Never Stop Running: Revitalizing Taiwan's Footwear Industry

In the 1980s, Taiwan was world-renowned for its contract manufacturing of shoes, producing over 100 million pairs of them every year. However, since the 1990s, issues like rising wages and the labor-intensive nature of shoemaking forced factories to relocate to places like China, India and Southeast Asia. Making matters worse for Taiwan are the lack of independent research and development, the unwillingness of young workers to enter the industry, and a widening skill gap between shoemakers. Due to these factors, Taiwan earned an export value of less than US$3 billion in 2015 from the shoemaking industry. Compare this figure to China, which achieved an export value of more than US$50 billion, and it's clear that Taiwan has relinquished its reputation as a world leader.

As Taiwan's shoemaking industry has lost its edge in contract manufacturing, shifting into the realm of original design has become its priority. If original brand manufacturers want to produce shoes that are functional and fashionable, they must strive for innovative R&D and simultaneously consider their consumers' needs. Taiwan's shoemaking industry must deliver competitive products, introduce new technologies, form strategic alliances and successfully utilize marketing and promotional tools to cultivate original brands in order to once again thrive on an international stage.

台灣鞋奏曲──製鞋產業升級再進化

1980 年代的台灣曾以鞋業代工享譽國際，年產量超過一億雙鞋。然而，1990 年代後，工資上漲與製鞋勞力密集的特質等問題，迫使工廠遷移至中國、印度及東南亞等地區。缺乏自主研發、年輕勞動力不願投入，以及日益擴大的製鞋人才斷層等因素，讓台灣的製鞋產業雪上加霜。有鑑於這些因素，台灣製鞋產業在 2015 年的出口額不到三十億美元。相較之下，中國製鞋業交出五百多億美元出口額的成績，顯而易見的是台灣已讓出世界龍頭的美名。
當台灣的製鞋產業失去代工的優勢後，轉換到原始設計的領域就成為首要考量。如果自有品牌製造商想打造功能和時尚兼具的鞋子，就必須力求創新研發，同時考量消費者的需求。台灣的製鞋產業必須交出具競爭力的產品、引進新技術、布局策略聯盟以及成功利用行銷與推銷工具來建立自有品牌，這樣才能再度活躍在國際舞台上。