Traditional shoe companies need to tell consumers why their product is better
14/03/2013
Speaking exclusively to leatherbiz during the March 2013 edition of GDS and Global Shoes, Ms Deutelmoser said traditional companies are often completely focused on making high-quality shoes and, in her opinion, spend too little time and effort on communicating to retailers and consumers about their products.
“There are people in Europe who could afford to spend more on shoes and to buy high-quality footwear from these traditional manufacturers,” she said, “but do not do so because they cannot see the difference between these shoes and cheaper ones imported from lower-cost countries.”
She argued that for too long, higher-end manufacturers and their suppliers, including tanners, have assumed that the quality of their products would speak for itself and that there was no need for them to explain why a shoe made in Italy, Spain or Portugal from high-quality materials offers better value for money.
“I love the shoes these companies make,” Ms Deutelmoser said, “and I don’t like the term ‘brand-building’, but you do need to do that. So we are working hard to help these companies build up their public relations, improve their communications efforts so that more consumers will understand why higher-quality shoes cost more.”
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