http://www.newagebd.com/2009/aug/19/busi.html#1
Bangladesh’s shoes gaining ground in US
An Apex-Adelchi web site photo shows factory workers stitch shoe uppers. The shoe industry sees robust growths in their shipments to the USA with retailers including Bostonian, Macys and Genesco source from Bangladesh.
Kazi Azizul Islam
Bangladesh’s leather products are gaining foothold in the multibillion dollar US footwear market as American importers, hard-pressed by the worse recession, are turning to price-competitive sources, industry people said.
Shoe shipments from Bangladesh to the USA increased by 112 per cent in January-June this year, helping local shoemakers offset the slide in their sales in recession-hit Europe.
During the period, Bangladesh shipped 192,509 pairs of leather shoes to US market, up from 90,991 pairs of a year-ago period, a Bangladesh Footwear and Leather Goods Exporters Association official said quoting US commerce department data.
The figures cheered the leather industry up, as exporters in recent months found US retailers like Macys or Bostonian and giant wholesaler like Genesco on the list of American buyers.
‘Bangladesh might have been spotted by US importers as rescission made them more price conscious than ever,’ said Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Adelchi Footwear.
The joint venture with the leading Italian shoemaker that entered American market four years back made up $5 million or 12 per cent of its 2008 export turnover from USA and expected 20 per cent in 2009.
‘Relocations of manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh by some Taiwanese and Chinese shoe manufacturers may also have inspired US importers to rate Bangladesh high,’ said Nasim.
Sikder Mesbahuddin Ahmed, operation director of the South Korea-based Youngone Corporation’s Bangladesh’s business, said, ‘Number of queries to his company from US buyers has multiplied in recent months compared to those a year ago.’
A major supplier of outerwear and sportswear to North Face and Nike, Youngone is the largest foreign investor in Bangladesh garment export sector and shoe exports share only one-sixth of its annual export turnover.
The company, which concentrates its production facilities in EPZs, hopes to raise its shoe sales from $50 million last year to $300 million from 30 million pairs annually as it plans to inaugurate the first phase of its mega shoe factory in Chittagong EPZ by the end of this year.
The USA is the world’s single largest footwear market with imports in 2008 amounting to $19.07 billion, including $11.34 billion worth of leather shoes.
China occupied two-thirds of the market, while other major suppliers include Vietnam, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil and India.
US official data showed shoe imports from China, Italy, Brazil and Thailand were on the decline, while the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Cambodia were having growths in recent months.
At present US importers are mostly sourcing men’s dress shoes and casual shoes from Bangladesh. Shipments of luggage, briefcases, travel and sports bags and personal leather goods to USA also doubled over the year, exporters’ association officials said.
In 2008-09 fiscal that ended in June, Bangladesh exported footwear worth $187 million, up 10 per cent year on year and leather bags and purses exports amounted to $17 million, up by 65 per cent.
Industry people estimate that less than 10 per cent of Bangladesh shoe exports earnings came from USA in the last fiscal. Europe and Japan, however, remained major destinations of Bangladesh’s leather products.
The USA is the single largest market for Bangladesh’s garments with exports totaled $3.5 billion in 2008.
Nasim Manzur said, ‘I foresee USA becomes the major destination for Bangladeshi shoemakers very soon and shoes can book a billion dollar sales there.’
Bangladesh’s shoes get duty-free access to Europe, but are subject to seven per cent duty in US ports.
‘If zero duty is offered, $10 billion sales in dress and shoe to USA are nothing impossible,’ said Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, the immediate past president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
He stressed that Bangladesh needs to lobby hard for getting duty-free access to US market for dresses and shoes to create several million more jobs.
