In recent years, China's footwear industry is facing severe challenges due to many factors such as barriers to international trade, appreciation of the renminbi, rising prices of raw materials and labor shortages.

Under such circumstances, how can China's footwear industry maintain the status of the largest shoe producing and exporting country in the world?

How to move from the low-end market to the high-end market?

How to change from quantity to quality and efficiency?

In the global footwear industry, China is undoubtedly the most powerful legion, because in the world's annual output of 15 billion pairs of shoes, the "made in China" has more than 10 billion pairs.

However, in 2008, the unique Chinese footwear industry started a new fission. In the international trade barriers, RMB appreciation, raw material prices and labor shortages, especially the implementation of the new labor contract law, the Chinese footwear industry, which has been in a strong position, is facing severe challenges and tests.

The pfer crisis of China's footwear industry and the urgency of industrial upgrading, and how the new pattern of global footwear industry has changed, has become the focus of attention of the global industry.

(1) the development of the world footwear industry and the general situation of the consumer market. From a global perspective, the major countries in the world are mainly Asian countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and Brazil in South America.

There are 3-4 000 shoe making enterprises in the world, and nearly 10 million employees in shoe making industry, footwear industry, shoe machine and other related industries.

China is the largest shoe producing country and exporter in the world.

In recent years, China has produced over 10 billion pairs of shoes each year, accounting for 66% of the total global shoe making. It is the largest footwear manufacturing base in the world and the largest footwear exporter in the world.

In 2006, China's footwear exports amounted to 7 billion 650 million pairs, with a total export value of US $21 billion 810 million, and exports accounted for more than 53% of the world's total exports.

India is the second largest footwear producer in the world next to China.

At present, India has about 2 billion pairs of shoes annually, about 4000 shoemaking and related enterprises, of which about 500 are large enterprises and 3500 are small and medium-sized enterprises.

Small and medium-sized enterprises account for about 60% to 65% of the total output of footwear in India. Large enterprises generally provide high quality products, mainly for international brand processing.

Brazil is the third largest producer of shoes in the world. The quality and price of women's shoes occupy an important share in the world. At present, there are 7200 shoe making enterprises in Brazil, with 300 thousand employees, 700 million pairs of shoes per year, and 180 million pairs of annual export shoes.

Vietnam is the fourth largest shoemaking country in the world, with about 400 shoemaking enterprises and about 500 thousand employees.

Vietnam now produces 4-6 billion pairs of shoes, 90% of which are exported.

In 2006, the total value of Vietnam's footwear exports was 3 billion 550 million US dollars; in 2007, the total value of footwear exports reached US $3 billion 200 million in 2007, an increase of 9.9% compared with the same period last year. Italy is the most important old shoe making country in Europe and the world. At present, about more than 200 million pairs of shoes are produced annually, and 51% of the products are located in the high-end market.

In Italy, there are 3 areas mainly producing high-end shoes, the first is San Mauro Pascoli, a total of 270 companies, with 15 million pairs of shoes per year.

The second one is Rivieradel Brenta, which has nearly 1000 enterprises, mainly producing high-end women's shoes.

The third one is Ma Kai's Fairmo and Ma La tower, about 3300 companies, with a total sales volume of 1 billion euros, and about 60% of their products are exported to foreign countries.

Spain is the second largest footwear producer in the European Union.

The annual output of the country is about 100 million pairs, because the competition between Asian countries and Latin American countries has completely changed the business strategy of Spanish footwear industry.

Today, they have shifted their product positioning from the main middle shift to the high-end products with high quality design projects.

The Spanish footwear industry has shifted from low-cost production centers to one of the world's middle end and high-end footwear production sites.

Portugal is also an important footwear producing country in Europe.

In 2003, there were 1900 shoemaking enterprises, with an annual output of 91 million 800 thousand pairs, which has been decreasing in recent years.

Most of the Portuguese shoe factories are mainly made up of shoe manufacturers in Italy and other countries. The products are mainly medium and low grade.

With the intensification of competition in the international market and the pfer of industries, the Portuguese footwear industry has begun to relocate after a period of recession, moving towards the middle and high-end products, advocating self design, building its own brand and developing the international market.

In terms of footwear consumption market, the main consumer market of global footwear products is concentrated in two categories. One is the economically developed countries and regions, such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and Canada, and the other is a large number of countries and regions, such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and so on.

According to the international relevant statistics, after twenty-first Century, the top 10 largest footwear consumer countries in the world were: China (2 billion 257 million pairs), the United States (2 billion 133 million pairs) India (2 billion 9 million pairs), Japan (620 million pairs), Brazil (552 million pairs) Indonesia (480 million pairs), France (330 million pairs), Germany (324 million pairs), Britain (278 million pairs), and Pakistan (230 million pairs).

In these countries, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and other countries have a large population and have a huge consumption market for footwear products. But at the same time, these countries have a large number of shoe making enterprises, whose products can meet most domestic needs and have little demand for external products.

With the economic development of these countries, the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the increasing consumption ability and awareness, the growth of the consumption market of footwear products is enormous. These countries will be the most potential market for shoe products consumption, and also the most potential market for footwear products export.

Two, the advantages and disadvantages of the world's major shoe producing countries. The footwear industry is a labor-intensive industry. Its development and pfer are affected and restricted by many factors such as land resources, labor cost, raw material supply, environmental protection and sales market.

Due to the pursuit of profit maximization in the world's major consumer markets and footwear manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, we must take into account the important factors mentioned above, making the focus of the global footwear industry constantly shifting.

The center of the early global footwear industry in Europe, Italy, Spain, Portugal and other countries, began in the 60s and 70s of last century to the relatively low cost of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hongkong and other countries and regions.

At the end of the 80 generation of the last century and the beginning of the 90s, it moved to the coastal areas of the mainland of China, where the land labor cost is lower, the industrial resources are richer and the investment environment is more perfect.

By 1996, China has become the world's largest footwear production and export country.

In the next 10 years, China's shoemaking industry is thriving, growing and growing every year with the growth rate of 10%- 20%.

During this period, the market of Vietnam and India also provided the international footwear giant with another choice of labor resources and low cost industries, thus making the footwear industry in two regions develop rapidly.

So far, Asian countries including China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand have provided more than 85% footwear products to the global market and become the center of the global footwear industry.

Will Asia's footwear industry, including China's footwear industry, be pferred to other regions in the future?

Or in Asian countries?

This is an important topic that the industry is concerned about and concerned about.

We can examine and analyze the factors that affect the development and pfer of footwear industry (see below).

　　全球主要鞋業(yè)生產國產業(yè)成本優(yōu)劣比較表國家\類別勞動力成本土地資源原材料供應產業(yè)配套銷售市場產品結構環(huán)保要求投資指數(shù)中國人口眾多，勞動力成本低廉土地資源豐富，成本較低原材料供應充足，物流成本低產業(yè)鏈完善，配套齊全內外銷售市場巨大以中低檔產品為主逐步趨嚴★★★★★印度人口總眾多，但產業(yè)工人少，勞力成本較低廉土地資源豐富，成本較低原材料供應較缺，物流成本較高產業(yè)配套還不夠完善內銷市場巨大外銷市場一般以中低檔產品為主逐步趨嚴★★★★巴西勞動力資源較充足，成本中等土地資源充裕，成本中等原材料供應充足產業(yè)配套較完善，形成產業(yè)鏈內、外銷市場較大以中檔為主逐步趨嚴★★★★越南人口不多，勞動力價格暫時相對較低土地資源一般成本暫時較

低原材料供應缺乏，90%依賴進口產業(yè)配套還不完善外銷市場為主內銷市場有限以中低檔為主逐步趨嚴★★★印尼人口較多，勞動力成本中等水準土地資源一般成本處於中等原材料供應不足，物流成本較高產業(yè)配套還不完善內銷市場較大外銷市場一般以中低檔為主逐步趨嚴★★★歐盟（義大利、西班牙、葡萄牙）勞動力短缺，成本較高土地資源較缺，成本較高原材料供應充足，但價格較高產業(yè)配套較完善內、外銷市場潛力一般，高檔市場有優(yōu)勢以高檔產品為主控制嚴格★★　　從上述比較中可以看出，中國制鞋業(yè)在綜合競爭力方面仍然是最具競爭優(yōu)勢的。

After nearly 20 years of development, China's footwear industry has built up a sound upstream and downstream industry chain, forming various industrial clusters of footwear production, establishing a complete market for footwear products and shoe materials, and developing research centers and information centers for footwear.

Although China's footwear industry is also facing the influence of domestic policy factors and rising labor costs, as well as from India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries in the competition of low and medium footwear, there are competition among Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and other countries in high-end shoes, but the comprehensive competitive advantage of China's footwear industry is still no match for other countries.

Although India has a large population, vast land and almost the same price as China, it is still difficult to compete with China in terms of raw materials matching, industrial foundation and industrial workers.

Although Vietnam is the first choice for Chinese footwear industry, especially Taiwanese shoe factories, with the increase of Vietnamese shoe factories, the cost of labor and land will surpass that of mainland China, while Vietnam's raw material supply, industrial foundation and domestic market potential are more difficult to compare with China.

As officials from the United Nations Industrial Division say, for a long time, it is difficult to find a better country for shoes development than China.

Long Yongguo, Secretary General of the Boao forum for Asia, also believes that at least for a long time, China's footwear industry will not be pferred to other countries.

Of course, in the current situation, some of them are not suitable for the shoe factories that do not continue to develop in the new environment.

Three, the development trend of China's footwear industry in the future. China's footwear industry has a long history. With the tide of reform and opening up, China has undertaken the shift of the international footwear industry, and has become the world's largest footwear production center and sales center. It has formed a very perfect industrial chain and production development platform, and has basically occupied the middle and low end shoe products market, so that the traditional shoe making countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and so on have abandoned the low-end market, all of which have shifted to high-end market, and the footwear industry in South America's Brazil has begun to turn to high-end market.

This is a trend of international industrial development.

Most of China's shoemaking industry is concentrated in the southeast coastal areas, and now it is also facing the problems of rising labor costs, tight electricity supply, rising raw material prices and stringent environmental requirements. Some shoe factories (mainly large factories or non-standard small factories) are faced with the choice of closure and pfer, and some shoe factories are closed or moved to other places.

The competitive advantage of China's footwear industry is obvious, but how to adapt to changes in the international market and domestic environment, grasp the market development opportunities, is also the reality that the industry has to face.

According to the analysis of relevant experts in the industry, the development of China's footwear industry is bound to move from the low-end market to the high-end market, from quantity to quality and efficiency. Upgrading and upgrading is the way to go. Therefore, in terms of quantity, the production and export volume of China's footwear industry may decline in the future, but the quality will be improved, and the price of products and the total value of exports will continue to grow.

Second, the industry pformation and pfer of China's footwear industry is the trend of the times. Some enterprises with strong innovation and standardization will move towards the road of industrial upgrading. Some enterprises that rely on the cost of production will be pferred to the mainland where the cost of production is more advantageous. For example, the footwear industry in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong has begun to shift to the relatively backward areas of the East and West wings, and the footwear industry in Wenzhou has shifted to the western region.

Third, production