nl Internet: Chamber of Commerce & Industries for Amsterdam Address: De Ruyterkade 5, 1013 AA Amsterdam Post address: P.O. Box 2852, 1000 CW Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) post@amsterdam.kvk.nl Internet: Import duties Netherlands Customs Directorate Address: Laan op Zuid 45, 3072 DB Rotterdam, Post address: P.O. Box 50964, 3007 BG Rotterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@douane.nl Internet: Import duties, tariffs, taxes and regulations Ministry of Finance, Department for Tariffs and Quota Address: Casuariestraat 32, 2511 VB The Hague, Post address: P.O. Box 20201, 2500 EE The Hague, The Nether-lands Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) minfin@minfin.nl Internet: Import licences, certificates, procedures: Central Services for Import & Export Address: De Engelse Kamp 2, 9722 AX Groningen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Internet: More information about the market and other general information can be obtained from the following addresses: Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency Part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Address: Bezuidenhoutseweg 181, 2594 AH The Hague Post address: P.O. Box 20105, 2500 EC The Hague, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) infoservice@evd.nl Internet: Indication of tenders, CE-marking, European rules for working and environmental circumstances: EU Trade Information Address: Pettelaarpark 10, 5216 PD s-hertogenbosch Post address: P.O. Box 70060, 5201 DZ s-hertogenbosch, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@egadvies.nl Internet: Labour circumstances: ILO (International Labour Organisation) Address: 4, Route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland Phone: + 41 (0) Fax: + 41 (0) Internet: The following trade directories are free and available for various European countries in different languages. Kompass Address: Hoge Hilweg 15, 1101 CB Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@kompass.nl Internet: ABC of trade and industry Address: Kon. Wilhelminalaan 16, 2012 JK Haarlem, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@abc-d.nl Internet: 76

78 Europages Address: 47, rue Louis Blanc, Paris la Défense Cedex, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) comments@europages.com Internet: Important addresses for environmental issues Information concerning environmental aspects is provided by trade promotion organisations like CBI, DIPO, NORAD and SIDA (for addresses see Appendix 7). General information: AccessGuide CBI s database on European non-tariff trade barriers Address: P.O. Box 30009, 3001 DA Rotterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) accessguide@cbi.nl Internet: Contact points for the SG (Schadstoffgeprüft Zeichen) hallmark: TÜV Rheinland Sicherheit und Umweltschutz GmbH Address: Am Grauen Stein, D Cologne, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Internet: Institut Fresenius Gruppe Address: Im Maisel 14, D Taunusstein-Neuhof, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Internet: Prüf- und Forschungsinstitut Pirmasens Address: Hans-Sachs-Straße 2, D Pirmasens, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Contact point EU ECO-label: Commission of the European Communities, DG XI-A-2 Address: Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium Phone: + 32 (0) Fax: + 32 (0) dgxiweb@dg11,cec.be Internet: competent body for the Milieukeur environmental label: Stichting Milieukeur (Environmental Review Organisation) Address: Eisenhowerlaan 150, 2517 KP The Hague, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) ecomarkt@ecomarkt.nl Internet: Contact points for the Öko-Tex hallmark: Zertifizierungsstelle Address: Frankfurter Straße 10-14, D Eschborn, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Forschungsinstitut Hohenstein Address: Schloß Hohenstein, D Bonningheim, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) info@hohenstein.de Internet: 77

79 APPENDIX 9 LIST OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Please note that the OECD list of developing countries, as applied in this market survey, may include countries that are usually not considered as developing countries (e.g. South Korea). Afghanistan Guatemala Pakistan Albania Guinea Palau Islands Algeria Guinea-Bissau Palestinian Admin. Areas Angola Guyana Panama Anguilla Haiti Papua New Guinea Antigua and Barbuda Honduras Paraguay Argentina India Peru Armenia Indonesia Philippines Aruba Iran Rwanda Azerbaijan Iraq São Tomé & Principe Bahrain Jamaica Saudi Arabia Bangladesh Jordan Senegal Barbados Kazakstan Seychelles Belize Kenya Sierra Leone Benin Kiribati Slovenia Bhutan Korea, Rep. of Solomon Islands Bolivia Korea, South Somalia Bosnia & Herzegovina Kyrghyz Rep. South Africa Botswana Laos Sri Lanka Brazil Lebanon St. Helena Burkina Faso Lesotho St. Kitts-Nevis Burundi Liberia St. Lucia Cambodia Libya St. Vincent and Grenadines Cameroon Macao Sudan Cape Verde Macedonia Surinam Central African rep. Madagascar Swaziland Chad Malawi Syria Chile Malaysia Tajikistan China Maldives Tanzania Colombia Mali Thailand Comoros Malta Timor Congo Marshall Islands Togo Cook Islands Mauritania Tokelau Costa Rica Mauritius Tonga Côte d'ivoire Mayotte Trinidad & Tobago Croatia Mexico Tunisia Cuba Micronesia, Fed. States Turkey Djibouti Moldova Turkmenistan Dominica Mongolia Turks & Caicos Islands Dominican republic Montserrat Tuvalu Ecuador Morocco Uganda Egypt Mozambique Uruguay El Salvador Myanmar Uzbekistan Equatorial Guinea Namibia Vanuatu Eritrea Nauru Venezuela Ethiopia Nepal Vietnam Fiji Netherlands Antilles Virgin Islands (UK) French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis & Futuna Gabon Nicaragua Western Samoa Gambia Niger Yemen Georgia Nigeria Yugoslavia, Fed. Rep. Ghana Niue Zaire Gibraltar Northern Marianas Zambia Grenada Oman Zimbabwe 78

80 APPENDIX 10 LIST OF MAJOR BUYERS OF FOOTWEAR IN THE NETHERLANDS 1 Importers/wholesalers 2 Retail/multiples 3 Central buying organisations 4 Department stores 5 Mail-order companies 6 Sports multiples 7 Manufacturers/importers 1 IMPORTERS/WHOLESALERS Amani BV Address: Bijleveldsingel 12, 6512 AS Nijmegen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for women Website: Aspo Waalwijk BV Address: Tuinstraat 22, 5144 NT Waalwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 377, 5140 AJ Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men and children Babouche Schoenen BV Address: Nobelstraat 19, 6902 PH Zevenaar, Mail address: P.O. Box 181, 6900 AD Zevenaar, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for women Other companies under the same address: Bladelli: shoes for women Bannoxs: shoes for men J.A. de Bruijn BV Address: Zuidpool 3, 2801 RW Gouda, Mail address: P.O. Box 107, 2740 AC Waddinxveen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men Comforta Nieuwkoop BV Address: Nijverheidsweg 5, 2412 LR Nieuwkoop, Mail address: P.O. Box 12, 2420 AA Nieuwkoop, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children EB Shoes BV Address: Buizerdlaan 2, 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 6333, 3430 HV Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) ebshoes.office@inter.nl.net Articles: shoes for men and women Eegim Shoes BV Address: Tuinstraat 1, 5144 NE Waalwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 663, 5140 AR Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: sport shoes, shoes for women Elko BV, Handelsonderneming Address: Kon. Wilhelminaplein 12-14, 1062 HK Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Europorta Nederland BV Address: Elzenweg 27, 5144 MB Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children The Footwear Studio Address: Drenthehaven 3, 3433 PB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 1349, 3430 BH Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Van Gastel Kinderschoenen BV Address: Engelsestraat 4, 5171 DW Kaatsheuvel, Mail address: P.O. Box 54, 5170 AB Kaatsheuvel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for children 79

81 Genemans BV Address: Buizerdlaan 6 (S 116), 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 6116, 3430 HG Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for women. Mainly operating as agency. Gevavi Schoeisel BV Address: Punterweg 1, 8042 PB Zwolle, Mail address: P.O. Box 296, 8000 AG Zwolle, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: safety shoes; shoes for men and children Globo BV Address: Hoofdstraat 99, 5171 DK Kaatsheuvel, Mail address: P.O. Box 160, 5170 AD Kaatsheuvel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for women Heerkens Shoes BV Address: Prof. Eijkmanweg 21-23, 5144 ND Waalwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 142, 5140 AC Waalwijk Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Helioform BV Address: Grotestraat 250, 5151 BS Drunen, Mail address: P.O. Box 52, 5150 AB Drunen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men and women Hengst Footwear BV Address: Broekslagen 8, 8331 TJ Steenwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 174, 8330 AD Steenwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Theo Henkelman Schoenen BV Address: Doemesweg 10, 6004 RN Weert, Mail address: P.O. Box GC Weert, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Hetharia Handelsondememing Address: Buizerdlaan 6 (S 123), 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 6123, 3430 HH Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Joh. van Iersel & Zn BV Address: Hoofdstraat 38, 7625 PE Zenderen, Mail address: P.O. Box 164,7620 AD Borne, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Jochie BV Address: Schijve 1, 5162 CW Gilze, Mail address: P.O. Box 16, 5120 AA Rijen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for children Intermedium Footwear BV Address: Debbemeerstraat 12-14, 2131 HE Hoofddorp, Mail address: P.O. Box 367, 2130 AJ Hoofddorp, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children De Kinderschoenen BV Address: Marconiweg 14, 8071 RA Nunspeet, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for children 80

82 Jack de Lange International BV Address: Aalsvoorst 51 C, 7421 MA Lochem, Mail address: P.O. Box 180, 7240 AD Lochem, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children. info@jackdelange.nl Website: Mainly operating as agency, brands like Audley, Chatham, K-shoes etc.) Leijten Schoenen BV Address: Marconiweg 8, 4131 PD Vianen, Mail address: P.O. Box 7, 4130 EA Vianen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children. Leomil BV Address: Kon. Wilhelminaplein 29 ( ), 1062 HJ Amsterdam, Mail address: P.O. Box 69033,1060 CA Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) leomil@leomil.nl Articles: sport and leisure shoes Memo BV Address: Nijverheidslaan 9, 1382 LE Weesp, Mail address: P.O. Box 343, 1380 AH Weesp, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Mexx Shoes BV Address: Biesbosweg 16, 5145 PZ Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Website: Frans Muller & Zn BV Address: Rouaanstraat 29, 9723 CC Groningen, Mail address: P.O. Box 5194, 9700 GD Groningen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@fransmuller.nl Articles: clogs and rubber boots Shoe Ab BV Address: Zuidwenk 78 L, 3751 CG Spakenburg, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children. g.zandbergen@shoe-ab.nl Website: and/or Sieben BV Address: Schijfweg-Zuid 2, 5995 BG Kessel (L) ), Mail address: P.O. Box 7803, 5995 ZG Kessel (L), Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children Hein Sitters Agencies Address: Buizerdlaan 6 (S 18), 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 133, 3417 ZJ Montfoort, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: shoes for men, women and children De Wolff en Spaans BV Address: Kitmanstraat 9, 1812 PL Alkmaar, Mail address: P.O. Box 1022, 1800 KA Alkmaar, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Articles: industrial shoes; shoes for men and women 2 RETAIL MULTIPLES (18 or more stores) Brantano Adress: Tijvoortsebaan 5, 5051 HJ Goirle, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Website: info@brantano.nl Bristol BV Address: Weerenweg 15-17, 1161 AE Zwanenburg, Mail address: P.O. Box 173,1160 AD Zwanenburg, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Website: info@bristol-nederland.nl 81

83 Cinderella Schoenen BV Address: Stekkenbergweg 8, 1105 AJ Amsterdam ZO, Mail address: P.O. Box 82, 1390 AB Abcoude, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) cinde@xs4all.nl Website: Van Dalen BV Address: Rhone 34, 2266 DA Leidschendam, Mail address: P.O. Box 309,2260 AH Leidschendam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Dolcis Address: Larenweg 70, 5234 KC Den Bosch, Mail address: P.O. Box 3065, 5203 DB Den Bosch, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@dolcis.nl Website: Durlinger BV Address: Mail address: Leyenbroekerweg 31, 6132 CA Sittard, P.O. Box 42, 6130 AA Sittard, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Ecco Shop Address: Wijkermeerstraat 36, 2131 HA Hoofddorp, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@nelsonschoenen.nl Website: Van Haren Schoenen BV Address: Hoogeinde 35, 5142 GB Waalwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 2, 5140 AA Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Invito Address: Larenweg 70, 5234 KC Den Bosch, Mail address: P.O. Box 3065, 5203 DB Den Bosch, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@invito.nl Website: Manfield Address: Larenweg 70, 5234 KC Den Bosch, Mail address: P.O. Box 3065, 5203 DB Den Bosch, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@manfield.nl Website: Massa Schoen en Mode Address: Schijfweg 4, 5995 BG KesseL Lb, Mail address: P.O. Box 7821, 5995 ZG Kessel Lb, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@massa-schoen-en-mode.nl Nelson Address: Wijkermeerstraat 36, 2131 HA Hoofddorp, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@nelsonschoenen.nl Website: Nimco House of Shoes Address: Oude Kleefsebaan 119, 6572 AK Berg en Dal, Mail address: P.O. Box 1361, 6501 BJ Nijmegen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@nimco.nl Website: Podo Linéa Address: Buizerdlaan 2, 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 1290, 3430 BG Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) nederland@garantschuh.de 82

84 Promenade Address: Buizerdlaan 2, 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 1290, 3430 BG Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) nederland@garantschuh.de Sacha Shoes Address: S. van Zwanenbergweg 10, 5026 RN Tilburg, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) sascha@sascha.nl Scapino Schoenen, Kleding, Sport Address: Industrieweg 28, 9403 AB Assen, Mail address: P.O. Box 250, 9400 AG Assen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Website: Schoenenreus Schoenen, Kleding, Sport Address: Belgenlaan 1, 5406 XN Uden, Mail address: P.O. Box 72, 5400 AB Uden, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Tango Shoes Address: Cartografenweg 24, 5141 MT Waalwijk, Mail address: P.O. Box 267, 5170 AG Kaatsheuvel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) tango@tangoshoes.com Website: Van Woensel Address: Weerenweg 15-17, 1161 AE Zwanenburg, Mail address: P.O. Box 173,1160 AD Zwanenburg, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@vanwoensel.nl Ziengs Schoenen Address: Nijverheidsweg 1, 9403 VN Assen, Mail address: P.O. Box 969, 9400 AZ Assen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@ziengs.nl Website: 3 CENTRAL BUYING ORGANISATIONS Ariston Nord-West Ring Benelux Address: Arnhemsestraatweg 33, 6881 ND Velp, Mail address: P.O. Box 113, 6880 AC Velp, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Formula: Quick Shoes Sport 2000 Address: Archimedesstraat 17, 4816 BA Breda, Mail address: P.O. Box 3254, 4800 ME Breda, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) sport2000@euretco.com Website: Formula: Sport 2000 and Sportpoint Euro Holland BA Address: Gezellenstraat 13, 3861 RD Nijkerk, Mail address: P.O. Box 1065, 3860 BB Nijkerk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@euroholland.nl Website: Garant Schuh Address: Buizerdlaan 2, 3435 SB Nieuwegein, Mail address: P.O. Box 1290, 3430 BG Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) nederland@garantschuh.de Formula: Podo Linea, Promenade, Fair Play International, Sports Shoe Traffic 83

85 Intres Address: Konininneweg 1, 3871 JZ Hoevelaken, Mail address: P.O. Box 150, 3870 CD Hoevelaken, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Formula: Gos Sport, Intersport 4 DEPARTMENT STORES De Bijenkorf Address: Frankemaheerd 6, Amsterdam-ZO, Mail address: P.O. Box 12870, 1100 AW Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@bijenkorf.nl Website: Hema Address: Frankemaheerd 2, Amsterdam-ZO, Mail address: P.O. Box 23220, 1100 DS Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@hema.nl Website: Makro Address: Dalsteindreef , Diemen, Mail address: P.O. Box 22579, 1100 DB Amsterdam ZO, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info.makro.nl Website: Vroom & Dreesmann Address: Spaklerweg 52, 1096 BA Amsterdam, Mail address: P.O. Box 276, 1000 AG Amsterdam, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@ vroomendreesman.nl Website: 5 MAIL-ORDER HOUSES Wehkamp Address: Meeuwenlaan 2, 8011 BZ Zwolle, Mail address: P.O. Box 400, 8000 AK Zwolle, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) webmaster@wehkamp.nl Website: 6 SPORTS MULTIPLES Aktie Sport Address: Edisonweg 4, 4131 PC Vianen ZH, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Website: Coach, Sportshoes & Sportswear Address: Jules Verneweg 36, 7821 AE Emmen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Fairplay International Sports Address: Plesmanstraat 1, 3833 LA Leusden, Mail address: P.O. Box 1290, 3430 BG Nieuwegein, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) office@fairplaysports.nl Favoriet Sport Address: Kolenbranderstraat 10, 2984 AT Ridderkerk, Mail address: P.O. Box 4169, 2980 GD Ridderkerk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) GOS Sport Address: Konininneweg 1, 3871 JZ Hoevelaken, Mail address: P.O. Box 150, 3870 CD Hoevelaken, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0)

86 Helderman Sport Address: Nijverheidsweg 23-27, 1851 NW Heiloo, Mail address: P.O. Box 125, 1850 AC Heiloo, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@trendsbv.nl Website: Intersport Address: Konininneweg 1, 3871 JZ Hoevelaken, Mail address: P.O. Box 150, 3870 CD Hoevelaken, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@intersport.nl Website: Perry Sport Address: Oosteinderweg 247b, 1432 AT Aalsmeer, Mail address: P.O. Box 510, 1430 AM Aalsmeer, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Website: Olympus Sports Address: Larenweg 70, 5234 KC Den Bosch, Mail address: P.O. Box 3065, 5203 DB Den Bosch, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@olympus-sports.nl Website: At the same address: Olympus Shoes and Pro Sport Sport 2000 Address: Archimedesstraat 17, 4816 BA Breda, Mail address: P.O. Box 3254, 4800 ME Breda, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) sport2000@euretco.com Website: Sport Point Address: Archimedesstraat 17, 4816 BA Breda, Mail address: P.O. Box 3254, 4800 ME Breda, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) sportpoint@euretco.com Website: 7 MANUFACTURERS/IMPORTERS Avang Schoenfabriek BV Address: Schoolstraat 6, 5066 EE Moergestel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@avang.nl Website: Wed. J.P. van Bommel Schoenfabriek BV Address: Oisterwijkseweg 40, 5066 XD Moergestel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@vanbommel.nl Website: Durabel BV Address: Bevrijdingsweg 16, 5171 PS Kaatsheuvel, Mail address: P.O. Box 42, 5170 AA Kaatsheuvel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Durea Schoenfabriek BV Address: Thomas Edisonweg 1, 5151 DH Drunen, Mail address: P.O. Box 7, 5150 AA Drunen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) 416 Gerba Windsor Holding BV Address: Hoge Ham 123, 5104 JD Dongen, Mail address: P.O. Box 6, 5100 AA Dongen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@gerba.nl Website: 85

87 Greve Schoenfabriek BV Address: Hoogeinde 64 a, 5142 GD Waalwijk, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) Van Lier Schoenfabriek BV Address: Bergstraat 4, 5175 AA Loon op Zand, Mail address: P.O. Box 2, 5175 ZG Loon op Zand, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) 416 Loint s of Holland BV Address: T. v/d Sijdestraat 18, 5161 CD Sprang-Capelle, Mail address: P.O. Box 232, 5170 AE Kaatsheuvel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@loints.com Website: Sigma Sportschoenenfabriek Address: Veertels 11, 5133 NC Riel, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0) info@sigmaschoenen.nl Website: Smits Schoenfabriek BV Address: Kerkstraat 53, 5101 BB Dongen, Mail address: P.O. Box 8, 5100 AA Dongen, Phone: + 31 (0) Fax: + 31 (0)

88 APPENDIX 11 LIST OF MAJOR BUYERS OF FOOTWEAR IN THE EU GERMANY Garant Schuh + Mode AG Address: Elisabethstrasse 70, D Düsseldorf, Germany Phone: Fax: Website: kontakt@garantschuh.com Ariston/Nord-West-Ring e.g. Address: Nord-West-Ring-Strasse 11, D Mainhausen, Germany Phone: Fax: Website: Rexor Address: Friedrichstrasse 103, Düsseldorf, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: info@rexor.de Heinrich Deichmann-Schuhe GmbH Address: Boehnertweg 9, Essen, Germany Phone: Fax: Website: info@deichmann.com Daughter companies in retail: Roland Schuhe (address etc. see Deichmann), Van Haren (address etc. see Major buyers in ), Dosenbach & Ochsner (Switzerland) and Rack Room Shoes (USA). Salamander Address: Stammheimer Strasse 10, Kornwestheim, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: Quelle Karstadt Quelle Gruppe Buying office: Quelle Schickedanz Holding Address: Nürnberger Strasse 91-95, Fürth, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: Karstadt/Hertie Karstadt Quelle Gruppe Buying office: Karstadt AG Address: Theodor-Althoffstrasse 2, Essen, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: Katag Buying office: Katag AG Textileinkaufsverband Address: Stralsunderstrasse 5, Bielefeld, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: Kaufhof / Horten Metro Gruppe Buying office: Kaufhof Warenhaus AG Address: Leonhard Tietz strasse 1, Köln, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: C&A Address: Hans-Günther-Sohl Strasse 8, Düsseldorf, Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) Website: FRANCE Eram Address: Route Chaudron, St Pierre Montlimart, France Phone: Fax: Website: Groupe André Address: 28, Avenue de Flandre, Paris, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Daughter companies among other: Halle Chaussures and André Halle Chaussure Address: 2, Rue Gaspard Monge, France Phone: + 33 (0) Website: 87

89 Carrefour Buying office: Carrefour France Address: ZI Saint-Guénault, Evry Courcouronnes, France Mail address: P.O. Box 75, Evry Courcouronnes, Cedex- France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Website: La Redoute PPR Group Buying office: Redcats Address: 57 Rue de Blanch le, Roubaix, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Daughters: Empires Stores (UK), Ellos (Spain) and Brylane (USA) Monoprix/ Prisunic Galeries Lafayette Group Address: Tour Vendôme, 204 Rond Point du Pont Sèvres, Boulogne Billancourt, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Website: Tesco Buying office: Tesco Stores Ltd Address: 44 Cirrus Building C- Schire Park- Welwyn Garden City- Herts AL7 1ZR, United Kingdom Phone: + 44 (0) Fax: + 44 (0) (achats UK); + 44 (0) (achats hors UK) Website: Italy Coin Address: Via Terraglio 17, Mestre (Venezia), Italy Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Website: or for the holding company Gruppo Coin Rinascente Address: Strada 8, Palazzo N, Rozzanp Milan, Italy Phone: + 39 (0) Fax: + 39 (0) Website: Decathlon Address: 4, Boulevard de Mons, P.O. Box 299, Villeneuve d Asq, France Phone: + 33 (0) Fax: + 33 (0) Website: UNITED KINGDOM A list of all British footwear suppliers including addresses, phone and fax numbers, address and website can be obtained from the website Marks & Spencer Address: Michael House, Baker Street London W1A1 1DN, United Kingdom Phone: + 44 (0) Fax: + 44 (0) Website: Next Address: Desford Road Enderby, Leicester LE9 5AT, United Kingdom Phone: + 44 (0) Fax: + 44 (0) Website: 88

90 APPENDIX 12 USEFUL INTERNET SITES Shoe Info Net is a worldwide information centre, supplying news and information about all aspects of shoe production, leather, production techniques, trade fairs and other events, footwear fashion trends. This rather complete and very interesting site for all partners in the footwear business also gives links to home pages of many organisations. CEC is the official representative body of the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry. CEC represents 14 national footwear federations of the EU and also the observer CEECs, Tunisia and Morocco. An overview is given of the EU Research Institutes for Shoes, information for consumers, external trade and social aspects. The target group of this site is primarily the European footwear industry, but there is plenty of interesting information for exporters to the EU, other than the so-called observer countries. There are 14 links to interesting footwear websites. The EU market survey Footwear includes a detailed list of addresses of major buyers in and a short list of buyers in other EU countries including (if available) websites and addresses. More information and more addresses can be found on several websites, for instance, the following trade directories are available without charge for various European countries in different languages: Kompass: ABC of trade and industry: Europages: This website shows a collection of more than a hundred homepages of footwear brands, classified in several categories (men, women, athletes, unisex etc). The site gives a good idea of the latest collections of a large numbers of manufacturers, mainly in Europe and the USA. In two languages (Spanish and English) a large number of articles about the latest developments in the footwear industry, country profiles specified as to footwear and leather, events (trade fairs etc.) etc. It is possible, once in two weeks, to receive the latest news from the shoe industry by (for free); E-commerce (business to business) is also possible. Satra is a leading international research and technology organisation for consumer goods industries covering footwear, clothing, leather, etc.; besides an overview of publications, events etc. an overview is given of the test equipment. However, many of the services offered (laboratory tests, comfort and fitting services, technical arbitration), specific publications and magazines are offered exclusively to Satra members. World Chambers of Commerce Network, giving an index of chambers of commerce world-wide (national, regional and local). The feature International Trade Opportunities is a business match-making platform and has a search engine. Each feature can be searched by continent and gives a country list in alphabetical order. 89

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94 CBI puts you in touch with the markets of Europe CBI, the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, is an agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since its establishment in 1971, CBI operates within the policy framework set by the Minister for Development Co-operation. Its mission is to contribute to the economic independence of developing countries. To fulfil this mission, CBI aims at strengthening the competitiveness of companies in those countries on international markets, primarily the West-European market, by improving conditions in enterprises and business support organisations. CBI considers social values and compliance with the most relevant environmental requirements to be an integral part of its policy and activities CBI offers various programmes and services to its target groups: Market information CBI News Bulletin (6 times annually); CBI guide Exporting to the European Union ; Market surveys and strategic marketing guides covering the EU including ; Quick scans on environmental, social and health issues; Manuals on subjects such as technical and environmental regulations, trade fair participation, Fashion Forecast etc.; CBI s extensive Web site at providing general information about CBI, details about CBI programmes, CBI publications (downloadable free-of-charge) and the GreenBuss database on European trade-related environmental policy and technology; CBI s Trade Documentation Centre offering supply-related information to importers, such as exporters directories, country and sector information, periodicals from developing countries, and - to visiting exporters - demand-related information such as market information, trade magazines, address books of European companies etc. Matching services CBI s computerized exporters and importers databases, containing around 3,500 regularly updated company profiles, are instrumental in providing buyers and suppliers with relevant company data on potential trade partners. Export promotion programmes (EPP) Step-by-step approach providing intensive assistance to selected exporters in developing countries in order to obtain a firm and lasting position on the EU market. Made to measure, demand- driven and flexibility are combined with fixed elements such as: pre-selection of candidates based on written documentation; technical assistance during company visits and distance guidance by CBI branch experts; export marketing training (for instance through the EXPRO seminars); market entry (for instance via participation in European trade fairs); market consolidation by way of follow-up support, further technical assistance and/or repeat market entry activities. Human resources development BSO MARKET INTEL: five-day seminar in Rotterdam for relevant middle management staff of BSO s, aiming at supporting BSO s in establishing or improving a Market Information Service (MIS); CAPITA: two-week seminar in Rotterdam for specific industry & trade associations. Aims to provide through their associationsspecific industries or sectors in developing countries with tools to engage in business relations with importers and/or manufacturers in the EU; BSO-FAME: two-week seminar in Rotterdam for project managers of BSOs focusing on practical knowledge and applicable tools in export promotion to international markets in general and the European market in particular; IntFair: two-week seminar in Rotterdam for BSO staff members on the organization of collective participation in European trade fairs; Expro: seven-day seminar in Rotterdam on export marketing and management for selected exporters participating in a CBI export promotion programme; Workshops in developing countries: 2-4 days for BSOs and/or exporters, focussing on general export marketing and management, a specific product sector or on specific subjects. Multilateral co-operation CBI co-operates with the International Trade Centre (ITC/WTO) to globalize trade promotion and with other European import promotion organizations to increase efficiency and effectiveness by combining efforts. Please write to us in English, the working language of the CBI. Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries Centrum tot Bevordering van de Import uit de ontwikkelingslanden Mailing address: CBI P.O. Box DA Rotterdam Phone +31 (0) Fax +31 (0) cbi@cbi.nl Internet Office and showroom: WTC-Beursbuilding, 5th Floor 37 Beursplein, Rotterdam,. No part of this publication may be sold, reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of CBI

95 Mailing address: P.O. Box 30009, 3001 DA Rotterdam, Phone: Fax: Internet: Office and showroom: WTC-Beursbuilding, 5th floor 37 Beursplein, Rotterdam,