Currency ups and downs can open doors for Mexican footwear
Mexican footwear manufacturers have a chance to “capture” new buyers thanks to recent changes in currency rates and to changes taking place in China’s economy, according to Luis Gerardo González García, president of the organising committee of the Sapica shoe and leathergoods exhibition.
“US companies are finding it difficult to have shoes made in China now,” Mr González said, “because the available workforce in China is now turning to other industries. Meanwhile, exchange rates at the moment are very favourable for Mexico’s currency, so I think this is a good opportunity for us.”
He said companies from the US, from Brazil and even Asian companies who sell footwear into the US have already “discovered the strength” of the footwear cluster in and around León and the wider state of Guanajuato. To make the most of the opportunity to attract more buyers, Mr González said footwear manufacturers in the cluster have to be “very professional, rigorous about meeting delivery lead-times, produce samples on time and be flexible”, describing the potential buyers as “very demanding”.
He insisted that there will be buyers from the US at Sapica, which next takes place in León from August 25-28, who have travelled to Mexico specifically to see at first hand how well the Guanajuato footwear cluster is functioning at the moment with a view to transferring at least part of their production to the region. “They will try Mexico out,” he said, “and if it works out, if we show that we can offer the quality, levels of service and value for money that they are looking for, we can grow little by little. The seeds we are planting can flourish.”
