How FDRA Drives Value to Your Bottom Line

Thank you for considering membership with FDRA, the footwear industry’s trade and business association — over 95% of the entire footwear industry are members, from fashion to athletic, flip flops to slippers, both small companies and global corporations, including the majority of domestic manufacturers, importers, brands, and retailers.

Why this should matter for you:

• We provide exclusive shoe data, analysis, and insights that help you better understand the footwear industry, helping you better support your clients needs.
• We bring the footwear industry together — from digital calls to in-person events to help you connect and grow your business.
• We support our members throughout their entire business, from making shoes (design, development, and production) to importing shoes (customs rulings, classifications, and lowering duty costs) to selling shoes (retail data and analysis, and consumer trends).

Our job is to make our members’ jobs easier. We do that by providing:

1. Business Intelligence

Weekly updates with deep dive options give you essential data, analysis, and insights on issues and trends:

• Footwear Week in Review — weekly industry news
• FDRA Customs Report — new footwear customs rulings and updates
• Sourcing & Supply Chain Update — segmented import data (sample), footwear material prices (sample), sourcing trends
• IP Digest — new footwear designs and patents each month
• Footwear Retail Sales Report — shoe store + total US & Canadian sales data, footwear retail prices, employment updates
• Member Weekly Check-in Call — critical weekly updates on supply chain issues, retail sales, factory compliance, etc.
• Shoe-In Show — FDRA’s podcast featuring industry leaders and experts sharing their unique insights and stories

2. Marketplace Insights

• Enhancing and enlarging the footwear marketplace by fostering connections between retailers and brands and providing critical retail data and support.
• FFANY Annual Networking Cocktail Party: Designed to fortify relationships between brands and retailers, this exclusive annual event is your chance to build essential connections within the industry.
• FFANY Brand Directory: As a member, you will be included in our prestigious FFANY brand directory, a trusted resource for retailers seeking collaboration with new partners and brands.
• Market Week Intel and Showroom Support: Our team provides invaluable market week intelligence, ensuring you have the insights needed to make informed decisions. Additionally, we offer showroom space during FFANY Market Weeks.
• Retail and Sales Data: Gain access to crucial retail and sales data that empowers you to refine your strategies and maximize profitability.
• Footwear Trade Show Council: FDRA operates this collaborative effort with trade show and retail association executives committed to strengthening B2B trade shows and events within the footwear industry. We maintain an up-to-date trade show calendar so you never miss an important industry event.

3. Solution Centers

FDRA encourages meaningful innovation to help members address their biggest challenges. Our platforms provide reporting and tools that clarify regulations and laws while helping you cut costs, improve productivity, and boost decision making. 

• FootwearCustoms.com — customs definitions, rulings, a digital IFI, free sample reviews
• FootwearInnovation.com — the footwear industry’s think tank for design, development, materials, production, and retail
• Footwear Product Safety Compliance Center — search footwear chemical and physical testing requirements by country
• Footwear Sourcing and Compliance Center — footwear sourcing data, material costs, compliance training, trends
• ShoeSustainability.com — educating, empowering, and activating the footwear industry on sustainability
• Domestic Footwear Manufacturing Center — domestic manufacturing stats, reports, domestic producers’ stories
• The Material Exchange — digital material platform cutting design and development costs while increasing speed-to-market

4. Networking, Training, Charitable Giving

FDRA holds 30+ events annually: webinars, summits, forums, and charitable and networking events which cover a range of footwear topics and issues across the industry. Our events feature leader and expert insight unpacking challenges and actionable takeaways, as well as networking time to connect with peers. Events include:

• Footwear Sustainability & Innovation Summit
• Global Shoe Sourcing Summit, Footwear Supply Chain, Logistics, and Trade Summit and Webinars
• Shoe Executive Strategy Summit
• Black Footwear Forum and Meetups
• Charity Events: Brews & Shoes,  Shoes for a Cure Charity Shoe Sale,  Shoes for the District

5. Consultations and Support Services

Our members call or email us for help with questions and challenges on a range of issues such as:

• Retail shifts and consumer spending patterns
• Supply chain costs and insights
• Sustainability and traceability strategy and execution
• Customs classifications
• RSL issues
• Sourcing shifts and factory compliance
• Labeling questions and quality control

We are uniquely situated to provide support and key insights into issues because we constantly talk to executives across the industry and have its pulse — see who we engage with constantly here. No one else has the data and understanding of the industry like FDRA. We also focus on excellence and our goal is to get you answers you need to make key business decisions within the same business day.

6. 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, view the Footwear & Politics Update.

If you have questions about FDRA membership benefits and annual dues, please contact us.