Increase in exports of leather footwear highlights the quality of the Brazilian product

2022-08-10 | By Diego Rosinha

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Since the second half of 2021, Brazilian footwear exports have recorded consecutive increases in exports. Over that year, industry shipments increased 32 percent to 123.7 million pairs. Leather shoes were decisive for the performance. Data prepared by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) indicate that exports on the segment reached 17 million pairs, 31% more than in the previous year. In productive terms, the production of leather footwear also increased compared to 2020, by 23.6% (137.2 million pairs of the 806 million produced). Carrying that to 2022, even without disclosure of production data, there is a greater increase in leather footwear exports. While the overall growth of the first half of 2022, compared to the same period last year, stood at 31.3% (75 million pairs), the increase in exports of the leather segment stood at 55.2% (11.55 million pairs).Abicalçados' Market Intelligence Coordinator, Priscila Linck, points out that the share of leather footwear in production has also been increasing. In 2020, 15% of the pairs produced in Brazil were from the segment, while last year this share went up to 17%. "Brazilian leather footwear has an important role in the production and export agenda of the sector, because with greater added value it ends up boosting the income of the activity and, consequently, investments.” Regarding employment, its role is also important, since it requires more labor for production. According to Priscila, the shoe industries whose main activity is linked to the leather shoes manufacture employ 50.5% of people in the activity. In the first half of 2022, when more than 27 thousand jobs were created in the sector, the manufacture of leather products was the segment that employed the most, with 14.4 thousand new vacancies. Currently, more than 293 thousand people are employed in the Brazilian footwear sector.

Valued leather

In the segment of conceptual and personalized footwear, one of the companies that stand out in Brazil is Werner Calçados, from Três Coroas/RS. Created in 1969, the industry that initially operated predominantly in the domestic market, in the early 2000s began to win over consumers around the planet. With an annual production of 250 thousand pairs, Werner today allocates 45% of its production to more than 40 countries on five continents. “Our distinctive products can be constructed from both leather and refined synthetics. Abroad, 90% of our export is leather footwear. These attributes of materials are sought after by our international consumer, who is extremely demanding in terms of quality,” says the company's commercial coordinator, Isaque Weber. According to Weber, specifically for Europe, the main destination for shoes exported by Werner, there are legal and environmental restrictions on the use of certain substances in the products. “For this reason, we maintain strict control of our suppliers and our workforce, which qualifies our products for all markets,” he says. The coordinator also says that there is an increase in demand for Brazilian footwear abroad, due to the problems faced by Asia. “With the rise in international logistics and the Asian labor problem, there is a tendency for some Asian businesses to migrate to new suppliers. In Riva Del Garda (at Expo Riva Schuh) we noticed this trend and we had a great demand”, he celebrates. Werner's expectations are for an increase in footwear exports for 2022. “2020 was a year of structural readjustment due to the consequences of the pandemic, and in 2021 the company already had a strong recovery in its indicators. In the first half of 2022 Werner has been showing a 50% growth in pairs produced and gross revenue. With the year's strategic objective already achieved, the company's challenge is to maintain these positive and growing figures until the end of the year”, projects Weber.

Another important component for the performance of Werner's leather footwear in Europe is the import tax levied. For leather footwear, the average import tax is 7.8%, while for the plastic/rubber, injected and textile segments, the tax is around 17%.

Young and bold

Created in 2016, Matuschka Mia, from São Paulo / SP, also has the propeller of its development in leather shoes. With a production of 10 thousand pairs of children's shoes per year, all on the leather segment, the company sought in the experience of designer Gabriela Matuschka the creation of differentiated products to meet both the domestic and international markets. “We look for suppliers and partners who have quality differentials and specialized labor, who give us the most detailed information possible, since the children's market has some peculiarities, especially for exports,” says the brand's Director, Rafael Matuschka. Having started its exports in 2019, with the support of Brazilian Footwear, a program carried out by Abicalçados in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the company sends about 20% of its production abroad, mainly to the United States and Europe. “Our goal is to increase this share to 50% in the coming years. Our product has great international demand” " he says. According to him, the goal wasn't achieved earlier only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which caught the company just at the time when it was preparing for higher flights abroad. “Last year was one of consolidation of the presence in the international market, and our greatest growth should come this year. In the first half, export figures have already exceeded 2021”, he celebrates, stressing that, in the post-pandemic scenario, the market reacted quickly. To assist in the export growth strategy, Matuschka highlights that the strengthening of the partnership with Brazilian Footwear, through the participation in the Blanc Fashion and Playtime platforms, both focused on the North American market, is fundamental. “We always want to grow in a sustainable way, so the initial bet is on the digital environment”, projects the entrepreneur.

Own tannery

Andacco, from São Sebastião do Paraíso / MG, is another success story in the leather footwear segment. With a production of more than 4 thousand pairs daily, of which 50% are sent abroad, mainly to the United States and European countries, the company values the quality of the material. "Brazil has a prominent position in the world, especially when it comes to leather shoes. The added value is greater, the production is increasingly efficient and sustainable, and today we compete on an equal footing with the production of our main competitors in the segment, today in Europe”, evaluates the director of the company, Benevenuto Arantes. Another move that ensures greater competitiveness of leather footwear, according to Arantes, is the fact of “escaping competition from China”, a country that has become a specialist in the production of large volumes of footwear from plastic and textile materials. One of Andacco's differentials is the fact that it has its own tannery to supply the leathers, which guarantees better control of the process, the quality of the materials, which leads to a reduction in costs with the raw material. “We've had a drop in 2020 due to the pandemic, but we did not have much of the supply problems that occurred in other factories, since today 95% of the leather used in our shoes is our own,” says Arantes.

According to the director, in 2022 the company should recover the losses of recent years, with a 10% growth in production. “We are excited. We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, because both the domestic and foreign markets are reacting very well,” projects Arantes, stressing that leather footwear, due to the quality, durability, and sustainability it carries, will always have a market in Brazil and abroad.