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 55 workers, and generates about $7-8 million in annual revenue.
- The footwear manufacturing industry consists of about 200 companies that employ 10,400 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
Mar 6, 2024 - Growth Projected for Online Footwear Market
- Online revenue for the global footwear market is projected to reach $144 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 8.2%, according to Statista Market Insights. Online revenue in the footwear market is expected to reach $97 billion in 2024, an increase of 10.9% over 2023. China, the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan are the top five markets worldwide by revenue. User penetration is expected to grow in the forecast window from 22% in 2024 to 24.8% in 2029, with the average revenue per user to reach $70.60. Some key players in the industry include Taobao (14% share, Chinese shopping site), JD (12%, Chinese shopping site), Amazon (10%, US-based shopping site), and Nike (9%, US-based brand ecommerce site).
- US manufacturing activity contracted in February 2024, falling below the baseline for growth for the sixteenth consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 47.8% in February, down 1.3 percentage points from the 49.1% recorded in January. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. February’s New Orders Index was in the contraction zone at 40.2%. The February Production Index was 48.4%, a decrease from January’s 50.4%. Eight manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM reported growth in February: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Primary Metals; Plastics & Rubber Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Transportation Equipment. The industries reporting contraction in February were Furniture & Related Products; Machinery; Wood Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Paper Products; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components.
- A new survey on sustainability by Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) showed the sector is making progress toward improving traceability. Twenty-nine percent of survey respondents said they had a full map of their material suppliers, up from 2022, when 24% reported a full map of suppliers. Overall, 80% of survey respondents felt they were progressing on traceability. Recycled materials use fell in 2023, according to the survey. Only 63% of survey respondents reported using more recycled materials in 2023 than the previous year, compared to 80% of respondents answering the same question in 2022. When asked whether their company planned to increase its use of recycled materials in upcoming products, 68% of 2023 respondents said they planned to increase usage, compared to 82% in 2022.
- Footwear manufacturers will have to monitor minimum wage changes, as 22 states increased their minimum wages in January 2024, according to Footwear News. About half of the increases are automatic adjustments linked to inflation. States that raised their minimum wages in January 2024 include Hawaii ($14), Maryland ($15), Nebraska ($12), and Washington ($16.28). Several states are set to boost their minimum wage levels later this year, including Florida (up to $13 in September) and Nevada (up to $12 in July). According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 40 US cities and counties will increase their minimum wage rates above state levels at the start of the new year. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and more than 20 states, primarily located in the South and the Midwest, use the federal minimum as their wage floor.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.