Some evidence of the high cost of leather leading to footwear groups shying away from the material has been noted in recent comments by the CEO of Wolverine World Wide, a group which purchases $300 million of leather a year, according to a report on Bloomberg.

Blake Kruger said: “A lot of our shoes are being re-engineered with materials that are not leather or not 100% leather. Frankly, the millennial consumer is growing up mostly in non-leather shoes.”

The author of the Leather Pipeline market reports on our sister website www.leatherbiz.com has said, for some time, that record prices would lead to some companies seeking solace in alternatives, but outlines that demand remains strong from high-ends brands.

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