Footwear Industry Case Study

8.1 Findings

1) Socio Personal Profile of footwear manufacturers in Thakkar-Bappa colony of Kurla

On the whole, an analysis of the socioeconomic profiling of the unorganized manufacturer engaged in the footwear industry of the Thakkar-Bappa colony of Kurla, Mumbai reveals a historically, economically socially deprived vulnerable class of workers. Most of them are Hindus. Clearly the economic potential of this trade is attracting new entrants from higher social classes and other castes/ religions. Their employment, as also found in most unorganized sectors, is seasonal; quality of the job is poor and work conditions depressing. Poverty persists in these home-based units with a meagre saving that denies their children a proper education. Again,

He has migrated majorly from Rajasthan due to low wages and unemployment and has been pushed into this occupation as better opportunities were not available. He is operating a family unit and sometimes hiring a worker or two. He works around 15 hours a day in a congested workspace without proper light or ventilation and suffers from health issues like respiratory diseases, tuberculosis etc. Despite earning less than Rs. 2 lakhs per annum, these manufacturers on an average save a third of their income, which is necessary for next year’s investment as well as any

Their fixed investment is usually less than Rs. 50,000.Only 5% were bigger units with more than 2 lakh fixed investment. They were operating with old methods and technology. Most manufacturers cater to ladies footwear In designing, there is close interaction between the manufacturer and contractor. The average turnover of the majority of these units is small with less than 40,000 pairs being manufactured yearly by an average unit. As these products are also priced lower with squeezed margins, it’s no wonder that 75% earn less than Rs. 4 lakhs per annum for sustaining their familes. For their financing requirements, these informal leather footwear manufacturers mostly avail of non-institutional finance, especially friends/ relatives groupwith hardly a few going to moneylenders/ traders/ agents/ chit funds. The survey prominently brings out the leather footwear manufacturers almost complete reliance on 2 marketing channels: traders/ agencies and private partieswith less than a thirddirectly selling to consumers.

3) Factors affecting demand

As perceived by the footwear manufacturer (apart from the conventional factor of income), the factors affecting demand in decreasing order of importance are seasonality, changes in fashion/style, reasonability of price, timely delivery and durability. It is opined that while demand from the contractors is fairly regular, it is not