All Shoe Intelligence articles in Volume 26, Issue 23+24
View all stories from this issue.
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PDF NewsletterShoe Intelligence Executive Edition: Vol. 26 - 23+24
BFShow doubles its attendance in a year | C-Suite interview: BFShow to grow with the Brazilian footwear industry | CEC and Abicalçados call for a swift conclusion of EU-Mercosur free trade talks | C-Suite interview: Floredeasoka targets the US bridal market | Dr. Martens sees early signs of recovery in US as new products sell well | Geox reshapes distribution model in US and China as wholesale continues to drag on sales | Golden Goose’s adjusted Ebit rises 8% | Andreas Wortmann becomes AstorMueller’s CEO | The Swiss brand Künzli has a new owner | Russia’s footwear imports are declining | Yue Yuen posts strong manufacturing but weak retail results | Tapestry, Capri scrap plans to merge | Jimmy Choo’s sales rise and operating loss diminishes | Stuart Weitzman’s sales rise driven by North America | Steve Madden fast tracks plan to cut Chinese production | Shoe Carnival accelerates store rebranding as hurricanes, warm weather hurt Q3 sales | Wolverine lifts its FY guidance | Weyco sales slump amid lower demand, warm weather | Allbirds signs distribution agreements for Europe and Latin America | Skechers to move to a new European distribution center in 2028 | Caleres names a new head of its New York brands | Vida Shoes buys Aquatalia | Grendene’s Q3 revenues jump 10% despite decline in exports | Azzas 2154 sees modest growth in footwear sales in Q3 | Stanbee enters a distribution partnership in Indonesia | Fast growth in footwear operations helps drive sales at Coats
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ArticleC-Suite interview: BFShow to grow with the Brazilian footwear industry
Haroldo Ferreira, the president of Brazilian footwear association Abicalçados, expects BFShow to grow in lockstep with the Brazilian footwear industry and believes that a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur will also be beneficial to European shoemakers. BFShow is the trade show promoted by Abicalçados in partnership ...
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News briefs
Jack Schwartz Shoes obtains the Lee footwear license
Jack Schwartz Shoes has obtained the footwear license for Lee, the denim and casual lifestyle apparel label owned by Kontoor Brands. The men’s collection is expected to retail at below $100 a pair and will be presented to buyers during the FFANY market week in New York next month. Headquartered ...
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ArticleDr. Martens sees early signs of recovery in US as new products sell well
Dr. Martens reported signs of “encouraging” trading since the start of the autumn/winter season, with new products selling well in the US, despite the troubled footwear maker swinging to a loss for the half year on weak demand across all regions. The outgoing Chief Executive, Kenny Wilson, said the company ...
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News briefs
Michael Kors reorganizes its management
Capri Holdings reorganized the management of its leading brand, Michael Kors. John Idol, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capri, will assume the role of CEO of the brand, effective Dec. 2. Cedric Wilmotte, who had been CEO of Michael Kors since April 2023, will leave the company after ...
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News briefs
Cambodia sees apparel, footwear, travel products orders up 20-30% in 2025
Orders received by Cambodian manufacturers of apparel, footwear and travel products are expected to increase by 20 to 30 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the Cambodia Confederation of Investors Association (CCIA). “This increase in orders will provide more job opportunities for workers, contributing to improved employment prospects,” ...
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News briefs
VF to close a distribution center
VF Corp. will close a 46,500-square-meter distribution center in Martinsville, Virginia, in March 2025. The move will impact 242 employees, who will face layoffs by Jan. 19, 2025, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings. The decision, part of the group‘s broader “Reinvent” turnaround strategy, aims to ...
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ArticleFrench parliament opposes EU-Mercosur deal
The French senate and the lower house of Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, have rejected a tentative free trade agreement negotiated by the European Commission and Mercosur. On Nov. 27, 338 senators out of 348 voted against the draft agreement. The day before, 484 members of the lower house approved ...
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News briefs
Wolverine Worldwide appoints a Chief Product Officer for its Work Group
Wolverine Worldwide’s Work Group has named Mike Maloney as its new Chief Product Officer, effective immediately. Maloney, a footwear industry veteran with nearly two decades of experience at top brands including Adidas, Under Armour and Columbia Sportswear, will oversee product development, merchandising strategy and market expansion for the Work Group’s ...
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News briefs
OrthoLite expands its Indian business
OrthoLite has significantly expanded its operations in India with a larger manufacturing facility in Ambur, Tamil Nadu, and a new sales office in Chennai. This growth comes as part of the company’s strategy to meet increased demand under new leadership and to support its growing brand partnerships in the region. ...
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News briefs
JD completes the acquisition of Courir
JD Sports Fashion completed the acquisition of Groupe Courir for €520 million, following receipt of conditional clearance from the European Commission on October 22. “Courir is a market leader in sneakers in France, which is the largest sneaker market in Europe, and this acquisition reinforces our position within Europe,” according ...
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News briefs
Le Coq Sportif placed into receivership
A Paris-based commercial court has placed Le Coq Sportif into receivership. The Swiss group Airesis, which owns 75 percent of the French sportswear firm, indicated that Le Coq Sportif had applied to open a judicial restructuring procedure. The court confirmed the procedure. Le Coq Sportif will continue operating but has ...
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News briefsDow launches low-carbon material solutions for the footwear industry
Dow launched a portfolio of low-carbon material solutions which it claims can help the footwear industry “develop more sustainable products which offer the same high-performance results.” The upgraded portfolio consists of bio-circular* materials attributed under a mass balance approach, reversible cross-linking resins, post-consumer recycled resins and polyolefin elastomers for artificial ...
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News briefs
Dean Shoes lays foundation stone of new Indian factory
On Nov. 15, MK Stalin, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, laid the foundation stone for a manufacturing unit of the Taiwanese footwear firm Dean Shoes at SIPCOT Park in Jayankondam, in the Ariyalur district. Dean Shoes is investing about $118.5 million in the facility which ...
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ArticleMount to Coast and BASF collaborate to produce a midsole
Mount to Coast, a Hong Kong brand specializing in ultrarunning and long-distance shoes, entered a partnership with BASF to explore high-performance, sustainable solutions for runners. CircleCELL, a midsole, is the first footwear technology produced by the collaboration. Based on BASF’s new biopolymer ecoflex BMB, the midsole is 90 percent more ...
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News briefs
Castañer opens its first store in Italy
After experimenting with a pop-up store in Milan last year, Castañer opened its first permanent store in Italy. The 33-square-meter store is located in Via del Babuino, one of Rome’s most exclusive shopping streets. The Spanish footwear brand is present in 20 countries through seven directly-operated stores, four in ...
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News briefs
P448 hires Rocco Bennici as CFO, COO
P448 has hired Rocco Bennici for the newly created job of Chief Financial and Operating Officer. He will report to Wayne Kulkin, the Executive Chairman of StreetTrend LLC, the parent company of the Italian sneaker brand. Bennici will lead the finance, treasury, IT and logistics divisions as well as P448’s ...
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News briefs
Stuart Weitzman picks Mark Consuelos as ambassador for men’s collection
Stuart Weitzman has chosen the actor, producer and talk show host Mark Consuelos as the first global ambassador for its men’s collection, which was launched earlier this year. ”As the brand is known for celebrating bold, confident women since its founding in 1986, this campaign is concepted to define the ...
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ArticleShoe Carnival accelerates store rebranding as hurricanes, warm weather hurt Q3 sales
Shoe Carnival is accelerating with plans to rebrand some of its Shoe Carnival stores into the higher-priced Shoe Station banner, after the success of an initial 10 stores that have made the switch. The company said it is expanding its store rebranding strategy to an additional 25 stores in the ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Floredeasoka targets the US bridal market
Floredeasoka, a fast growing Spanish startup that produces bridal shoes, is considering raising funds to finance its internationalization with a focus on the US market. Flordeasoka was created in 2018 by Tita Guerrero and two of her four daughters, Elena and Inés Bonet, and currently produces 20,000 pairs of shoes ...
