Footwear industry trends to be discussed in Nicaragua forum

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun. 11, 2012 - Nicaragua’s first footwear investment forum titled “Nicaragua, The Right Step!”, to take place on June 13th and 14th in the prestigious Barceló Hotel in Managua, will be featuring a Footwear Industry Trends panel which will offer perspectives of experts on world footwear trends, the current business situation in Asia, the future of the western hemisphere as a footwear manufacturing platform and the experience of multinational companies sourcing in Nicaragua.
   
Matt Priest, President of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), which is co-organizing the event, will be moderating the panel, which will include Clayton Jenkings, Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing, Compliance & New Business Development of Brown Shoe Company; Scott Thomas, Vice President of Global Sourcing of Wolverine Worldwide; and Humberto Lima, Exports Director of FranExport (Brazil).

Brown Shoe Company is a billion global leader in the footwear industry that operates more than 1,300 Famous Footwear and Naturalizer retail stores and designs, sources and markets wholesale shoe brands such as Dr. Scholl’s, Via Spiga, Vera Wang Lavender, Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, Avia, rykä and LifeStride. Wolverine Worldwide Footwear is a global marketer of branded footwear dedicated to advancing brands such as Hush Puppies®, Wolverine®, and Wolverine® Leathers; Licensed – Cat® Footwear, and Harley-Davidson® Footwear. Wolverine Worldwide and the private equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital acquired Collective Brands, which includes Payless ShoeSource.

Additionally, the footwear forum’s program will include other panels on commercial rules and market access for footwear in the U.S., Mexico and Europe and on doing business in Nicaragua, where panelists will highlight the country’s success stories in the footwear industry.

The forum is being organized by the Government of Nicaragua, through PRONicaragua, the country’s official investment promotion agency, as part of its strategy to promote quality investments in the country in order to further develop and diversify the country’s economy. The event is also being led with the imperative support of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA).

FDRA, in its recently published 2012 Annual Footwear Sourcing Forecast, showcased Nicaragua as a country with strong potential to increase market share in the U.S., stating to “keep an eye on Cambodia, Bangladesh and Nicaragua”, all rising stars. FDRA is a non-profit organization promoting the free flow of footwear into the U.S. and throughout the world. FDRA represents footwear retailers, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers and international trade associations.

For more information on how to participate in this event, contact us at info@pronicaragua.org.