Stella International are running away from China. The Chinese footwear giant, which currently manufactures for Clarks, Ecco and Timberland, among others, augmented its revenues, in 2019 first quarter, by 6.1%, therefore reaching 312.6 million dollars. From January till March they exported 12.7 million pairs of shoes (that is, +2.4%), whose average selling price was 24.20 dollars (+4.3%). As emphasized in a press release, the group has been steadily increasing its volumes of fashion training shoes; likewise, demand for casual and fashion footwear keeps going up as well. The gist is that sneakers keep driving the business growth. Consequently, such trend requires new strategies to safeguard marginality. It is no coincidence, then, that in the next few months Stella will further boost their manufacturing relocation, from China towards other markets in the Southeast of Asia. For example, in Vietnam, where they are going to enhance the productive capacity of one of their plants, recently built near Hanoi. Furthermore, they will start up some new manufacturing sites out of China. “Although global sales may look solid, our business development might come across several risks”, pointed out Chen Li-Ming, president of Stella. “First of all, the commercial dispute between China and the United States; not to mention Brexit. That is why it is very important to us to consistently provide our customers with quality products and keep steady, at the same time, our footwear standards”.
More sales, more exports (nearly 13 million pairs), less manufacturing in China: Chinese Stella know what they want
