Footwear Insight

Shoe Executives Have Concerns, FDRA Survey Says THE ECONOMY THE FOOTWEAR EYE A c c o r d i n g t o t he latest Sho e Executive Business Outlook Survey, 87.1 percent of respondents see prospects as "turning weak" or "very weak" for shoe shopping over the next six months. e quarterly survey was released in early July by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association + FFANY. Overall, survey respondents t r i m me d t he i r s i x - mont h outlooks for the broader U.S. economy, t heir resp ec tive company's health and on shoe shopping as all three factors slipped to their weakest levels in the 18-month history of the quarterly questionnaire. ose expecting their company sales to rise from the prior six months declined by half from Q1 to 37.4 percent as the percentage of respondents forecasting a sales increase in H2 also declined by half to 31.0 percent. More than 33 percent cited inflation as their company's biggest concern over next six months. Among other findings: • Nearly two-thirds forecast "no change" in H2 hiring versus the 66 percent who expected to hire during the Q1 survey. • Some 43.3 percent said they expected to see "flat to lower" footwear prices over H2 against the 86 percent during the Q1 survey that forecast higher prices over the next six months. • 46.7 percent of respondents forecast flat to lower landed costs over the next six months and 48.3 percent said they expected their company's sales to exceed pre-Covid levels in H2. • A record 34.5 percent of re- spondents cited "new consumer behavior shis" as their compa- ny's biggest issue over the next six months. • 33 percent of respondents said they expected inventories to decline over the next six months, a record high. —Bob McGee footwearinsight.com July/August 2022 ~ Footwear Insight • 9 More than 33 percent cited inflation as their company's biggest concern over next six months.

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