All Trade & Sourcing articles – Page 11
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Producers and retailers have to work together to prosper
In a wide-ranging interview, Bart van Helvoirt, the co-founder and CEO of Unlimited Footwear Group (UFG), outlines his views on the overall economic situation, the evolution of the supply chain and the shifting relationship between shoe makers, resellers and end users. Before discussing about your company and ...
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ArticleRussia plans to resume footwear imports from North Korea
Russia is considering resuming the import of clothes and footwear from North Korea, suspended several decades ago, the Russian state news outlet Ria Novosti reported, citing the Russian embassy in Pyongyang. Russia is very interested in purchasing goods from North Korea, including garments and shoes, the embassy said, adding that ...
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ArticleRussian children’s footwear market faces turmoil
The bankruptcy of Russia’s leading manufacturer of children’s footwear heralds harsh times for the industry, which is facing supply issues, higher costs and a shrinking product line. Skorokhod, a St. Petersburg-based shoe factory, has gone bust, dragged down by the weight of its debts. It was one of the largest ...
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ArticleBirkenstock to invest €110m in Pasewalk plant
Birkenstock now expects to invest about €110 million in its new German production site in Pasewalk, scheduled to come on stream in autumn 2023. The investment is a record for the company and significantly above the initial estimate for the project. The German footwear group described the investment in the ...
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ArticleHow reshoring to Spain is being hampered by labor and capacity shortage
Demand to reshore footwear manufacturing from Asia to Southern Europe, and especially to Spain, is growing, but the Iberian country is lacking the capacity needed to significantly boost production, while exports of Spanish made shoes are back to pre-pandemic levels. “We are at full capacity and there is no more ...
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ArticleItalian shoemakers start using the VCS self-assessment ESG program
VCS (Verified & Certified Steps), a software package allowing the self-assessment of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performances launched by Assocalzaturifici, the Italian footwear association, is currently being tested by three Italian shoemakers. “We chose three companies of different sizes and with different business models” for the pilot tests, explained ...
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News briefs
Turkish lira falls to record low against the dollar
The Turkish lira fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar after the Turkish central bank cut its policy rate, the one-week repo auction rate, to 12 percent from a previous 13 percent, as it pointed to a global economic slowdown and the increased risk of recession. The currency ...
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ArticleEU expects to strike a trade deal with Indonesia in 2024
The European Union expects to be able to reach a free trade agreement with Indonesia within two years, despite a trade dispute regarding palm oil and nickel, according the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis believes it is possible to reach a comprehensive economic ...
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News briefs
Prada buys a stake in the tannery Superior
Prada has purchased a 43.65 percent stake in Superior, a Tuscan tannery specialized in calfskin processing, for an undisclosed amount. Superior has recently focused its investments on process digitization and a sustainable development plan centered on the circular economy, energy efficiency and water resource protection. According to the terms of ...
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ArticleHow a Serbian shoemaker is benefiting from Russia’s need for new suppliers
The huge exodus of Western brands out of Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 24, has created a void benefiting to companies from countries non abiding to Western sanctions. Thanks to tight historical and cultural ties, Serbia continues to trade with Russia, even though the country has ...
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ArticleHow the exodus out of Russia is creating opportunities for locals
Western footwear retailers that pulled out from the Russian market over the past few months in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sold products worth 51.2 billion rubles (€911m) in the country in 2021, estimated Chestny Znak, a Russian regulator supervising the labelling of fashion products on the domestic ...
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News briefs
CMA CGM cuts freight rates for French imports, exports
The French shipping company CMA CGM is cutting freight costs for imports and exports to and from France. The company is cutting freight rates by €750 per container for imports from Asia to metropolitan France and for all imports by French overseas territories. CMA CGM is also reducing the cost ...
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ArticlePakistan is benefiting from a shift out of China
In an interview with Shoe Intelligence, Ahmed Fawad Farooq, secretary general of the Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association (PEMA), has outlined how Pakistan is benefiting from a transfer of production out of China and is seeking to beef up its footwear industry to meet growing demand. Many industry experts have indicated ...
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News briefs
EU, New Zealand conclude talks for trade agreement
After four years of talks, the EU and New Zealand concluded negotiations for a trade agreement. The deal includes sustainability commitments, including respect of the Paris Climate Agreement and core labour rights, which are enforceable through trade sanctions. The agreement is the first one to integrate the EU’s new approach ...
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News briefs
Gucci’s Pigini unit to build a new upper plant in Italy
Pigini, a footwear subsidiary of the fashion house Gucci, will buid a new production site in Recanati, in the Italian region of the Marche, home to a large footwear cluster. The more than 10,000 square meter facility is expected to employ about 400 people in three years’ time and will ...
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News briefs
Chinese economic situation worse than in 2020
The Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said that the country is facing a “critical moment” with difficulties that are worse, to a certain extent, than in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic emerged. China is tackling a resurgence of the pandemic and has applied a zero-Covid policy resulting in restrictions, including ...
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ArticleWar in Ukraine threatens German eco-friendly manufacturing
The war in Ukraine will have a significant impact on environmentally-friendly footwear manufacturing as it disrupts supply chains and forces factories across the country to shut down, according to the German shoe industry’s sustainability initiative, Cads. Before the conflict, Ukraine was an important supplier of material for eco-friendly shoe ...
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ArticleIndia expects to double trade with Australia
The India-Australia Free Trade Agreement, officially called the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AIECTA), is the first trade agreement India has signed with a developed economy in more than a decade. Negotiations began in 2011 but were suspended in 2015 as talks stalled over issues such as market access ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Covid-19 has masked the surge of regional integration in Asia-Pacific
In an exclusive interview with Shoe Intelligence, William Wong, the founder and head of the Hong Kong-based footwear company Goddess International, and the representative of the Confederation of International Footwear Association (CIFA), sheds light on the impact of regional integration in Asia-Pacific, the growing role of the region in design ...
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News briefs
EU bans exports of luxury goods to Russia
The European Union has toughened trade sanctions against Russia with the adoption of a fourth package of measures, which includes an export ban on luxury goods “to directly hit Russian elites”. The EU is sanctioning the country for ”its brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people.” The sanctions ”will further ...
