Guangzhou Shoe Shuffle, Who Can Stay Until The End?

Guangzhou, with its geographical advantages and cultural and political advantages, is the main distributing center of footwear products in Guangdong and even at home and abroad.

By the end of 2007, Guangzhou had 21390 enterprises involved in shoe and shoe material production and marketing, and the export volume and production volume of footwear industry increased by more than 8%.

However, influenced by economic and political factors at home and abroad, from the second half of 2006, the sound of sighing, anxiety and even scolding began to fill the shoe market in Guangzhou.

The price of foreign trade and foreign orders increased but profits continued to fall, which led to the gradual collapse of the internal market, the collapse of the retail industry, the bankruptcy and the driving of low cost. All this only showed the fact that the shoe industry in Guangzhou has entered the stage of shuffling, leaving behind the strong ones.

The window of shoe industry is Guangzhou. It is the information center, information center and design and development front of the shoe industry in China. It attracts many shoe elites from various provinces and autonomous regions to set up production and marketing outlets. In addition to the inter city areas of the famous cities and districts around the Pearl River Delta and Guangzhou City, it has attracted large numbers of overseas counterparts in Northeast China, Zhejiang and Fujian in recent years.

With the convenience of regional traffic and the advantages of information, the latest fashion in foreign countries is first arrived in Guangzhou through footwear media information. The two is the "three to one" shoe factory, which first receives the new orders, which naturally makes it the forefront of the domestic shoe market.

In fact, Guangzhou has become the national design and development center and sample center for shoemaking industry.

"The focus of the world shoe industry is in China. The focus of the shoe industry in China is in Guangdong, and the shoe industry in Guangdong is in Guangzhou." this is a fact recognized by the Chinese and foreign footwear industry.

At present, the development of footwear, shoe material production and professional market in Guangzhou has formed the "Golden Triangle", which takes the West Station Road as the center, and crosses Yuexiu, Liwan, Haizhu, Baiyun, Panyu, Huadu, Zengcheng and other new and old urban districts and other cities around the Pearl River Delta.

There are more than 20 specialized wholesale markets in Guangzhou, which are distributed in Zhan Xi Road, West Ring Road, Guangyuan West Road, Jiefang South Road and Guangzhou Avenue South.

Among them, Zhan Xi Road, each big shoe city, is a natural big board house, all kinds of styles, different styles, and so on.

The first floor of congestion is hard to find the West shoe business circle of Guangzhou Railway Station, which has a history of more than 10 years. It is the largest and earliest footwear wholesale market in China.

Today, it has developed into a huge footwear trading market with 17 professional markets and more than 4000 shops, with an area of about 300 thousand square meters, with an annual trade volume of 30 billion yuan, ranking first in the country.

However, there are many bottlenecks in the development of the business circle.

The location of the West shoe business circle is large, full and miscellaneous, plus the location of the freight traffic ports located at the main traffic terminals of the South Gate of China, such as Guangzhou Railway Station, Baiyun Airport, and provincial passenger stations.

Over the years, the confounding situation in the region has also become one of the difficulties of government regulation.

With the increasing size and scale of the footwear industry in Guangzhou, a trade exhibition office with a quiet office environment, a 24 hour office and B2B paction and Exhibition functions has emerged.

"In addition to setting up stalls in the noisy wholesale market, the powerful shoe makers will also go to Trade Fair Office to hire and buy office points for trade talks and boutique display."

"Head of the world", said the head of the international footwear trade center.

However, despite the completion of some comprehensive trade and Exhibition offices in the west commercial circle, especially the completion of the "Bu Yun heaven and earth" of the global international trade center, the environment and grades of Guangzhou shoe market pactions have been greatly improved, but they are still restricted by the traffic environment.

"It's hard for customers to find a parking space at the door. Why should we attract high-end customers?"

One developer sighed that on the other hand, in the absence of many sales and trade office buildings, the high rent was also prohibitive for many shoe businesses. "The first floor is hard to find", and smaller businesses have to flow into other business circles.

Brand building is still lagging behind in China. The shoe industry in Wenzhou is well-known. Some brands have already entered the international market, and are directly involved from the terminal: opening stores abroad, but they are also investing a lot.

In contrast, the seemingly prosperous Guangzhou shoe industry does not have many brands. This is a pity for Guangzhou shoe makers who are in the forefront of information center and design and development.

As a matter of fact, a number of leather shoes enterprisers started by industrial production in Guangzhou have long recognized the importance of famous brands, but they have not really taken actions to create brands and create famous brands. This restricts the development of Guangzhou footwear industry to a higher level to a certain extent.

Why?

Xu Shuhui, manager of the management department of Tianfu shoe Plaza, admitted that to create a brand, at least tens of millions of yuan of funds should be invested each year. The enterprise should bear the investment in advance and the high brand maintenance funds.

But once a brand is launched, it will often be followed by others.

Once the enterprise fails to carry on, the new brand can easily be strangled in the cradle, and the brand enterprise will lose everything.

Many merchants are unwilling or have the chance to take this risk.

"The shoe industry in the Pearl River delta still gives people the impression of" processing factory ". Now most of us are signing an agreement with foreign key customers to represent our brand.

A shoe line of the new world shoe Plaza said.

Small and medium enterprises are squeezed. If the profit peak period of Guangzhou footwear industry is around 2005, then the world's political and economic sudden change has pushed it to the bottom of the world since the end of 2006.

"Labor shortage", "electricity shortage", "oil shortage", anti-dumping, RMB appreciation, labor cost rising, raw material price rising, and state adjustment to export tax rebate, processing trade and so on.

Under the influence of many factors, many shoe companies have been eliminated.

Information from the footwear association of Asia shows that in the first three quarters of 2007, nearly 1000 shoe factories and related enterprises in Guangdong had been closed down due to various factors or voluntarily closed down, or were sealed up by courts or moved elsewhere.

Li Peng, Secretary General of the Asian Footwear Association, said in a media interview that the competition pressure faced by Guangdong shoe enterprises was at least 10 times that of 90s.

The closure is mainly for small and medium enterprises, and a large proportion of them are speculative, low-priced or poorly managed enterprises.

"Labor shortage", a sharp rise in production costs, and a national threshold for raising business, are a great blow to such enterprises.

With the increase of costs, the decrease of export tax rebate rate and the successive depreciation of the US dollar, the signing of bills hastily can not afford to lose.

Nowadays, many shoe companies choose more for foreign orders.

According to customs statistics, in January 2008, Guangdong footwear products exported 290 million pairs, down 20.3% year-on-year.

In February, 200 million pairs of exports were exported, down 35.7% compared to the same period last year.

In the Pearl River Delta region, the number of enterprises involved in export shoes also dropped to 1512, 1855 less than the same period last year, less than half of the same period last year.

However, the international shoe trade center of Dun Yun world also said that the current situation of the small businesses is worrying, although the big shoe manufacturers are afraid to make "moves" again, but the old customers are stable, so the impact is not great.

In addition, some large scale enterprises are pferring part of their production lines to the relatively low cost mainland.

It is understood that some Guangzhou and Dongguan shoe manufacturers and traders have signed Sichuan's "western shoes city".

In the face of the current shoe market situation, Chen Jiawen, the honorary president of Guangzhou footwear industry association, is still confident. "The failure of some shoe enterprises in Guangdong is an objective existence. After a fittest adjustment, it is more conducive to the healthy development of the industry. Guangzhou shoe industry is entering the stage of pformation and upgrading with high added value."

Chen Jiawen said.