Putting their best foot forward
With American footwear im-porters looking to diversify away from low-cost Chinese products, Vietnamese firms can grab a share of the lucrative market if they focus on improving quality, industry insiders said.
China has for long been the US's biggest footwear supplier but many US enterprises are looking to other countries including Vietnam to reduce their dependence on China.If Vietnamese manufacturers increased the use of skilled workers and launched more promotional activities, they could grab a large market share. They also needed to intensify investment in modern equipment and become more professional, retaining and motivating workers, especially skilled ones. The Viet Nam Leather Footwear Producers' Association should fully play its role of being a bridge between domestic enterprises and US importers by assisting the former to participate in the annual international footwear fairs at Las Vegas. The industry sources view 2007 as a promising year for footwear enterprises to develop their US market. Vietnam's World Trade Organi-sation (WTO) membership and the permanent trade relations (PNTR) status conferred by the US should enable the footwear industry, especially its large players, to penetrate the US market. According to statistics from the US Department of Commerce, the US last year imported US$20 billion (Bt715 billion) worth of footwear products and accessories. Vietnam accounted for a mere 5 per cent of this. But some US importers plan to step up imports from Vietnam, especially footwear with intricate design and high quality, the sources said. Other Asian countries including Indonesia and Thailand used to be large suppliers to the US before political instability and other factors depressed their exports.
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