the footwear market | Portugal

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The primary function of the shoe is to provide protection for the foot. Nevertheless, the shoe is also a fashion accessory, responding to a logic of renewal other than the simple functional use until the wear and tear of the shoe. The footwear market concerns all types of shoes, those worn on a daily basis and those used for a specific activity

A distinction is made between several categories of shoes:

• City and leisure shoes
• Sports shoes
• Indoor shoes
• Work and safety shoes

However, the borders are narrowing, especially between sports shoes and street shoes due to the advent of sneakers and sneakers as everyday shoes.

Competition is very strong in this sector with major brands that benefit from a brand image with the public but also exclusive distributors of foreign brands and pure internet players with a very large online stock.

In 2018, the sector continues to be strongly influenced by the growth of fully digital societies such as Spartoo, which have significantly changed consumer expectations of services

The sector must adapt to the digitalization of the market This has prompted major players to invest massively in online tools. Currently, the historical players have to face pure-players in order to gain recurrence in this growing segment. However, the major challenge for the footwear industry in Portugal does not lie within the country's borders. In fact, according to the APICCAPS 95% of Portuguese production is exported