Bags / Shoes & Accessories

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

Other countries in the top five shoe producers in the United States market have shown this growth.

According to customs data, footwear shipments from Vietnam, the second largest supplier, increased by 20.6% to 54137 million pairs during this period. This is higher than the year-to-date growth of 16.8% in the first three quarters of this year.

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

Shipments from Cambodia increased by 38.1% to 65.9 million pairs, while imports from India increased by 46.9% to 35.67 million pairs.

Consumption is weak, and US footwear imports slow down

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

Footwear imports have slowed down 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 people, the tightening of inventory management seems to have taken effect.

Diane Sullivan, chairman and chief executive officer of Caleres, said last month: "In the third quarter, even under the circumstance that consumers are coping with this challenging macroeconomic environment, our quarterly sales reached a record of 798 million dollars, nearly 2% higher than the third quarter of 2021."

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

Shoe Carnival announced in late November that the profit in the third quarter was 12.8%, which was the highest profit in the year after 12.4% in the previous quarter, and 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 Scibetta, 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 increase of 18.8% in the first three quarters of 2022, the number of shoes 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% to 54137 million pairs during this period. This is higher than the year-to-date growth of 16.8% in the first three quarters of this year.