One indication that the footwear industry in Pakistan may be on the brink of better times is the optimism of one of the country’s most influential footwear retailers. Kamil Mian, chief executive of English Boot House, a company with nine stores in Karachi, has told footwearbiz.com that sales volumes are certainly going up as relative prosperity increases.

Per capita income in Pakistan has now reached the $1,000 mark, and people are spending more money on shoes. Mr Mian’s stores stock higher-end shoes, with 90% of them manufactured domestically. These include shoes that Satra produces in Pakistan under licence for Pierre Cardin and Hush Puppies. Imported stock comes from Pertini in Spain, Loake’s in the UK and other European brands.

“People are willing to spend more on shoes than before,” he says, “certainly in our stores, where they know their money is buying them a quality product. And there is every reason why this should increase further in the years ahead. We have the skills and, with the fifth biggest livestock population in the world, we also have the leather.”

On the manufacturing side, one company, Lahore-based Fayva, is supplying hand-made shoes in crocodile, ostrich and snake (the leather comes from South Africa) for the Pakistani market, with a top retail price of around $800 a pair.