Portugal recently announced an ambitious plan to turn the country into a "strong Italian alternative" in the footwear sector by investing up to 600 million euros in the footwear industry over the next few years. According to an in-depth study by leading international consultancy EY Parthenon, 'The Footwear Industry's Path to Luxury Transformation', the report reveals that Portugal has the potential to take its place in the global luxury footwear market if it cuts costs and opens up new market segments. market.
Portugal's footwear cluster has already taken shape, with 1,500 companies operating in the footwear, shoe accessories and leather goods sectors, directly employing around 40,000 people, and reaching 173 countries on five continents, with an export rate of 90 per cent. To further consolidate and expand this advantage, Portugal has launched the Footwear Cluster Strategic Plan 2030, with an investment of €600 million, which EY Parthenon says is centred around in-depth investment in three key areas: production development, business development and innovation.
Faced with the double challenge of rising costs and increased competition in the market, Miguel Cardoso Pinto of Ernst & Young Parthenon emphasised the threat posed to the footwear industry by rising costs and increased competition, and the need for the industry to "re-examine its positioning" in order to achieve financial sustainability. To this end, he recommends scale-up through the integration of resources up and down the chain, as well as the introduction of advanced industrial processes to improve productivity, flexible management of labour costs, and product innovation strategies to reduce dependence on raw materials in order to effectively control costs.
It is worth noting that EY Parthenon also pointed out that Portugal has "a number of significant comparative advantages" over Italy, the traditional shoe manufacturing powerhouse. Although Italy is known for its high quality, it faces high production costs, a high degree of market control by middlemen and a shortage of skilled labour. In contrast, Portugal in guaranteeing product quality at the same time, can provide more competitive production costs, to enter the high-end market provides strong support.
Luis Onofre, President of the Portuguese Association of Manufacturers of Footwear, Accessories and Leather Goods (APICCAPS), expressed optimism that Portugal is well placed to become a major force on the international stage. Pointing out that 90 per cent of the 24 billion pairs of shoes produced globally each year originate in Asia, and that this over-reliance on a single region is not a long-term solution, Onofre is confident that the market still has plenty of room for new players with unique competencies like Portugal, and that the Portuguese footwear industry is ready to write a new chapter in the global market.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)