NEWS
The Cherry Blossom Great British shoe care survey unearths some startling statistics on the gender gap
The once firmly held view that men care far less about
their appearance than women will need to be further revised after the results of The Cherry Blossom Great British Shoe Care Survey carried out independently by top pollsters One Poll.
There has never been any research done on the shoe care market for well
over a decade and this is the first independent one of its kind. Conducted in January, it confirms the perceived and accepted knowledge that women own far more pairs of shoes than their male counterparts but it is men who devote more time to the appropriate care to those pairs they own! The poll revealed that when it comes to number of pairs of shoes owned
72% of the men owned 8 pairs or less, whilst 70% of women owned between 9 and 21 pairs or more. On the subject of regular cleaning and polishing footwear, although the
awareness levels of the benefits were roughly the same for both genders, it was the men who put the theory into practice more often. Whereas 37% of men polled answered that they cleaned their shoes at
least once a week, only 24% of the ladies did so. Staggeringly, 31% of the ladies polled admitted that they had not cleaned or polished any of their shoes for the last six months! Men are also more loyal to shoe care brands than women, although they
both put convenience as the major factor in purchasing ( combined 30% ). Again, their first introduction to any of the brands of shoe care products
was very similar: 44% had grown up with it in the house. When it came to brand awareness and recall the poll revealed that there
were only two brands of any note at all. The brand leader in sales volume and Cherry blossom were only separated by 10 percentage points. No other brand registered any other significant level of recall. There was very little between the sexes when it came to ownership of
trainers – both at 80%. When it came to the preferred way of cleaning trainers 36% of men and 46% of women said that they used the washing machine! That’s a sure way to undermine the technical qualities of this type of footwear!
Update from the BFA CEC obtained guarantees that fair trade & competition will be respected
and will therefore abstain from pursuing the expiry review in Footwear AD against China and Vietnam. CEC, the Confédération Européenne de l’industrie de la Chaussure (the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry), has decided, after meetings with the European Commission not to pursue the expiry review with regard to the anti dumping duties applicable to certain imports of China and Vietnam expiring on the 31 March 2011. During last month’s meeting with the Commission CEC received
the guarantee from the Commissioner that all imports will be carefully monitored on a day-to-day basis to see whether no new dumping and/or other unfair trading practices re emerge causing again damage to the European industry. In that case CEC will immediately initiate new actions. CEC is looking for a 360° strategy embodying all trade related aspects
8 • FOOTWEAR TODAY •MARCH 2011
On the subject of getting shoes repaired when they were showing signs of
wear, 47% of men said that they never sought to get them repaired and 32% of women said likewise. David Watkins, Sales Director of Cherry Blossom, says: “Standing back from all these statistics and the current views expressed
by those polled – the way in which footwear is deemed as a fashion item that has a limited life before disposal – it might be interesting to see how they cope with, what is sure to be for most, a period of austerity.
influence a change of approach. “In affluent times footwear, especially ladies footwear imported from
China, was easily affordable and was changed and disposed of at an alarming rate. These items won’t continue to be as cheap to purchase and neither will
there be as much disposable income about to buy them. Making sure you make the best of the footwear selection you have is going to be increasingly important in the near future – for both men and women. “With fewer jobs available, it will be vital for those seeking employment to
be well turned out. Hopefully, you would not dream of presenting yourself at an interview ( or a first date! ) wearing a stained shirt or blouse or in a crumpled suit – and expect to get the job! However, employers invariably examine candidates from head to toe, drawing conclusions from the state of their footwear as well as the condition of their clothes, as it is likely to reflect aspects of character and will be a factor in any personal assessment”.
including dumping and other unfair trade practices as well as market access and respect of IPR. CEC is satisfied that the EU Commission will take up all these issues at the highest level in its quarterly bilateral meetings with both the Chinese and Vietnamese authorities. According to CEC, the Chinese and Vietnamese producers and exporters must now act in accordance with international rules and the Chinese and Vietnamese authorities must guarantee fair trade and competition as well as unrestricted access to their respective markets for European shoes. The members of CEC are committed to trade in accordance with international standards and regulations. While the EU industry has not yet completely recovered, CEC is prepared to accept unrestricted trade and fair competition and give third countries importing into the EU a fair chance, but will remain vigilant. CEC believes that the dumping duties imposed upon Chinese and Vietnamese imports ending in March 2011 were fair, legal and strictly necessary to restore trade in accordance with these standards.
Richard Kottler – CEO BFA.
www.footweartoday.co.uk It might
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