Economic activities are operating in Argentina, with some restrictions given the need to constrain the diffusion of COVID-19 in the country. The deep contraction of footwear consumption is one of the main issues for the industry, according to the Chamber of the Footwear Industry
We spoke with FEDECCAL, the Chamber of Leather, Footwear and Allied Industries, to understand the main impacts of the pandemic in the country's footwear trade in 2020. We also discussed the acceleration of digital commerce in Chile last year, much driven by COVID-19
We spoke with Jirka Vymetal, Executive Director at SAFLIA, the Southern African Footwear & Leather Industries Association, to learn more about the current situation of the pandemic in the country and the impacts it is having on the footwear industry
Currently holding the 10th position in the list of countries with more cases of peope infected with COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic, Germany currently has a stern lockdown in place. We spoke with HDS/L - Federal Association of German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry to learn what is happening with the local industry
Contrary to other European countries, currently France has not imposed a lockdown, although stores have to be closed by 6pm everywhere in the country. According to the French Footwear Federation the main problem impacting the footwear sector is the drop in demand
The Italian government has split the country’s regions into three zones, which determine the extent of restrictions applied in each moment. There are currently no restrictions to footwear manufacturing, but Assocalzaturifici's President says the situation is not good for SMEs
With the world fast approaching 100 million cases of infected people and with vaccination now in place in several countries, we did a round of conversations with footwear associations across the world to understand what the current situation of the footwear industry is in their countries, and to learn where and in what conditions are footwear stores open
Malaysia is facing another wave of COVID-19 and is currently under Movement Control Order 2.0 since the 13th of January. This is planned to long until the 2nd of February, but might extend further
As the country is living another wave of the pandemic, we have spoken to FICE, the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries to learn the latest about the impacts of COVID-19 in the Spanish footwear industry
The country is living in another State of Emergency, at least until the 30th of January. Industry, distribution and schools remain open and functioning as usual. Non-essential retail is once again closed
The forecast is made by Abicalçados, the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), and follows a fall in year 2020 estimated to be around 25%. This placed the production of the Brazilian footwear industry at the same level as the one registered 16 years ago
The Portuguese Footwear Association has launched a new promotional video presenting the competitive arguments of the Portuguese footwear industry. Check it out here
The National Leather Working Group has asked the local Government to intervene on the duty structure for components used in the industry which are usually imported. High fees on chemicals, equipment and other manufacturing inputs are too high, they claim
From the 23rd to the 26th of November 2020 a fully digital and virtual conference is being organised by AMF SAFETY SHOES, TOWORKFOR, and ALOFT with an aim to discuss and reflect on 4 main revolutions impacting the Footwear Manufacturing sector
Worldwide footwear production has increased by 21.2% since 2010 at an average yearly growth rate of 2.2%. This is one of the main conclusions of the World Footwear 2020 Yearbook launched by APICCAPS