The premium footwear industry selling designer, luxury labels and high-end sports shoes is in turmoil as manufacturers say consumers may not be able to buy the new spring-summer season launches. The footwear could go off retail shelves in the next few months as the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has not certified their factories in China and Vietnam, a requirement for allowing imports from them.
Footwear as a category has come under BIS Quality Control Orders (QCO) for leather shoes since July, while for sports shoes, sandals and slippers it’s with effect from January 2024. As per QCO norms, all factories manufacturing these and some specified key components, such as rubber, PVC or polyurethane soles and heels, need to be certified by BIS to be able to import and sell such products.
BIS has not yet certified sourcing factories in China and Vietnam from where the bulk of imported shoes are sourced for India, according to the chief executives of five leading brands who didn’t want to be named. They said BIS officials have told them they are not keen on certifying the factories in these markets and will be selective about manufacturing units in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia also, fearing some of those might be owned by the Chinese like in Vietnam.
“Government officials have said to import from Europe, which will involve higher manufacturing cost and freight, impacting the pricing strategy in India or to manufacture in the country where the expertise for high-end, designer and sports footwear is still limited,” said the chief of a leading shoe maker.
A senior government official said the idea is to promote domestic manufacturing, considering that a large amount of low-quality footwear was being imported from China. He said the QCO for 24 footwear and related products were notified in October 2020 and the industry, especially the large and medium-scale players, had already sought multiple extensions.
ET reported last month that Nike had written to the government, asking it to certify supplier factories in Indonesia and Vietnam so that it can continue to import from them. An executive of a leading sports brand said they have already imported the stock for spring, but beyond that there will be an impact.
Some of the premium and luxury brands import almost their entire footwear line-up, whereas others like Woodland, Puma and Adidas get their high-end and technical shoes from overseas. Vietnam, China and a few Southeast Asian nations are the main sources for such imports.
