Footwear Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 200 footwear manufacturers in the US design and market their own products, but may also contract to produce footwear for outside designers. Products include dress and casual shoes, athletic shoes and cleats, industrial shoes, sandals, boots, ballet slippers, house slippers, and orthopedic shoes.
Changes in Fashion
Consumer interest in shoes can be fickle with styles changing and falling out of favor within seasons or a few years.
Global Competition
Imports dominate the US footwear market, accounting for 99% of sales.
Industry size & Structure
The average footwear manufacturer operates a single location, employs 46 workers, and generates about $8 million in annual revenue.
- The footwear manufacturing industry consists of about 200 companies that employ 9,200 workers and generate $1.6 billion in annual revenue.
- 44% of footwear manufacturers have fewer than 5 employees, while the 10 largest firms have over 500 employees.
- The industry is highly concentrated: the 8 largest companies account for 60% of industry revenue.
- The states with the largest number of footwear manufacturing facilities are Texas, California, New York and Maine.
- Companies with domestic manufacturing operations include San Antonio Shoemakers (SAS), Modern Vice, Red Wing Shoe Company, Minnetonka, MacNeill Engineering (Champ brand), and Wolverine.
- Companies may have foreign operations or contract production to foreign manufacturers. Crocs sources its production from licensed manufacturers in Asia. Sketchers designs and markets footwear, but contracts the actual manufacturing to foreign producers, primarily in Asia.
Industry Forecast
Footwear Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 12, 2024 - Back-to-School Sales Less Dependent on Discounts
- Discounts are not expected to drive footwear sales during the back-to-school shopping season, as pandemic-driven volatility in promotion activity levels out, according to a recent report from Circana. After two years of volatility, the percentage of footwear units sold on promotion returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. Footwear promotional effectiveness also declined in Q1 2024. According to Circana’s Future of Footwear study, consumers say the top factors influencing their purchases for kids and teens are quality, price, and child or teen requests. Despite early brand and retailer promotions, back-to-school footwear purchases are expected to peak close to the start of school.
- US manufacturing activity contracted in June 2024 for the third consecutive month after a brief expansion in March, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 48.5% in June, down 0.2 percentage points from the 48.7% recorded in May. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Prior to the uptick in March, US manufacturing activity had fallen below the baseline for growth for 16 consecutive months. June’s New Orders Index was in the contraction zone at 49.3%. The June Production Index was 48.5%, a decrease from May’s 50.2%. Eight manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM reported growth in June: Printing & Related Support Activities; Petroleum & Coal Products; Primary Metals; Furniture & Related Products; Paper Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Nonmetallic Mineral Products. The industries reporting contraction in June were Textile Mills; Machinery; Fabricated Metal Products; Wood Products; Transportation Equipment; Plastics & Rubber Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Computer & Electronic Products.
- The US footwear manufacturing industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 0.92% between 2024 and 2028, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is slower than the overall economy's anticipated growth. Factors that continue to limit consumer spending are higher price levels and interest rates, though both are expected to improve in 2024. According to the forecast, overall nondurable manufacturing volumes have been uneven in recent years. Volumes were up 2021, before leveling off in the first half of 2022. Production began to fall later in the year, and December 2023 levels were slightly lower than those in 2019. The report noted that consumer confidence levels are expected to improve in the forecast window, which bodes well for non-durable manufacturing industries. Additionally, consumer sentiment has seen a degree of improvement following sustained lower levels.
- Consumer confidence levels fell in June 2024, after an uptick in May, according to data from The Conference Board. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index was 100.4 in June 2024 from 101.3 in May 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that confidence was the highest among those under age 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Plans for large appliance and smart phone purchases rose on a six-month basis, while plans for car purchases stalled.
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