Footwear industry tries to adapt to new consumer

The footwear sector, which brings together companies and 11400 moved R$ 28.4 billion last year, decided to join efforts to modernize the industries to meet new consumer demands.
"It is essential to change the mentality of entrepreneurs. The consumer is more aware and informed, does not consume more by consuming. The desire to have the desire to access to things, but without possession. The sector needs to consider these changes to develop the most appropriate business models, "says Roberta Ramos, project manager of Brazilian footwear industries Association (Abicalçados).
Roberta says that consumers are more interested in products that have more utility, with the case of women''s shoes that allow you to change the jump, and shoes that can change leather (upper footwear). And also demonstrate an interest in developing their own products. "In a few years, the 3D printing will be accessible to all, will be that consumers will print the shoe at home? If you do, how the industry is going to compete? "
To discuss issues such as these, the Project yesterday made official Abicalçados Future Footwear, in partnership with the Brazilian Association of companies for leather, footwear components and artifacts (Assintecal), the center of Leather industries of Brazil (CICB) and the Brazilian Association of machinery and equipment industries for the sectors of leather, footwear and related (Abrameq). The goal is to increase the competitiveness and profitability of the sector, with industrial process improvement, innovation and product traceability.
The project will be developed, in principle with three actions. One of them consists in the formation of a Committee to discuss goals for the productive chain of footwear, with regular meetings. This Committee will have the support of a consulting firm, that will develop a diagnostic study of the sector. Entities also will make business rounds to facilitate the integration between manufacturers and raw material suppliers. Under the umbrella of the project will also be made for contests reward the best business proposals from undergraduate and graduate students in the field footwear.
Ilse Guimarães, Superintendent of Assintecal, list as interests of component industries increase productivity and profitability, enlarge the adoption of automated processes and develop lighter materials, sturdy and functional. "I predict that consumers will increasingly personalized shopping and will require more quickly. The big challenge is how to make the components available to manufacturers with the speed you need, "he says. She says there are few industries in the sector with high automation. And there''s room to offer more elaborate products footwear industries. "Before a shoe had 36 parts, today has two or three. The leather, for example, can be delivered ready for the shoe industry, instead of delivering the product or piece of synthetic fabric. But this requires automation, "he says.
José Fernando Bello, Executive Chairman of the CICB, also sees as a challenge to the leather industries sell more product manufactured in Brazil. "Today the sector exports 75% of the production of leather. The correct would be to manufacture and export shoes here. We are in this project to try to improve technologies and productivity of the sector as a whole, "says Baker.
Beverly Schmidt, President of Abrameq, says that industries that manufacture machines for the footwear sector are able to automate much of the manufacturing processes and identify the priorities of the shoe to develop new equipment. "It would also be important that there was Government stimulus measures for the development of machinery," he said. Without citing numbers, Schmidt reported that most machines used in Brazilian footwear factories are domestic.