Industrial review and competitiveness analysis of footwear market

The purpose of this study is to analyze the present condition of the Korean footwear industry, and its competitiveness through related precedent research. Research was done by analyzing data from the Korean Statistical Information Service, the Korea International Trade Association and advanced research about the footwear industry. Footwear markets all over the world are growing continuously. The main consumers are China, America and India. World footwear trade is showing a growth trend on the basis of cost and amount. The main exporting countries are China, Vietnam and Italy, while main importing countries are America, Germany and France. The domestic market and the export market of footwear in Korea are decreasing. The scale of exporting footwear is gradually decreasing, however the scale of importing footwear is increasing. Korea exports footwear to China, Vietnam and Japan and imports them from China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Studies concening the footwear industry implied that the competitiveness of Korea has been weakened both in the domestic and the export markets. To enhance the competitiveness of Korean footwear corporations, long-term support at the national level is needed. Especially, cultivating competitive experts is crucial to improve the competitiveness of designs and the quality of products. Furthermore, branding strategies using the Korean wave, Korean culture and the national image of Korea, as well as platform strategies to communicate with consumers globally and selling high-quality products are significant