Brazilian brand owners aim to boost sales in France

The report highlighted that designs may need to be altered to meet the specific tastes of French consumers.

Shoemakers in Brazil recently learned more about plans by national footwear association Abicalçados to develop the country’s share of the footwear sector in France. An investigative trip to France took place at the end of 2017, after which Abicalçados worked with a market research company to prepare a formal report. Findings were presented at a series of meetings in Brazil’s main footwear production centres at the end of March.

Those present heard that the French market is described as ‘busy’, and that Brazilian brands will need to differentiate themselves from the competition. One suggestion raised was to focus on smaller cities in France, where consumers may be more open to new offerings, compared to what the report calls ‘more classic and conservative’ Parisian shoppers.

The study was based on a survey of more than 300 French consumers and ‘opinion formers’. One of its main conclusions was that design is the principal factor in the buying decision for French consumers. This is followed by comfort, quality and price, with 70 per cent of respondents saying that they prefer leather shoes, even though this may incur a higher cost. Interestingly, French respondents seemed to have little knowledge of Brazilian footwear, and they generally associated Brazil with beach shoes.

According to the report, Brazilian shoe producers may be able to successfully sell footwear in France because they have experience of making leather shoes at relatively low cost. However, design input will need to be altered to meet the specific tastes of French consumers. Other possible problems are high transportation costs, issues with currency exchange and a lack of communication with the footwear sector in France.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 3 of the May 2018 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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