Footwear Sourcing: Local and China Sourcing

During my time at Apex Footwear Ltd. and Bay Emporium Ltd. I had the privilege of sourcing footwear and leather goods from both Bangladesh’s local markets and China’s manufacturing hubs. During the journey I had to visit small cottage factories of old Dhaka and the Giant factories of China. Both experience helped me to understand the sourcing and development insight.

Local Market Sourcing offers  faster lead times and the ability to respond quickly. Ideal for short runs, seasonal shifts and market testing. To meet bottom and medium price point local market sourcing obviously is a good option.

Here are some pros and cons of local sourcing from my experience...

Pros of Local Footwear Sourcing

*Faster Lead Times

*Lower Logistics Costs

*Easier Communication

*Better Control & Oversight
*Flexibility for Small Batches
*Easy to meet the target price point.

Cons of Local Footwear Sourcing

*Limited Product Variety

*Higher Unit Costs

*Capacity Constraints – limited production capacity.
*Lack advanced machinery or innovative manufacturing processes.
*Access to the latest global styles, finishes, and materials can be slower.
*Not good at very hight class and comfort  footwear making

China Sourcing offers large scale, variety and access to advanced manufacturing technologies. Perfect for high-volume production and more complex product designs

Here is the pros and cons breakdown for sourcing footwear from China...

Pros of China Footwear Sourcing

*Massive Product Variety.
*Advanced Manufacturing Technology.
*Can handle both small test runs and Extremely large production volumes.
*Competitive Pricing– Large-scale production helps lower per-unit costs for bulk orders.
*Strong Supply Chain Networks
*Quick to adopt and reproduce global fashion trends.
*Can be sourced as CKD

Cons of China Footwear Sourcing

*Longer Lead Times
*Higher MOQ
*Complex Logistics
*Higher Tariff
*Communication Barriers – Language and cultural difference.
*Currency & Policy Risks.
*Less Immediate Control.
*Difficult to meet the target price point.

For a better retail product mixing in Bangladesh perspective both local and China sourcing are vital because local sourcing ensures fast delivery, flexible quantities and quick response while China sourcing offers competitive prices, large-scale production and a wide variety of designs and materials. Using both creates a balanced collection with speed, cost efficiency and variety.