Shoe duties will force job cuts, warns Clarks
Clarks, the country's biggest shoe retailer, has warned that it will be forced to cut jobs following the introduction this weekend of European Union anti-dumping duties on imports from China and Vietnam.
Martin Salisbury, finance manager of Clarks, which employs 10,500 in the UK, hit out at the "illogical and ill-founded" duties on shoes from China and Vietnam of 16.5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
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"Over the last six months we've probably reduced labour hours by about 8 per cent," said Mr Salisbury. "Now we are going to have to cut back further on costs - including employment."
The duties, championed by Peter Mandelson, EU trade commissioner, are expected to benefit Italian, Spanish and Portuguese footwear manufacturers. Most British footwear businesses are either opposed to them or neutral.
Very little remains of what had been a thriving boot and shoe manufacturing industry that was based in Northampton, where 50,000 people were employed a few decades ago.
Ironically, low-cost imports coming at first from Mediterranean countries triggered the decline. Far Eastern competition has kept up the pressure more recently.
UK footwear production was worth ￡1bn in 1999 but by 2005 had fallen to ￡150m, according to the British Footwear Association, the industry grouping. Employment fell from 14,800 to 3,000 over the same period.
The irritation felt by Clarks, a family-owned business based in Street, Somerset, reflects the fact that it is primarily a retailer, importing its shoes from factories in the Far East.
"It is going to cause a lot of pain," the company said, adding: "The main effect on us is that we have to cope with significantly increased costs."
The British Retail Consortium argues that anti-dumping restrictions put too much pressure on retailers, already struggling with huge rises in shipping costs from China on the back of fuel price increases.
The measures agreed by the EU will affect about ￡500m of the ￡2.5bn of annual imports from China and Vietnam, according to the BFA.
A small number of British companies will benefit from the new duties. They include Hotters of Lancashire, manufacturers of the ultimate "sensible" shoe and creator of a brand to which bunion-averse female customers are strongly loyal.
Stewart Houlgrave, managing director of Hotters, said: "We are delighted with any legislation to protect what has become a very fragile industry.
"There has been a huge decline in our industry, thanks to the import of cut-price footwear from overseas."
Hotters, established in 1959, invested ￡6m in a factory three years ago - the largest shoemaking plant opened in the UK since the 1970s. Employment has increased from 50 to 300 since 1997 and the company makes 21,000 pairs of shoes a week.
"We intend to remain a British brand. What is more, we actively promote our British heritage, as it is seen as a huge benefit to our target audience of customers who are aged 45 and over," said Mr Houlgrave.
The anti-dumping levy would inevitably push up some footwear prices, he said. "I am sure this will result in a favourable response for the small band of British shoemakers who remain."
However, several of these specialise in upmarket men's shoes and suffered little competition from Far Eastern manufacturers in the first place. An example is Church's, the maker of the quintessential shoe for the City gent and the quintessential brogue for the country squire.
Jonathan Church, finance director, said: "It makes very little difference to us." The company employs 550 shoemakers in Northampton, creating premium welted shoes, which means that uppers and lowers are united by being sewn on to a leather strip.
The company is unusual in cutting out components in the UK - some rivals stitch together parts made in Asia instead. Demand for shoes costing upwards of ￡265 a pair is "strong, though you still have to work hard at it", according to Mr Church, who said sales of 250,000 pairs a year were supported by newly wealthy Russians and Chinese.
Church's now belongs to Prada, the Italian fashion brand. However, the presence of Mr Church suggests the transition from family ownership has been relatively smooth.
The fourth-generation manager jokes that more usually in family businesses: "the first generation starts it, the second generation builds it up and the third generation drinks or gambles away the proceeds."
欧盟“限鞋令”让英国鞋商跳脚
英
国最大的鞋类零售商其乐(Clarks)警告称，由于上周末欧盟(EU)决定对进口自中国和越南的鞋类征收反倾销税，该公司将被迫裁员。
欧盟将对中越两国的鞋类产品分别征收16.5％和10％反倾销关税，其乐财务经理马丁?索尔兹伯里(Martin Salisbury)猛烈抨击了这一决定，认为这是“不合逻辑和没有正当理由的”。其乐在英国的雇员人数为1.05万人。
“过去6个月来，我们的工时可能减少了大约8%，”索尔兹伯里表示，“现在我们将不得不进一步削减成本――包括裁员。”
征收反倾销税的做法得到了欧盟贸易专员彼得?曼德尔森(Peter Mandelson)的支持，预计意大利、西班牙和葡萄牙制鞋商将从中受益。大多数英国制鞋企业要么反对加征关税，要么持中立态度。
英国北安普敦郡曾经欣欣向荣的鞋靴制造业如今已所剩无几；数十年前，当地制鞋业曾雇佣了5万名员工。
具有讽刺意味的是，来自于地中海国家的低成本进口最先引发了这种衰落。来自远东的竞争在最近才延续了这种压力。
英国鞋类公会(British Footwear Association)表示，1999年英国鞋类生产总值达10亿英镑，但到2005年降至1.5亿英镑。同期内就业人数从1.48万跌至3千。
其乐是一家总部位于英国斯特瑞特(Street)的家族企业，该公司所感到的愤怒，反映了这一事实：它主要是一家零售商，从远东工厂进口鞋类产品。
