School shoes ready for delivery
29/01/2009
The Argentinian government's plan to use up stocks of finished leather and preserve jobs in the industry is complete.
The sceme, announced in November, has involved tanners, footwear manufacturers and retail groups across the country. The government has worked to encourage businesses in each area to work together to develop a new range of leather shoes for children for the start of the new academic year in February.
The president of the Argentinian Footwear Association, Alberto Sellaro, said the shoes woulb be in retail outlets, including C&A, Johnson's, Falabella, Wrangler and Tropea, for February 1, to coincide with a government sponsored advertising campaign to encourage parents to buy their children proper leather shoes, made in Argentina, for the return to school. The government is also reported to have told retailers to "forget about footwear imports" during 2009.
"The basic objective here was to use up leather that tanneries had in stock," Mr Sellaro explained, "but which they could not export or sell because of the downturn in the global economy. This programme will save jobs and give a boost to the leather and footwear sectors to stop them from slowing down at this time of international financial crisis."
Around 150,000 pairs of the new shoes will be available immediately, with a target for the whole year of 3-4 million. For sizes between 27 and 33, the price will be just over $14, while sizes 34-40 will cost around a dollar more.
Share this story:
