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Western European Markets for Protective Footwear
Frost & Sullivan, Aug 2007, Pages: 85
Western European Markets for Protective Footwear Experience Changes in Competitive Environment
In recent times, there have been significant changes in the competitive environment of the European protective footwear market, despite its maturity. Apart from the emergence of a single pan-European group as the clear market leader, the rest of the market has been experiencing changes. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the former market leading brand exited the market before being resurrected under new ownership, while another key participant was recently acquired by the French personal protection equipment (PPE) company Delta Plus, signifying growth plans of the group.
'While the market now has a pan-European leader, other participants are looking to acquire and expand geographically in order to increase their presence in the market,' notes the analyst of this research service. 'With the dust having settled on the formation of the Jal Group as the market leader, companies should re-evaluate their position and look for growth opportunities of their own.'
Cheaper Asian Alternatives Pose Challenge to European Participants
One of the key markets for protective footwear is the manufacturing sector. However, with manufacturing industries moving overseas, the customer base in Europe is shrinking, forcing producers to look for alternative ways to propel growth in their business. 'With several types of personal protection equipment (PPE), there is always the threat from producers based in countries with lower manufacturing costs,' explains the analyst. 'However, in the protective footwear market, Europe continues to retain its technical edge.'
In the last decade, the imports of safety shoes into Europe have increased tremendously, which have had a profound effect on the market. Hence, the challenge for European companies is to convince new as well as existing customers to pay for their shoe brands, which are generally more expensive. One way to achieve this is to build a brand image, which allows end users to recognise the products and encourages them to display greater brand loyalty. However, this will require sustained investments and only producers of a certain scale might be able to achieve it.
Market Sectors
Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
By Geographical Region:
- Alpine
- Benelux
- France
- Germany
- Iberia
- Italy
- Scandinavia
- United Kingdom
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