Outsourcing decision puts Canadian shoe brand back among the best
31/03/2011
Quebec City-based Chaussures Régence was named as one of Canada's 50 Best Run Companies in an annual competition run by bodies including the Queen's Business School and Deloitte. Christian Bergeron, who runs the company, has told local media that he was delighted by the honour. He said: "It's very pleasing for people outside the firm that our business is being well run, especially taking into account the obstacles we have had to overcome since 2005."
Mr Bergeron's father founded Chaussures Régence in 1979. It acquired a string of other Canadian footwear companies such as Blondo in 1990 and Chaussures Faber in 1991, and featured in the list of 50 Best Run Companies in 1997 and 2002. Shortly afterwards, though, the company began to struggle to compete against imports into Canada from Asia and Latin America.
"I remember that at the start of the 1980s, almost 50% of the shoes on sale in Canada had been made here by Canadian companies," Christian Bergeron said. "By 2005, that share had fallen to 1.3% of the market." He said this left him with two choices: to shut up shop or to transfer production to Asia. "We chose to outsource production to China," he added, "to be able to compete on an equal footing."
Now the company makes none of its winter boots and fashion shoes, but designs them and distributes them to Canadian retail groups. Its turnover is between $30 million and $40 million, on sales of around 700,000 pairs.
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