Industrial Analysis on Footwear Industry Essay Example
Industrial Analysis on Footwear Industry Essay Example

Industrial Analysis on Footwear Industry Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (929 words)
  • Published: June 6, 2018
  • Type: Case Analysis
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Indian Footwear Industry 

Overview

The Indian market for footwear includes all producers of non-cleated, rubber and plastic footwear designed in style or for use. The industry is a collection of smaller, segmented, yet often overlapping markets, defined by both the price and the purpose of the shoes. For instance, there are mini-markets for shoes designed for each of many sports and other purposes: basketball, running, walking, tennis, and casual wear.

The greatest overlap between these categories is between performance shoes and casual wear. Therefore, there is some degree of overlap between most segments. The industry is dominated by a few large firms, while the majority of other players have less than 5% market share. These firms fight for market share through non-price competition, on strategies such as strengthening brand image and increasing product prolifera

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tion. The success of each firm is greatly dependent upon its marketing campaigns. The brand image of the major firms is created by extensive marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements.

Consumers associate themselves with a particular brand and tend to stick with the brand with which they are comfortable. Entry to the industry is difficult as brand loyalties are high. Standing on the threshold of a retail revolution and witnessing a fast changing retail landscape, the Indian footwear market is set to experience the phenomenal growth in coming years. In past few years too, the market has seen robust growth, says “Indian Footwear Industry Analysis” report. This report provides extensive research and in-depth analysis on the Indian footwear market.

The detailed data and analysis given in the report will help the client to evaluate the leading-edge opportunities critical to the success of the footwear market i

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India. The forecasts and estimations given in this report are not based on a complex economic model, but are intended as a rough guide to the direction in which the market is likely to move. This forecast is based on a correlation between past market growth and growth of base drivers.

History of Footwear

Footwear is estimated to have started its long history of human use during the Ice Age some 5 million years ago.

Unkind weather conditions are said to have created the necessity for footwear. Other evidences show that footwear came to use at the end of the Paleolithic Period, at about the same time the early humans learned the art of leather tanning. Early pieces of footwear were made of wrappings, usually made of leather or dried grasses. Later on pieces were developed from an oval piece of leather which is bound by a piece of strong leather thongs. Sandals, which are the first crafted footwear, are the successors to these wrappings. In Egyptian funeral chambers, paintings show the different stages in the preparation of leather and footwear.

The images also show that in Egypt, footwear depicted power and class. The Pharaohs’ sandals were distinguished by the turned up toes, a characteristic which is missing in the commoners’ footwear. Egyptian sandals were crafted using straw, papyrus, or palm fiber. Later on, Egyptian women adorned their footwear with precious stones and jewels. Material evidences showed that the Greeks loved and took good care of their feet by using different footwear for different activities. Greek women began wearing sandals to signify their social class. Their footwear signified beauty, elegance, refinement, and extravagance.

It has been said that Greek women

of bad reputation attracted men by wearing elevated sandals. These sandals create a “clacking” sound when the wearer moves, and this sound was considered as a symbolic flaunting of sexual charms. In Mesopotamia, leather wrappings are tied to the feet by a strip of the same material. Romans, on the other hand, created durable leather thongs so their legions can travel to places on foot. It is also believed that foot fetishes began with the Romans when Senator Lucius Vitellus frequently kissed the shoe of his mistress which was hidden in his tunic.

In Rome, footwear also exhibited social class. The consuls wore white shoes, the senators wore brown shoes, and the uniform footwear for the rest of the region was a short pair of boots that uncovered the toes. But in all of these early civilizations, footwear indicated social status. Footwear consists of garments that are worn over the feet. They are worn mainly for protection and hygiene, but also for fashion and adornment. Footwear items come from a wide range of materials including leather, rubber, canvass, wood, and plastic. But early pieces were made from available materials like straw, leather, cowhide, and grasses.

When footwear is assembled, the main components are adhesives, cushion, counter fort, heel, hook, insole, laces, sole, steel shank, tack, toe puff, tread, and welt. Generally, footwear is classified into: boots, industrial footwear, shoes, and sandals. Boots are available as cowboy boots, galoshes, ski boots, thigh length boots, and so on. Industrial footwear includes plastic boots and rubber loafers which are used in laboratories, construction sites, and production lines. Shoes include athletic shoes (or running shoes), climbing shoes, clogs, high heels, mary

janes, moccasins, mules, loafers, tap shoes, and cross-training shoes.

Sandals, on the other hand, include espadrilles, flipflops or thongs, slide-ons, and slippers. Footwear is considered an extension of one’s personality. Well-maintained footwear says things about the owner, with cleanliness as the most important concern. Although the intricacy of this craft may have been Lost to modernization, their influences are still present in shoes today. The moccasins worn in early times by people in cold countries are still being worn there, while the sandal patterned after the Egyptians’ creation is still frequently used in hotter countries.

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