Text: Steamed buns
Editor|Jiang Yuchi
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preface
I don't know if you have worn leather shoes, leather shoes, suits, and ties can be said to be business three-piece suits, many years ago, even if there were no suits and ties in many families, there would definitely be shiny leather shoes.
In which period, the rise of leather shoes has created China's "generation of shoe king" Wang Zhentao, who single-handedly created Aokang International Listing ushered in its peak, reaching a market value of 20 billion in a few years.
But the times have changed, leather shoes don't seem to be very popular now, the middle class doesn't like it, the bottom can't afford it, the leather shoes market has shrunk greatly, the market value of Aokang has plummeted tenfold in just a few years, and the "shoe king" has also fallen off the altar, what is the reason for this? Why are leather shoes unpopular?
Abandoned by young people
Leather shoes were born in Western countries, and there have never been shoes made of leather on the mainland, and during the Industrial Revolution, Western capitalists liked this kind of shoes very much and began to promote them around the world.
In the 19th century, leather shoes entered the mainland and became the standard for many businessmen, and you can also see in film and television dramas that top hats, coats, and leather shoes were the standard images of most Chinese businessmen at that time.
China's leather shoes market is also expanding in decades of development, the rise of various high-end brands in China, and gradually leather shoes and suits, ties have become the "secret weapon" of business personnel, almost all office workers have leather shoes, to improve their image and "professional".
But with the change of times, today's young people gradually dislike leather shoes, thinking that this is the choice of the previous generation, and today's young people like sneakers or slippers that are very relaxed.
Nowadays, most of the shoe cabinets of young people are sneakers, and it is rare to see leather shoes.
And now the proportion of leather shoes in the market is also decreasing sharply, many shopping malls will change the counters of leather shoes into sneakers, in order to cater to more young people in the market, to attract more customers.
But when asked about the reason why young people abandon leather shoes, many people say that the style of leather shoes is single, and the appearance is not very attractive, and the biggest difference between different brands of leather shoes is the height of the heel, which is difficult to cater to the outfits of young people now.
Many young people are accustomed to wearing thick-soled and lightweight sneakers, and it is difficult to like leather shoes with thin soles and some weight.
Information source: 2024-08-26 Shanxi Evening News Why are leather shoes not "treated" by young people?
These ideas are common among young people, which makes the market for leather shoes shrink, and the most serious realization is Aokang International under the hands of Wang Zhentao, a generation of "shoe king".
The fall of a generation of "shoe kings".
The name Wang Zhentao should rarely be heard of by everyone, but the Aokang brand he created single-handedly is the existence of the "leading big brother" in the entire leather shoe field.
As a typical Wenzhou businessman, the advantages of smart, decisive, and business-minded are vividly reflected in Wang Zhentao, and it can even be said that he was born a businessman.
But as a big man in the leather shoe industry, Wang Zhentao's family was not rich when he was young, he was self-made, worked hard in the society for many years, and found that leather shoes and clothing were very profitable, so he decided to do leather shoes business.
In 1988, the predecessor of Aokang, Yongjia Olin Shoe Factory, was formally established, Wang Zhentao took integrity and quality as the foundation of his survival, and with his superb business talent, he soon laid a world and won the title of "King of Chinese Leather Shoes".
After 24 years of entrepreneurship, Aokang International was successfully listed, making Wang Zhentao a veritable leather shoe tycoon, but he never expected that the listing was the pinnacle of Aokang, and then the leather shoe market continued to shrink, and Aokang was deeply hit.
Since 2016, Aokang International's sales have been declining, and its market value has been decreasing, and in just a few years, Aokang's leather shoes market share has fallen to 1.3 percent, and the annual sales volume has decreased by about 100 million pairs.
On March 15 this year, 60-year-old Wang Zhentao was investigated for violating laws and regulations, which directly pulled the "shoe king" off the altar.
Now, although the market value of Aokang has begun to rise, the market value is only 2 billion, which is more than ten times worse than the more than 20 billion at the peak, which shows that the future of the leather shoes market is becoming more and more sluggish in China.
Information source: 2024-03-18 Hubei Yangtze River Business Daily A generation of "shoe king" Wang Zhentao was filed at the end of the curtain Aokang International's market value is only 2 billion, and Kanghua Biotech's performance has declined
Whether there is a future for leather shoes
As early as many years ago, Wang Zhentao was aware of the crisis in the leather shoe industry, but he could not do anything but watch the performance of his business decline.
But it is not only Aokang that has been impacted, but also the store of the famous brand Red Dragonfly is also facing a shrinkage year after year.
In 2019, there were still 3,849 franchised stores of Red Dragonfly, which were relatively well-known and marketed in China, but this year, there were only 2,513 franchised stores.
But the red dragonfly is at least still struggling, Belle, Fuguiniao, and Daphne have long been abandoned by the market, and the former scenery has long been history.
The main reason why leather shoes are abandoned by the times is their own material problems, compared with the current sports shoes mesh textile and other materials, the plasticity of leather has great limitations.
A hundred years ago, leather shoes are almost exactly the same as today's leather shoes, it is difficult to cater to the diversified outfits of young people today, and it is difficult for leather to have room for innovation, which has led many manufacturers to give up leather shoes and transform into sports shoes.
Just like AuCon, last year set the strategy of "more comfortable men's leather shoes", to combine traditional leather shoes and sneakers to create a comfortable, relaxed and casual new product.
This sneaker is a major innovation in leather shoes, and it can also be seen that Aokang wants to transform, but unfortunately, this nondescript shoe is not popular with everyone, but further damages Aokang's image.
Other companies are also hitting a wall on the road to transformation, but transformation is a necessary measure for the industry now, although the road ahead is full of challenges, but also to do their best to fight for a glimmer of life.
Source:2024-05-08 Wall Street Leather shoes, abandoned by the times
Conclusion
Young people will choose sneakers is to see its casual and comfortable characteristics, many shortcomings of leather shoes have been ruthlessly abandoned by young people, the times are progressing, the demand will change, only continue to meet the needs of enterprises can survive more healthily.
Some leather shoe brands such as Aokang have seen the crisis of the leather shoe industry, but they do not have enough power to stop it, and the only way to survive is to transform, hoping that these companies can seize the opportunity and innovate more excellent products.
An era has a generation, the market will continue to change with the development of the times, if there is no change suitable for the times, the trend of the development of the times will be broken, only to come up with their own innovative spirit, in order to have the possibility of survival.
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