Manufacturers abandoned leather shoes and now produce sneakers

From 2019 to 2022 production leather shoes in Peru dropped by 50%. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the trigger, other factors also contributed to this decline.

According to the President of the Peruvian Leather Chamber, Ismael Zanabria Hestionu, the pandemic caused the imprisonment, and with it the shoe manufacturers stopped production, despite the decline in incidence, still can not recover from the economic crisis.

Although the economic crisis is not the only factor, the arrival of imported shoes has become an obstacle to its recovery, the spokesman warns.

“Import (from shoes) can even cover 80% of the national demand,” Zanabria pointed out, but what is the attraction of this type of footwear?

According to the spokesperson, customers have the option to pay when buying leather shoes, since the points of sale (retail stores and the brand itself) allow payment in installments.

They’re ramping up shoe production to help rebuild the economy.

Due to a small recovery in the economy, many stopped production leather shoes and they started with the development of slippers that are in demand in the market, especially during the Christmas and New Year period.

“Faced with a market that no longer needs leather because it is not for sale, manufacturers they have to adapt and offer the customer what they are willing to buy, in this case sports shoes,” he said of the new trend.

How much has production been reduced?

According to the Peruvian Leather Chamber, from 2019, before the start of the pandemic, until today, the production of leather shoes has halved; i.e. 15 million.

The representative said that many manufacturers went bankrupt, but they also stopped deliveries to shoe stores such as Platanitos, Bata or similar; For this reason, government support is essential.