The global footwear market is a multi-billion U.S. dollar industry. A part of the clothing and apparel industry, the footwear market is comprised of shoes, sneakers, luxury footwear, athletic footwear, and sporting shoes, as well as other related goods. Footwear products are commonly made of leather, textile, and a range of synthetic materials.
According to the World Footwear Yearbook 2021, Vietnam occupied over 10 percent of share in the world footwear market for the first time.
The data showed, over the recent decade, the market share of Vietnam rose from 2 percent to 10.2 percent. Vietnam exported about 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2020, becoming the second-largest footwear exporter in the world.
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A series of world-famous footwear brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Puma have all been outsourced and produced in Vietnam in large quantities. There are a number of large multi-national companies within this industry, one of the most well known being Nike, the American sportswear company.
The country has exported footwear products to more than 150 markets around the world with key markets in the U.S., the EU, China, Japan, the UK, and others.
The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO) announced that Vietnam earned $20.78 billion from exporting footwear products in 2021, up 4.6 percent against the previous year.
In 2022, the footwear exports are expected to grow from 10-15 percent, gaining $23-25 billion.