Brazil has performed a relevant roll in the Footwear History.
'The Brazilian Footwear Industry'
In the last five decades, Brazil has performed a relevant roll in the Footwear History. The largest country in Latin America is one of the most outstanding manufacturers of leather articles, holding the third position in the ranking of the largest world producers, and having as well important participation in the share of women’s shoes that ally quality to accessible prices. The shipments abroad have been growing yearly, to over a hundred countries.
Although the concentration of large size companies is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Brazilian footwear production is gradually being distributed to other poles, located in the Southeast and Northeast regions of the country, being highlighted the inland of the state of São Paulo (cities of Jaú, Franca and Birigui), as well as the emerging states such as Ceará and Bahia. There is also growth in the footwear production in the state of Santa Catarina (region of São João Batista), the neighbor of state Rio Grande do Sul, and in Minas Gerais (region of Nova Serrana).
The Brazilian Footwear park nowadays presents over 7.5 thousand industries, which produce approximately 775 million pairs/year, 212 million being destined to exports. The sector is among those generating more jobs in the country. In 2004, around 300 thousand workers operated directly in the industry.
The large variety of raw material, machinery, and component suppliers, allied to the products technology and innovation, makes the Brazilian footwear sector one of the most important in the world. There are over 300 component industries installed in Brazil, more than 400 companies specialized in tanning and leather finishing, processing yearly over 300 million hides, and around a hundred machinery and equipment factories.
It is with this highly capacitated structure that the footwear manufacturers perform the production of Brazilian footwear, presently exported to over 130 countries, with modern concepts of production administration and manufacture management, such as just in time, and other international processes of quality. It is a highly specialized industry in every kind of shoes: women’s, men’s, and children’s, besides special shoes, such as orthopedic and work safety shoes.
Exports destination – The Brazilian footwear export sector structure is one of the most modern in the world. There are presently exported 212 million pairs in 2004, whose marketing involves the presence of Brazilian entrepreneurs in the most important international fairs, such as GDS, in Germany, MICAM, in Italy, MosShoes, in Russian, and the Las Vegas Show, in the United States. Latin America has been the target of different initiatives, such as the promotion of showrooms in the principal consuming countries, as Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Colombia.
Due to the speed in obtaining information about the fashion world trends, added to the ease to obtain raw materials to develop the adequate modeling for the buying market, and afterwards the manufacture in series, Brazilian footwear producers have ample conditions to answer to the demand of importers of the most different profiles. Examples are the shoes manufactured for important brands, and North American and European stores, which are already used to see made in Brazil printed on their footwear.
The United States is the principal buyer of Brazilian shoes, with 70% of the exported total. To increase the sales percentage in other countries, particularly of Latin America and the Middle East, the sector has been developing a project so that more companies shall be part of the commercial balance, principally those of small and medium size.
The production diversification is another competitive factor, as the adaptation to the most different collections is very fast. This enables Brazil to produce all kinds of footwear needed to answer to the domestic marker demands, as well as to the export demands.
Brief History
The economic development process of the Brazilian footwear industry began in Rio Grande do Sul with the arrival of the first German immigrants, in June 1824. Having settled in Vale do Rio dos Sinos, besides working in agriculture and cattle raising, they also brought with them the craft culture, particularly of leather articles.
The production, which initially was home made and characterized by the manufacture of harnesses, became strong with the Paraguay War, which took place from 1864 to 1870. After this episode, arose the need of broadening the buying market. Therefore, appeared some tanneries and the manufacture of machines, which caused the production to be more industrialized.
In 1888 appeared, in Vale dos Sinos, the first Brazilian footwear factory, formed by the son of the immigrant Pedro Adams Filho, who also owned a tannery and a harness factory. Rio Grande do Sul State increased the demand for footwear, taking the production to grow year to year, forming, as the time went by, one of the current largest footwear clusters worldwide.
The need to increase the footwear marketing abroad occurred at the beginning of the ’60, opposed to the export of salted leather. The first large scale Brazilian export took place in 1968, with the shipment of Franciscano sandals, produced by the company Strassburguer, to the United States.
The national production, in that decade, was of 80 million pairs of shoes. New markets started to appear abroad and business flourished. Companies contacted international buyers and worked directly with the line builders – responsible for the lines. Nowadays, footwear is the second main item in the Brazilian commercial balance. |
