US major project marks good start in 2018 for footwear industry. Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Skechers USA, amajor footwear maker based in California, is studying a plan to invest inVietnam in a project that probably needs 20,000 workers. The project marks agood start for the local footwear industry after a slowdown in 2017.
Skechers, a heavyweight rival to twoglobal footwear brands – Nike and Adidas, sold more than 200 million productslast year and now seeks to shift investment from China to Vietnam.
The firm was advised by the VietnamLeather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) to set up the first facilityin northern Hai Duong province with an investment slated for between 700million and 1 billion USD.
The project offers hope to Vietnam’s footwear industryas the sector saw falls in not only foreign but also domestic investment lastyear.
Benefits of free trade agreementsbetween Vietnam and other nations have added heat to the footwear industry,leading to a record growth rate of 28 percent in the flow of investment intothe sector in 2015, said Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, LEFASO general secretary.
However, after the United State withdrewfrom the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the United Kingdom chose to leavethe EU, the investment declined in 2017. It was clearly reflected by thecontraction in imports of shoe-making machinery, equipment and materials, sheexplained.
Imports of footwear machinery andequipment in 2017 decreased to 146 million USD, compared to 170 million USD a yearduring the 2015 – 2016 period. Leather imports also fell to 1.5 billion USDlast year from 1.6 billion USD in 2016, she added.
Xuan noted that the EU-Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement is expected to be signed this year, adding that once the tradedeal enters into force, it will eliminate import duties on Vietnam’s trainersand handbags.
The tariff elimination will not onlydirect more flows of foreign orders to Vietnam but also draw greater investmentfrom international footwear manufacturers, such as Skechers, into the country,she said.
Vietnam is now in the world’s Top 5 shoemakers with 70percent of the total export revenue contributed by foreign-investedenterprises.-VNA
VNA
