China Has More Than 70% Of The World Shoe Market, And More Business Opportunities In Europe.

Mr.AlanDrage, global marketing director of SATRA technology center, UK, in 2005, the world's total footwear output was 14 billion 520 million pairs, valued at $160 billion.

Among them, the total output of footwear goods in Asia is 11 billion 980 million, and China accounts for 75.1%.

In 2005, world footwear consumption accounted for 40% in Asia, 17% in the United States, 17% in Western Europe, 7% in Eastern Europe, 4% in North America and the rest of Central America, and 16% in the rest of the world.

Comparison between Europe and the US market: Although the United States is slightly smaller than Western Europe (299 million and 400 million) in terms of population size, it is slightly higher than Western Europe (2 million 286 thousand pairs and 2 million 91 thousand pairs) in terms of footwear consumption.

The annual consumption per capita is 7.6 in the US and 5.7 in Europe.

Both places are mature markets with low growth rate (or zero).

The two markets have an aging population.

Retail structure and distribution channel are very different between the two markets.

The distribution channels of footwear products in the United States: in the United States, the concentration of retail is relatively high, and 25 top retail chains account for almost 60% of the total sales volume.

Independent shoe stores account for less than 15% of sales.

Retail sales such as WAL-MART, Kemat, Paul and Taghit accounted for about 45% of sales.

Messi, general store, and other high-end retailers such as North and West are also doing well, accounting for about 35% of sales.

Middle end retailers, such as Sears and Peng Ni, account for only about 15% of sales.

European footwear distribution channels: in 2005, 2 billion 91 million pairs of shoes were sold to Western Europe - France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom - a total of 1 billion 429 million pairs of shoes (that is, 68% of the total market).

However, every market in these 4 markets has its own unique characteristics and distribution network.

There are very few retailers or distributors in large scale in Europe.

Subdivided into the United Kingdom: the population is 60 million 500 thousand, the market size is 397 million pairs.

It accounts for 19% of the total market and 6.6 pairs of annual consumption per capita. The main sources of imports are China, Vietnam, Italy, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Spain and Portugal.

Germany: the population is 82 million 400 thousand, the market size is 351 million pairs, that is, the total market is 16.8%, and the annual consumption per capita is 4.3 pairs. The main sources of imports are China, Vietnam, Italy, Portugal, India, Romania and Indonesia.

Retail structure: the German footwear market is undergoing a period of change.

Traditionally, the German footwear market is dominated by many independent retailers and is supplied by a few "sourcing groups". The largest three are AristonNordWest, G-Lord and Garant.

(the fourth Intersport serves the sporting goods market).

France: the population is 61 million 100 thousand, the market size is 348 million pairs, that is, 16.9% of the total market, and the annual consumption per capita is 5.7 pairs. The main source of imports is China, Italy, Vietnam, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Indonesia.

Retail structure: France is different from other European countries, because large supermarkets occupy about 25% of the market share.

Perhaps the most famous one is Carrefour.

Other large supermarkets include Auchan and ITM enterprises.

Decathlon occupies almost the same share in the sports shoes market.

Allied retailers are also strong, especially low and medium priced retailers. However, independent shoe stores and purchasing groups are not very popular in Germany, and currently account for less than 20% of the market share.

Italy: the population is 59 million, the market size is 333 million pairs, accounting for 15.9% of the total market, and the annual consumption per capita is 5.6 pairs. The main sources of imports are China, Romania, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Tunisia, India and Indonesia.

Spain and Portugal also showed the same retail structure.

The final comparison of the three aspects of sports shoes: constantly reducing the difference between the percentage of the US market and the European market.

Locally produced: the percentage of local output and total consumption in the two markets is quite different: =1.5% in the US and =27% in Europe.

Source of imports: 84% of imported footwear from the United States comes from China. 48% of imported footwear from Europe comes from China and 52% from other parts of the world.

European legislation on the sale of footwear products: in Europe, there are relatively few special provisions for the sale, compensation and performance of footwear.

Moreover, the existing regulations apply only to products with limited scope.

However, other special provisions of non footwear commodities have a significant impact on the sale of daily footwear products.

To make matters worse, because these Provisions are widely covered and not special provisions for footwear, their requirements do not seem to be clear and open. Different countries have different interpretations, or customers have their own "internal" specifications.

"Non specific" legislation applicable to footwear products: Directive on consumer goods sales and related guarantees 1999/44/EC; general product safety directive 2001/95/EC; directive on the use of chemicals (such as 2002/61/EC directive for nitrogen fuel, cadmium 91/338/EEC directive, etc.).

Consumer product sales Directive: this directive is used to ensure all products: satisfactory quality, applicable to all specified uses, any description, safety and durability that comply with the application.

General product safety directive: to ensure that only safety products are put into the market.

Test product safety should be considered: European standard / technical specification, national standard, good practice, accepted industry code, process and technology level.

If the consumer only needs to explain two situations, he can make a successful claim: they are injured and are injured by the product. In other words, they only need to prove that the product is not safe and no need to prove anyone's fault.

Labelling: according to EU directive 94/11, most shoes supplied within the European Union must be labelled, except for toys and industrial shoes (including other provisions) and used shoes.

The details of marking footwear should be given to indicate its main material.

In short, the European market has provided many opportunities for Chinese footwear manufacturers.

The market has the following characteristics: large scale, rich, and still occupy a relatively large share of the market share of China's exports. However, compared with the US, the retail structure of the European market is very fragmented, with relatively few buyers.

Other disadvantages include low growth rate and the aging of population base.