2024-03-17 16:00:54
El Fashion Week 2024 It is one of the showcases with international projection, where Tungurahua artisans and businessmen will show their best creations and look for new markets. It will take place from March 18 to 22 in Ambato.
Tungurahua leads footwear production in Ecuador, says Lilian Villavicencio, former president of the National Footwear Chamber (Caltu). In this province in the center of the country, 75% of the footwear sold in the Ecuadorian provinces is made. They are followed by Pichincha, with 10%; Guayas, with 9%; and Azuay, 6%. According to a report from the Audit Faculty of the Technical University of Ambato, in 2019 sales were recorded in Tungurahua for USD 75,369,275; while in Pichincha it was USD 28,693,383; Guayas, with USD 12,992,383; and Azuay, with USD 14,962,147.
But these figures fell by up to 45% in the last four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, migration and the war against narcoterrorism, says Caltu. Entrepreneurs and artisans who have not gone bankrupt have achieved business opportunities in the midst of various crises, through fairs and their own strategies. José Luis Masabanda Suárez, owner of the Josmax brand, has had to dispose of several of his assets to maintain the company. He is an Ambateño manufacturer and has a warehouse in the Cevallos canton, which is the second largest producer of footwear, after Ambato in Tungurahua. 25 years ago he started making and selling his own brand, but since the 2016 earthquake, sales have slowly decreased.
With the 2019 strike, the problem worsened. With the pandemic they were in “intensive care” and when they wanted to breathe, insecurity bankrupted 60% of small producers in particular.
He regrets that many businessmen and artisans closed. Some decided to migrate and others dedicated themselves to other activities. Currently, the season is low. Of the 40 pairs of shoes he sold daily, they only buy six on a good day, Masabanda says.
Their clientele is distributed throughout the country and, although they assure that these are difficult times for this commercial sector, they have a respite through the different commerce alternatives. One of them is the fairs.
Support for the sector
Lilian Villavicencio, Production Director of the Provincial Government of Tungurahua, emphasizes that they work with emblematic projects, such as the Tungurahua Fashion Week fair, where large national and international chains are invited. The first edition was held in November 2023 and the second will be held between Monday, March 18 and Friday, March 22. A week in which small and large entrepreneurs will have a showcase for business on fair days.
“In crises it has been possible to find alternatives and trade opportunities. The different fairs and sales points have boosted sales thanks to the academy,” says Villavicencio.
In addition, to keep producers trained and updated, together with the Technical University of Ambato (UTA) and Caltu, they achieved the master’s project in footwear design and innovation, at the Faculty of Design and Architecture since 2020. It was the first in Ecuador and Latin America, according to Lilia Villavicencio. This master’s degree allows you to integrate knowledge into design.
Free trade agreement will not affect them
In Ecuador there are more than 3,000 companies dedicated to footwear, says Caltu. And according to the Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), 90% of establishments dedicated to the manufacture and sale of footwear are registered with the Internal Revenue Service (SRI) as microenterprises.
Ambato concentrates large companies, including Plasticaucho, which has been making leather shoes for a century, as well as Grupo Mil, with more than 30 years in the market. Martin Navas, who is part of the board, assures that they concentrate a lot of local artisan labor and the main competition is informality and foreign products.
Producers agree that free trade agreements represent opportunities, but also a latent risk when negotiating tariff liberalization Edwin Vásquez De La Bandera, Undersecretary of Negotiations of MIPRO, participated in a forum organized by the Provincial Government of Tungurahua and stressed that this agreement does not affect the footwear sector.
On the contrary, he maintains, they focused on reducing tariffs to facilitate access to the Chinese market. “The agreement favors agricultural products, such as shrimp, bananas, roses, cocoa and coffee, offering new opportunities for non-traditional products such as pitahaya, pineapple, mango, blueberries, quinoa and processed foods.” Prefect Manuel Caizabanda mentioned that the FTA will be a great benefit for Tungurahua.
By: PRIMICIAS