Elche has lost 20 footwear companies
16/07/2009
The Footwear Industry Association of Elche, Spain's main centre of shoe production, has said its membership is falling as a result of the global economic downturn.
While the association welcomed 10 new companies to its ranks during 2008, 42 fell away, leaving the industry body with a membership of 179 firms.
Of the 42 footwear manufacturers that are no longer members, four have been excluded for failing to pay their membership fees, two because they've moved their premises, 11 because they want to save on the cost of membership. Two companies have moved out of the footwear industry, and several were found to be ineligible for membership owing to the fact that they are traders rather than manufacturers.
Twenty companies, however, have gone out of business.
The Spanish Footwear Industry Federation (FICE) recently reported that Spain's shoe output for 2008 fell by 2.3% in volume and by 7.3% in value. It also said that, across Spain, the number of companies involved in footwear manufacturing had fallen by 11.6%, with the total workforce falling by 5.4%.
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