The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Due in part to supply chain disruptions in recent months, American footwear and apparel company Steve Madden has relocated about half of its women’s production to Mexico and Brazil from China for the fall season.
Chairman and chief executive, Edward Rosenfeld, said as part of the brand’s second quarter earnings call that challenges remain in shifting such a significant portion of its production to both Latin American countries, in particular Brazil, which is still battling serious Covid-19 outbreaks. Other difficulties include logistical delays, which impact the speed at which components still sourced from China can get to Latin America to be incorporated in production there.
In the second quarter, the company’s consolidated revenues increased 178.6 percent year-on-year. While this represents a significant recovery from the depths of last year’s Covid-19 crisis, it remains 11.5 percent below Steve Madden’s revenues in the same quarter of 2019, prior to the widespread outbreak of the pandemic.
Rosenfeld estimated that Steve Madden was sourcing a little over 60 percent from China prior to this shift. Only a few years ago, the company sourced nearly 90 percent of its goods there before the US-China trade war increased tariffs on footwear products.
ADVERTISEMENT
Learn more:
How Fashion Can Tackle Its Supply Chain Crisis
Between factory lockdowns and a shipping crunch, the pandemic is making it difficult for brands to take advantage of surging demand. BoF spoke with experts about how to make the best of a bad situation.
Though e-commerce reshaped retailing in the US and Europe even before the pandemic, a confluence of economic, financial and logistical circumstance kept the South American nation insulated from the trend until later.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Korean shopping app Ably, Kenya’s second-hand clothing trade and the EU’s bid to curb forced labour in Chinese cotton.
From Viviano Sue to Soshi Otsuki, a new generation of Tokyo-based designers are preparing to make their international breakthrough.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Latin American mall giants, Nigerian craft entrepreneurs and the mixed picture of China’s luxury market.