All Shoe Intelligence articles in Volume 28, Issue 15+16

View all stories from this issue.

  • Tamaris logo
    Article

    Tamaris rebrands Tamaris Comfort as Tamaris Wide Fit

    2026-07-08T14:40:00Z

    Tamaris is rebranding its Tamaris Comfort line to Tamaris Wide Fit, as it sees extra width as a ”real differentiator” for the brand. The brand noted that since the autumn/winter 2022 collection, it has been serving the comfort and wide-fit segment under the under the label Tamaris Comfort together with ...

  • CEC logo
    Article

    European shoemakers call for stronger accountability in e-commerce

    2026-07-08T14:41:00Z

    The European Footwear Confederation (CEC) , together with 87 representatives of European Union trade associations, consumer organizations and environmental non-profit organizations, is calling for stronger product compliance rules and accountability in e-commerce. In a joint letter sent to the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, ...

  • News briefs

    European shoemakers urge for rapid measures to avoid EU’s economic decline

    2026-07-08T15:19:00Z

    The European Footwear Confederation (CEC) , together with 85 other European associations, has urged the European Union’s institutions to rapidly act to relaunch the bloc’s competitiveness. ”Europe stands at a decisive juncture. The Draghi report on European Competitiveness has laid bare a stark reality: Europe’s productivity growth has stalled, ...

  • beatriz-miller-Y8yYkPW2u3w-unsplash
    Article

    Austrian footwear retailers plan to reduce budgets for spring/summer 2027

    2026-07-09T14:03:00Z

    Weak consumer sentiment and falling footfall, compounded by high costs and structural deficits such as rigid ordering systems and increasing digital displacement, are putting increasing pressure on the Austrian shoe retail sector, a survey from buying group Ringschuh Austria showed. Most retailers plan to reduce their budgets for next ...

  • News briefs

    World Footwear releases a report on digital product creation

    2026-07-09T14:03:00Z

    World Footwear, an initiative of Apiccaps, the Portuguese footwear, components and leather goods manufacturers association, has released a report on digital product creation called Digital Transformation in Footwear Product Development. The report is part a new series of innovation papers dedicated to innovation in the footwear and leather ...

  • News briefs

    TKG deploys VMS Solutions’ production planning program

    2026-07-09T14:03:00Z

    VMS Solutions, a US provider of supply chain planning solutions, announced that the South Korean footwear manufacturer TKG Taekwang has gone live with its production planning solution Mozart 3.0. TKG faced challenges in centrally managing production plans across multiple manufacturing sites because its legacy planning systems had been operated independently ...

  • News briefs

    Hugo Boss rejects Frasers Group’s takeover offer

    2026-07-09T14:13:00Z

    Hugo Boss said that its managing and supervisory boards have recommended that shareholders reject a takeover offer from the British retailing conglomerate Frasers Group, arguing that the offer price does not adequately reflect its standalone prospects and future value creation potential. Frasers announced in June that it planned to acquire ...

  • News briefs

    Instagram and Facebook's "addictive design" may breach EU rules

    2026-07-10T14:59:00Z

    The European Commission has preliminarily found the US group Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act for the addictive design of the social media platforms Instagram and Facebook. The investigation, launched on May 16, 2024, focused on features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and the platforms’ highly ...

  • News briefs

    Fire in Chinese footwear factory kills 28 people

    2026-07-10T15:14:00Z

    Twenty-eigh people died in a fire that broke out on July 9 in the Fujian Huiteng factory, which produces footwear for Chinese and foreign brands in Jinjiang, according to the news agency Xinhua. Xinhua reported than an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire. The news agency added ...

  • fabi logo
    Article

    Fabi partners with the Polish online retailer Vitkac

    2026-07-11T12:16:00Z

    Vitkac, a Polish luxury online shop, has partnered with Fabi, an Italian footwear brand founded in 1965 in the Marche footwear cluster. ”While luxury women’s bags remain one of the most popular categories among discerning shoppers, interest in premium footwear brands such as Fabi continues to grow as consumers ...

  • News briefs

    La Sportiva plans to invest more than €20m

    2026-07-11T12:25:00Z

    La Sportiva has launched an investment plan of more than €20 million focused on company infrastructure, internal services, welfare and training programs. A key project is the expansion of its headquarters in Ziano di Fiemme, designed as an addition to the existing campus, with completion scheduled for 2027. The new ...

  • Genesco logo
    Article

    Genesco board receives support against activist investors

    2026-07-11T14:40:00Z

    Genesco’s management has received support from a leading US proxy advisory firm in its battle against the activist investors Bradley Radoff, Jumana Capital Investments and Christopher Martin, who collectively owned 9.1 percent of the US footwear’s capital on July 1. The activists, collectively referred to as the Radoff-Jumana Group, are ...

  • News briefs

    Vasky loses 70,000 pairs of shoes in a fire

    2026-07-11T15:18:00Z

    The Czech footwear company Vasky has lost about 70,000 pairs of shoes in a fire that broke out on July 9 in its warehouse in Zlín. ”We lost almost everything and are facing the hardest test in the history of Vasek.The worst case scenario has come true,” the company’s ...

  • News briefs

    Clarks continues to expand in Europe

    2026-07-13T11:55:00Z

    Clarks has opened a store at the Santangelo Outlet Village near the Italian town of Pescara. The British footwear brand, which recently opened other stores in Italy and Spain, is targeting up to 20 new stores in the Europe this year, with openings scheduled in France, Belgium and the UK. ...

  • camper logo
    Article

    Camper takes over Ancient Greek Sandals

    2026-07-13T11:56:00Z

    Camper, a family-run casual shoe brand founded based in Mallorca, has bought a 60 percent stake in Ancient Greek Sandals, which was founded in Greece in 2012. No financial details were available. The co-founders of the Greek company Nikolas Minoglou, also the shoemaker’s CEO, and Christina Martini, the Creative Director, ...

  • Unknown
    Article

    Lowa appoints Giuseppe De Biasi operations chief

    2026-07-13T13:13:00Z

    Lowa Sportschuhe GmbH has appointed Giuseppe De Biasi as General Manager Operations, placing him in charge of design, product development, production and central corporate functions. De Biasi joins the footwear company’s management team alongside Andrea Dorigo, CEO of Tecnica Group and Lowa, and Marco Pirani, General Manager Commercial. Most recently, ...

  • european-commission-logo
    Article

    EU considers gradual access to social media platforms for children

    2026-07-13T13:50:00Z

    The European Commission is considering a “phased and gradual access” to social media platforms to protect children. “Childhood is a period of extraordinary and delicate brain development. During this stage, our children need time in the real world. Time to play, to build friendships face-to-face, to make mistakes. Time ...

  • News briefs

    Shein reportedly targets Hong Kong IPO in Q3

    2026-07-13T13:51:00Z

    Shein is targeting an initial public offering as early as the third quarter of this year that could see it valued at over $40 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The fast-fashion retailer has cleared one hurdle for the long-awaited listing with approval from ...

  • Bally
    Article

    Bally placed under court supervision amid financial distress

    2026-07-13T14:34:00Z

    Weeks after announcing a wave of store closures and the end of shoe production in Switzerland, the Swiss luxury shoemaker Bally has been placed under court supervision amid deepening financial difficulties, with the company’s liabilities standing at around CHF 20 million (€21.6 million). A Swiss court has appointed an external ...

  • News briefs

    Groundies launches 3D-printed barefoot shoes with Zellerfeld

    2026-07-14T15:03:00Z

    The barefoot shoe brand Groundies has launched a capsule collection featuring a fully 3D-printed slip-on sneaker developed in collaboration with footwear tech company Zellerfeld. Available in four colourways, the model is produced exclusively on demand and is designed around the wearer’s foot. According to Groundies, the shoe combines an ...