Industry Analysis & Industry Trends
Footwear imports account for a very large proportion of total domestic demand, which continues to increase each year. In 2011-12, footwear imports are estimated to account for 91.8% of domestic demand, up from 87.9% in 2006-07 and 63.2% in 2000-01. This rise has been due to increased footwear output from China and other low labour-cost countries, and the inability of UK footwear manufacturers to compete with these foreign firms. The domestic industry slumped in the early 2000s due to increases in low-priced competing imports, and is not expected to significantly recover in the future.
The main companies continuing to operate successfully in the industry mainly offer high-end footwear products... purchase to read more
Industry Report - Industry Investment Chapter
The industry is highly labour-intensive due to the high proportion of labour inputs required compared to capital inputs. Utilising data from the industry's costs structure, total industry wages (estimated at 22.7% in 2011-12) are used as a proxy for labour, with depreciation expenses (estimated at 2.7% in 2011-12) used as a proxy for capital costs. Therefore, in 2011-12, the industry is estimated to have a capital-to-labour ratio of 1:8.4. This means that for each £1.00 spent on labour, about £8.40 is required for capital costs.
The capital-to-labour ratio can vary significantly between firms, depending on the types of footwear products being made, the quality and workmanship required to produce the company's shoes, and the pricing level of the company's shoes... purchase to read more