ABG Review

To better understand how you can get the tools and resources you need, please take a look at 5 ways we can help you. If you want to get deeper insights and recent examples of products and services by department, keep scrolling.

1. Business Information and Intelligence

Weekly updates, quick-to-read newsletters with deeper dive options, our podcast, and working groups give you important data, analysis, and insights on issues and trends. Newsletters include:

Footwear Week-in-Review — weekly industry news
FDRA Customs Report — new footwear customs rulings and updates
Sourcing and Compliance Bulletin — import data by segment, footwear material prices, sourcing trends
IP Digest — new footwear designs and patents each month
Footwear Retail Recap — shoe store sales data & total US sales data, Canadian shoe sales, footwear retail prices, employment updates

FDRA hosts the footwear industry’s popular podcast Shoe-In Show, a free radio program with guest interviews covering important topics, insights, best practices, and trends — join 1,000 industry executives and professionals listening in each week from your phone or desktop.

FDRA’s working groups provide key updates and allow professionals to discuss challenges and hear solutions from their peers. These groups focus on Customs & Trade, Sourcing and Compliance, Innovation, Product Safety, and Government Relations. At least once a quarter, our membership is invited to join a one hour call or a special meeting to get critical updates impacting their business. FDRA learns from the challenges discussed and works to develop solutions to help companies.

2. Solution-Focused Products

FDRA develops platforms and products that help members address their biggest daily challenges by providing key resources, reports, and tools that clarify regulations and laws. These products help members cut costs, improve productivity, and boost decision making.

FootwearCustoms.com — customs definitions, rulings, a digital IFI, free sample reviews
The Material Exchange — digital material platform cutting design and development costs while increasing speed-to-market
FootwearInnovation.com — news hub for all things footwear innovation: design, development, materials, production, retail
Shoeconomy — U.S. footwear industry map showing key data on sales and employment
Digital Product Safety Website — search footwear chemical and physical testing requirements by country
The Footwear Sourcing and Compliance Center — footwear sourcing data, material costs, compliance training, trends
Domestic Footwear Manufacturing Center — domestic manufacturing stats, reports, domestic producers’ stories

3. Consultations and Support Services

Think of us as specialized footwear consultants, free as part of your membership. Consider FDRA part of your team.

Our members call or email us for help with questions from customs classifications to product safety to factory compliance to import or labeling questions to retail data and trends and everything in between — we are here for you. Our goal is to get you answers you need to make key business decisions within the same business day.

If you don’t know where to turn, call us at 202-737-5660 or email us at apolk@fdra.org or mpriest@fdra.org — we also make visits to members’ offices, if needed, to troubleshoot issues and challenges.

4. Networking and Training

FDRA holds over 30 events worldwide each year — webinars, workshops, summits, and seminars covering a range of footwear topics and issues. Our events feature industry leader and expert insight focusing on unpacking challenges and actionable takeaways, as well as networking time to connect with peers across the industry. Events include:

5. Cost Savings — Fighting to Eliminate Footwear Duties

FDRA is the footwear industry’s voice in Washington, DC. We work to educate US officials and Congress on how regulations and tax policy impact our industry and our consumers. Everyday we fight unfair burdens that hinder growth and innovation.

As the industry’s leading policy development and advocate for the full elimination of footwear tariffs and global barriers, we push a variety of different bills and initiatives to help our members lower their duty bills.

FDRA also provides key information and advice on adaptation regarding upcoming regulation changes impacting our members. For example: http://conta.cc/2iiWVNY.

Deep Dive—Recent Examples of Products, Monthly Reports and Events

Design, Product Development and IP:

Footwear Materials & Innovation Summit — over 100 designers, product development/materials professionals (from nearly 30 brands) attended our material summit last year, we expect an increase this year. Click here to see the type of speakers and topics we cover: http://conta.cc/2vIIvNv The 2019 Summit will be in Portland in August.
Footwear Design Summit: https://conta.cc/2LsdUHU
Monthly Design and IP digest: http://conta.cc/2ksP1Av
Monthly Material costs: http://fdra.org/footwear-materials-cost-report/
Smart Shoe Series — through 2018 we have held a number of seminars, webinars and some workshops on 3D design and development to a number of innovations impacting how we design, develop and produce shoes. An example: http://conta.cc/2GPOTUY
Material Exchange Project — we helped build a digital material database for brands… making it easier to select the right material and communicate with suppliers, cutting costs and man hours, while increasing certainty. See the Intro to ME video here

Customs:

Rulings Booklet 2017: http://conta.cc/2jbCCAL
Customs Report (monthly): http://conta.cc/2Et3OWR
FTDC — annual traffic and customs conference where 200 supply chain and customs professionals network and learn: http://fdra.org/ftdc/
Total footwear import and customs center — from classification of samples, to labeling requirements to trade agreement info, its all here, free for members: https://www.footwearcustoms.com/
Annual Customs Meeting: http://conta.cc/2ErBJ23

Product Safety:

Quarterly updates: http://conta.cc/2ksNYkb
FDRA’s Global Footwear Testing Guide (online tool): http://globalfootweartesting.com/
Risk Management (chemical fail rate) report: http://files.constantcontact.com/569ca1a9001/a69dd886-61ae-463b-b526-0e6bfc4e7eeb.pdf
Summit: http://conta.cc/2G9dHXB

Sourcing, Supply Chain and Social Compliance:

Monthly newsletter: http://conta.cc/2kiJXg0
Material costs: http://fdra.org/footwear-materials-cost-report/
Import data by category: http://fdra.org/footwear-imports/
Yearly Sourcing Report: http://fdra.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FDRA-Footwear-Sourcing-Report-2017.pdf
Factory Training online (FDRA provides members with a set of compliance courses for its compliance team and/or factories): https://store.elevateelearning.com/
RFP/Code of Conduct: http://fdra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Code-of-Conduct-Final-March-2015.pdf
Annual Summit: http://conta.cc/2ueMs7o
Quarterly update calls: http://conta.cc/2ksXynd
Trade and Politics Newsletter: http://conta.cc/2EqwfVw

Working Groups:

Retail:

National Shoe Sales Data (each month): http://fdra.org/fdras-footwear-sales-analysis/
National Shoe Store Employment Data (each month): http://fdra.org/u-s-shoe-store-employment/
National Shoe Prices At Retail (each month): http://fdra.org/footwear-retail-price-monitor/

Shoeconomy:

A visual look at our footwear industry: http://shoeconomy.us/

Shoe-in Show:

Continual learning and engagement — industry leaders talking to industry leaders: http://www.shoeinshow.com/