World Footwear

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Japan retail: unlocking consumer confidence is key for retail

Premium ContentMar 24, 2023 / Japan
The volume of footwear imports closed 2022 about 10 percentage points below the 2015 baseline, suggesting that the impact of the imported inflation on prices has been clouding the real performance of retail sales in the category. Both the government and some companies have offered inflation allowances or anti-inflation subsidies, but given the saving Japanese mindset, it can be expected that any additional disposable income will not necessarily be used for discretionary shopping, such as clothing and footwear. To boost consumption, it is therefore needed to unlock consumer confidence, which improved only marginally In February, and appears now to be flattening

Amazon to cut another 9 000 jobs

Mar 22, 2023 / United States
The online retail giant announced that will lay off more 9 000 employees in the coming weeks, on top of the previously announced cuts that began in November and extended into January

US Retail: slower growth for retail in the coming months

Premium ContentMar 14, 2023 / United States
The available data suggests that footwear sales dipped in the last quarter of 2022. With inflation eating the wage growth and impacting the stability of the labour market, US consumers appear to have deemed footwear purchases as not essential. This situation is somewhat corroborated by the negative performances of several companies in the fashion category, such as Capri, Nordstrom and VF Corp, in the fourth quarter of the year. Their main concern relates to the excess inventory, which led to a highly promotional environment and caused imports to reduce. Accounting for the mixed feelings on the consumers’ side, it is safe to endorse cautious prospects for retail for these first months of 2023

Sustainable, please. But not more expensive!

Premium ContentMar 7, 2023 / Business Conditions Survey
Sustainability is on the agenda of most footwear brands. Given such importance, in the latest edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey we have asked our experts if consumers will be willing to pay more for sustainability

German online footwear sales declined by 16.6% in 2022

Mar 7, 2023 / Germany
With consumer spending taking a hit due to the war in Ukraine, online sales fell by 8.8% in 2022, year-over-year. But the footwear sector was the most affected, says BEVH

Germany Retail: one swallow doesn’t make a summer

Premium ContentMar 6, 2023 / World Footwear Reports
Despite the upturn in consumer confidence observed in the last quarter of 2022, there is still much concern among retailers. Footwear imports are following an upward trend since October, which could be read as a good sign concerning the health of retail, but German businesses are quite familiar with the sensitivity of their consumers to slight changes in overall economic conditions, and inflation is still expected to impact directly sales. Caution seems definitely to be the watchword at the start of 2023

Spain Retail: retailers and consumers have shown themselves resilient at the end of 2022

Premium ContentFeb 27, 2023 / World Footwear Reports
The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear (TCF) retail sales index has improved in the fourth quarter of last year and several companies in the category appear to be less fearful about 2023, especially after their positive annual results. Moreover, retailers’ and consumers’ confidence indicators are showing that despite some lingering pessimism due to the challenging macroeconomic environment, things won’t get necessarily worse in the short term.

Zalando to cut hundreds of jobs

Feb 22, 2023 / Germany
The German-based online retailer announced that it will cut hundreds of jobs due to the increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment experienced after the COVID-19 pandemic

Amazon reports net loss in 2022

Feb 21, 2023 / United States
Despite a better-than-expected fourth quarter last year, the Seattle-based company posted a full year net loss of 2.7 billion USD, as compared to a net income of 33.4 billion USD in 2021

France Retail: inflation will yet impact retail, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Premium ContentFeb 20, 2023 / World Footwear Reports
Figures by the Banque de France suggest that retailers may have felt some relief in December 2022, but the weight of inflation in these results must not be overlooked, with turnover growing quite faster than the production itself. Moreover, the impact of inflation on footwear might yet be to be felt. French consumers tend to purchase the category during sales, but retailers may not be able to make the big discounts that would make consumers shop in a context of still significant inflation due to the need of preserving margins. However, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel, as retailers’ and consumers’ confidence indicators show that there is room, at least, for the ceasing of confidence deterioration in 2023.

Sneaker’s share to continue increasing

Premium ContentFeb 14, 2023 / Business Conditions Survey
In the latest edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey, we asked our panel of experts how they expected sneakers’ share of international footwear trade to evolve by 2050

2023 could bring a loss of 56 million pairs in Europe's consumption

Premium ContentJan 30, 2023 / Business Conditions Survey
In the latest edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey, we have asked our panel of experts about their perspectives regarding footwear consumption, in their domestic market and globally

Farfetch shakes-up leadership team

Jan 19, 2023 / United Kingdom
The luxury e-tailer has appointed Elizabeth von der Goltz as Chief Fashion and Merchandising Officer and CEO of Browns. Sindhura Sarikonda will join in as President of the Americas

Cost of merchandise and raw materials is the main concern of the industry

Premium ContentDec 30, 2022 / Business Conditions Survey
In the current edition of World Footwear Business Conditions Survey, problems associated with the cost of merchandise and raw materials account for more than 80% of responses relating to the main difficulties felt by the footwear industry

Employment in the sector not expected to grow in 2023

Premium ContentDec 26, 2022 / Business Conditions Survey
According to the perspectives of the most recent edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey, conducted in November, employment in the footwear industry should stabilize or decrease in the next few months
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