Four Must-Watch Sourcing Hot Spots

Four Must-Watch Sourcing Hot Spots

While China still dominates sourcing, the tide is slowly turning to alternative regions. It’s a well-documented trend that as Chinese labor costs grow and its labor market shrinks, brands are seeking
 options to support their production. In addition
 to those pressures, the West Coast ports slowdown at the start of 2015 pushed more companies to diversify where and how they make their products, with 2014 the fifth year in
a row that exports from 
China declined.

“The strategy of China
plus one, two or three
[locations] has been a big
one for footwear,” said
 Matt Priest, president of
the Footwear Retailers &
Distributors of America.
“Each of these other countries is interesting and has its own benefits and challenges, but none can equal Chinese capacity and output.”

While Vietnam and Indonesia remain top-tier secondary areas to source footwear…

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