Bags / Shoes & Accessories

According to customs data, as of October 2022 this year, the import profit margin of China and Vietnam totaled 80.6%, lower than 81.5% in the first nine months. This has opened the door for some major second tier suppliers to seize market share from the former two manufacturers (especially China).

Other countries among the top five footwear producers in the US market showed this growth.

According to customs data, the shipment of footwear from Vietnam, the second largest supplier, increased by 20.6% during this period, reaching 5413.7 million pairs. This is higher than the year to date growth rate of 16.8% in the first three quarters of this year.

Imports from Indonesia, the third largest supplier, increased by 53.4% to 164.8 million pairs. Following the 52.7% increase in the first nine months of this year, Indonesia's import volume has soared to more than 50% since the beginning of the year for the fourth consecutive month.

The shipment from Cambodia increased by 38.1% to 65.9 million pairs, while the import from India increased by 46.9% to 35.67 million pairs.

Weak consumption, slowing down US footwear imports

As most of the commodities in the key fourth quarter have been in stores, retailers and brands to improve their inventory, the import of American footwear continued to slow down in October, growing by 19.2% to 2.27 billion pairs so far this year, up 21.95% in the previous nine months, according to the latest data from the Office of Textiles and Clothing (OTEXA) of the Ministry of Commerce.

Footwear imports have slowed steadily in recent months, as businesses and suppliers are struggling to cope with weak consumer demand and high inventory. According to customs data, as of August, imports have increased by 24.8% so far this year and 27.4% in the first half of the year. For many, the tightening of inventory management seems to have worked.

Diane Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of Caleres, said last month: "In the third quarter, even when consumers were coping with this challenging macroeconomic environment, our quarterly sales reached a record $798 million, nearly 2% higher than the third quarter of 2021."

The retailer's inventory growth was about 19.5%, in line with expectations, 15.8% lower than the second quarter of 2022.

Shoe Carnival announced in late November that its profit in the third quarter was 12.8%, the highest profit in the year after 12.4% in the previous quarter, and it achieved double digits for the seventh consecutive quarter.

"As we have seen in the past seven quarters, we continue to provide excellent product margins," said Carl Scibeta, chief marketing officer. "Compared with 2019, the profit margin of these products continues to rise by more than 700 basis points, which is the result of our transformation of promotion strategy."

According to customs data, after an 18.8% increase in the first three quarters of this year, the footwear imported from China, the largest supplier, increased by 12% to 1.21 billion pairs in 10 months.

According to customs data, Vietnam, the second largest supplier, increased its footwear shipments by 20.6% during this period, reaching 5413.7 million pairs. This is higher than the year to date growth rate of 16.8% in the first three quarters of this year.