A.

Defining a Marketing Problems and Opportunities in Shoe and Leathercraft

Industry or Shoe Business
There are plenty of market problems we can identify in the shoe industry, such as
brands must give consumers the best value. Style, fit, and comfort are still important
factors in purchase decisions, but so are lifespan, functionality, and adaptability.
Customers demand properly sized footwear with exact proportions. Whereas, getting
a perfect fit is crucial. Buyers have realized, in addition to comfort, improperly suited
footwear can cause painful foot diseases and disorders. However, in the e-commerce
age, with a rising quantity of shoes being bought online, guaranteeing a decent fit has
become more challenging than ever. The footwear industry is complex. Almost all
footwear products are manufactured in Asia, and brands all over the world are bound
to face challenges when importing their products from overseas. Labor costs,
changes in consumer preferences, and supply chain shortages are just a few of the
biggest obstacles footwear brands are dealing with. Many quality issues have been
long problems, that footwear brands have to deal with can be attributed to defects in
the raw materials. Fabric holes also tears, color variations, dirt, stains, uneven
dyeing, abrasion marks, growth marks, scratches, looseness, and cheaper mat are
some common defects of the product. Those result of poor workmanship accounts for
a significant part of footwear defects. Human error is prevalent in the footwear
industry.
Some producers lack the skills required to make high-quality footwear for other
markets. Common faults are abrasion marks, weak cementing, shoe size difference,
sharp projecting objects, and excess adhesives additionally, due to the rise of eco-
conscious consumerism, the footwear industry has come under fire for its energy-
intensive operations. The multiple materials and production steps provide a
significant issue for shoemakers as they have great environmental impacts
throughout the product's life cycle. Plenty of oil or fuel is needed for machinery and
chemicals. Also, a variety of chemical adhesives and tanning chemicals are
employed in footwear production. These chemicals can seep into water sources and
pollute the environment. An environmental audit needs to develop a sustainable
procurement approach to your imported products by assessing the commitment of
vendors to environmentally responsible practices. Auditors visit the supplier’s
factory and examine issues such as resource consumption and pollution prevention.
Common checks performed will include environmental policy, waste disposal,
working environment, and resource consumption among others. In addition to
performing an environmental audit, they must provide the supplier with a corrective
action plan to help improve their management practices when moving forward.
B. Define atleast 1 major opportunity in the industry.

E-Commerce: E-commerce has emerged as a leading platform for shoe sales. Its
advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar is that it can provide variety,
convenience, and value. These three elements are crucial in the footwear industry.
Whereas physical store constraints limit the number of styles and sizes available at
any given time, e-commerce can virtually make any and every shoe available, often
at a lower price, without the hassle of in-person shopping. According to Daily Deal
Media, online shoe sales increased to more than $7.8 billion in 2012. As more
businesses adopt this technology, the potential for increased revenue grows. Omni-
Channel Fulfillment: As customers have more options for not only shoes but also
ordering and delivery preferences, omnichannel capabilities are becoming more
important. The ability to provide "ship-to-store" or fulfill product orders from store
inventory can meet new consumer demands while also providing a better overall
experience.

C. List at least 5 main issues that you've observed in the industry or business
that are impeding their growth.

1. Outdated Labor Practices – most brands big and micro still practice a piece rate
system. you will earn a lot if you are skilled and patient, in making shoe products, the
process is faster, and marikina is also proud of its products because of the beauty of
the shoes, and quality, but this is the very system that brought down the shoe industry
because during the pandemic the Chinese took advantage of the situation and entered
the country. Despite its local success, Marikina's shoe industry never took off
internationally, due to Chinese products, aided by low labor costs, resulting in slow
sales.
2. Limited Local Material – The main issue here is the availability of supply. Since
most available imported materials do not have a continuous supply,
samples/prototypes are difficult to develop because even if it gets many orders, there
is no guarantee that imported parts will be sufficient. Even if there is enough, once
the local supply is exhausted, it is hard to tell when the materials will come back into
supply, making the market difficult except for limited releases or special projects.
especially if a material is well made so sales increase. but if the products that are
made are easily damaged that has low sales. and sometimes when making shoes there
is a lack of material so it is not made immediately.
3. Lack of Professionalization -Lack of professionalization also creates continuity
problems and training issues for new shoemakers. Without proper basic foundations
in sizing and fitting, how can the industry create products that adhere to industry
standards to meet basic customer expectations, they also do not have a standard place
where they should build, and what are the terms and quality, and design of a product.
4. Lack of Public Awareness – Marikina, as the shoemaking capital of the
Philippines, prides itself on handcrafted shoes. Most of the shoes sold by local brands
are mostly made by hand. Lack of awareness from consumers further adds to the
inherent flaws of the industry by pushing industry towards a degenerative path.
Supporting businesses that lower quality and not paying shoemakers to meet price
demands weakens the industry instead of strengthening it. It also doesn't help that the
old shoemakers themselves may not be aware of the negative effects some of their
practices/traditions are having on the industry. … This lack of education and
awareness has led to the revival of old practices on all sides. From the producer's
side, shoemakers are paid by the piece with no job security. This piece-rate system
also prevents senior shoemakers from properly teaching the next generation to reduce
the opportunity to train their competitors. Brand owners/workshops still do not
properly educate themselves and instead, rely on what their suppliers tell them
resulting in misinformation and deceptive marketing that sometimes goes wrong
something happens because of the wrong opinion of others about the products you
made.
5. Professionalize the industry – The main requirement to improve and grow our
local heritage is to professionalize the shoemaking profession. This requires the
regularization of artisans; with this, you will get a proper seniority system where
your artisans can climb as in any corporate structure. due to the growth of a business
we sometimes had a problem with the design, with the lack of materials. so more
needs to be studied to organize or perform shoemaking because usually, the problem
is actually in the materials of shoemaking and how it will grow in the markets.

D. To give support to your observations, you may cite secondary data such as
published articles, researches, news or even actual statistics.

E. Also, include the history or background of Shoe and Leathercraft Industry

in the Philippines or in Marikina City.

History and Background Philippine footwear manufacturers are geographically

dispersed in the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Most of the industry
players are located in NCR, Central Luzon, and CALABARZON. They manufacture
leather and non-leather footwear products including sandals, slippers, and other
accessories. Most of the Philippine footwear manufacturers are considered micro and
small enterprises. A micro-enterprise employs about one (1) to nine (9) workers
while a small enterprise employs ten (10) to ninety-nine (99) persons. The
Philippines used to have a sizeable number of footwear manufacturers that are home-
operated enterprises. In 1887, Marikina's shoemaking industry began through the
pioneering efforts of Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevarra, assisted by Tiburcio
Eustaquio, and Ambrocio Sta. Ines, and Gervacio Carlos, because of its renowned
shoe manufacturing, Marikina is referred to as the "Shoe Capital of the Philippines."
It produces about 70% of all shoes made in the Philippines, making it the largest
shoemaker in the region.
 Reference
Blackwing shoes (2019, February 05). A Time to Hope – Fighting for the Marikina Shoe
Industry Heritage. https://blackwingshoes.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/a-time-to-hope
fighting- for-the-marikina-shoe-industry-heritage/?fbclid=IwAR25e7Nq
biReo91okUFYxP6T4CtgStm8fFfaEObN1B9CoSQp6tNVzREv1c#:~:text=Limited
%20Local%20Materials%20%E2%80%93%20there%20is,prebuilt%20outsoles
%20are%20imported%20already.&text=The%20main%20issue%20with%20this
%20is%20supply%20availability

Manila Bulletin (2022, August 17). Marikina shoe factory revs up production to meet back-
to-school demand. https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/17/marikina-shoe-factory-revs-up-
production-to-meet-back-to-school-demand/

Artes de las Filipinas (2022, November 25). The History of Marikina’s Shoe Industry:
Philippines Art, Culture, and Antiquities.
https://artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/160/the-history-of-marikina-s-shoe-industry?
fbclid=IwAR1mi2VplxGiCmC9RWEpYftCdxuoB7hGvCo2dMW9tMaC91mYB3vFq
Wa13Y#:~:text=The%20shoemaking%20industry%20began%20in,of%20his%20trips
%20to%20Manila

Barrett Distribution (2019, June 08). Opportunities and Challenges in Footwear Fulfillment.
https://www.barrettdistribution.com/blog/opportunities-and-challenges-in-footwear-
fulfillment

Wikipedia (2022, November 10). Marikina. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marikina?

fbclid=IwAR0lk0CX8prxakwc3hQ37cJAv2kh5FjdXjh96yADtjUTQLkYy-atL5LNWSs

GROUP MEMBERS:
Basalo, MaryJoy
De Alca, Daisyll
Descallar Kimberlie
Deleon, Julius
Espinoza, Jay-r
Jumagdao, June
Ninada Roniel