The World Footwear 2020 Yearbook states that in 2019 a new challenge was reached with the manufacture of 24.3 billion pairs of shoes in the world, but observing some slowdown in its growth compared to the last 10 years. Nine out of ten pairs of shoes are manufactured in Asia (mainly China, but also India, Vietnam and Indonesia), becoming the world's leading producer thanks to the supply of low-end footwear. Spain occupies the sixteenth position in the ranking with 0.4% of world production. Most of this production is concentrated mainly in the Valencian Community, followed by La Rioja, Castilla-La Mancha and Aragon.
Aragon has a long tradition in the manufacture of footwear and stands out for the number of manufacturers and pairs of shoes manufactured. Its main focus of activity is located in the region of Aranda (Aranda, Brea de Aragón and Illueca) and in the capital itself, Zaragoza. However, its activity has been hit from several fronts and has been dragging a worryingly negative evolution, with a destruction of almost 30% of employment since 2008.
But what differentiates Aragon from other regions with a shoemaking tradition? From Paula Mateo's Final Degree Project, it is established that it is the small size of its manufacturers, with a higher proportion of micro-enterprises (57%); its high personnel costs as a consequence of the importance of manual labor in this tax; its low productivity and the low rate of investment for the improvement of processes and products in comparison with the average of the sector in Spain. It seems that Aragonese SMEs are betting on know-how, that is to say, on tradition, but leaving aside the need for investment and process optimization. All this could lead to a great weakness and disadvantage of the Aragonese region with respect to the rest of Spain, not being able to face changes and new challenges such as digitalization.
We cannot forget the current panorama of uncertainty that has been installed in the world after the recent COVID-19 health emergency. This fact, in addition to increasing the importance of ecommerce, has caused a shift in global business strategy, improving the relevance of manufacturing in European countries, in order to solve the Asian production deficit caused by the massive closure of factories.
According to CEPYME ARAGÓN's 2019 report on digitalization of SMEs and self-employed in Zaragoza, the majority of industrial companies use information and communication technologies in their daily activity, while the proportion of those in commerce and services companies is reduced to 52%. Although it may seem good data, the reality reflects that the use of websites and social networks is limited to an expository use, and less than a third of the organizations update their profiles weekly.
The situation in the leather and footwear sector is below the Spanish average. Within the framework of the Connected Industry 4.0 initiative launched by the Government of Spain, according to the Advanced Digital Self-Diagnosis Tool (HADA; implemented by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in 2018: https://aragonindustria40.es/index.php/hada-herramienta-de-autodiagnostico-avanzado/), it allows placing it at level 0: static; so it would not meet any Industry 4.0 requirements.
In order to go deeper into this aspect, a study was carried out to analyze the degree of implementation and use of the websites of Aragonese footwear manufacturers based on the SABI (Iberian Balance Analysis System) database, which provides information on companies that deliver their annual accounts in the commercial registries. After identifying the Aragonese footwear manufacturers (code 1520, CNAE-2009), we checked which of them have a website. Only 25% of them have a corporate website. The analysis shows that the commercial potential of websites is not being successfully exploited. 75% of the manufacturers do not have an online store for direct sales to the end customer, also known as business to consumer (B2C). However, it should be noted that some manufacturers are suppliers of large multinational brands that do not allow them to sell directly. Moreover, 87% do not have sales through forms (business to business, B2B). Taking into account this low digital presence, it was expected that there would be greater reference on the web to physical points of sale, but only 25% of these pages included this information. Furthermore, only 31% have a customer area, which could become a very relevant resource if it is wanted to require that data for the preparation of sales statistics, which, in turn, would allow a loyalty strategy to be defined. Finally, it is important to highlight the small linguistic diversity of these websites, despite the growing importance that Spanish shoe companies are gaining in the international market.
In short, there is a clear need to improve this situation. The recent COVID-19 crisis has only further highlighted the importance of using digital resources in these times. For this reason, the study launches some initial recommendations and ideas that are expected to be a starting point for reflection and improvement, and to enable the renewal of the footwear sector in Aragon in the near future.
Thus, it is considered essential to promote digitalization in the footwear manufacturing sector. However, it should not only focus on the relationship with the customer, but also be applied to the optimization of processes and systems in the whole organization (logistics management, 3D printing, CRM -Customer Relationship Management-, ecommerce, B2B, B2C, etc).
Although AFCYA (Asociación de Fabricantes de Calzado y Afines de Zaragoza y Provincia) offers a portal to its associates (https://zapatosdearagon.com/), it could be boosted and its quality could be improved. It is important to consolidate a collaborative network of Aragonese footwear manufacturers, through the improvement of a joint online sales platform (web or App) that may be attractive and easy to use, allowing them to overcome the limitations derived from their small size and to gain positioning. Manufacturers should take advantage of these new distribution channels and be present in the most important social networks of the moment.
Other aspects that could support and boost Aragonese footwear manufacturers would be the recovery of the activity of the footwear cluster in Aragon and the promotion of a greater recognition of Aragonese footwear based on its tradition and quality.
Likewise, the importance of diversifying products and markets should not be forgotten, as it could be a solution to one of the threats of the sector, such as the seasonality of production. It would be interesting to offer new products that are increasingly in demand, for example, along the lines of sustainability, or to look for market niches in which to become strong.
These proposals are intended to lead Aragonese companies towards a more competitive position in the current digital landscape in order to offer them a future vision; although a case-by-case analysis would be necessary. It is undeniable that these changes require significant economic investments, but also in terms of effort and transformation of business cultures through information and training, so they must be driven by the private sector as well as by public bodies and entities. In short, the footprint of Aragonese footwear must be oriented towards a common and successful direction because together we can make great strides.
Authors: Paula Mateo-Chueca and Marisa Ramírez-Alesón
[This article is based on the information gathered in the Final Degree Project of the University of Zaragoza "Study on the digitalization of Aragonese footwear", carried out by Paula Mateo-Chueca and directed by Marisa Ramírez-Alesón during the 2019/2020 academic year].
(The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the authors)
