The Cooling Trend and Breakthrough Strategies of Global Footwear Brands
The global economy has entered a low-speed growth cycle with lingering uncertainties from 2026 to the first half of 2028. Against this sluggish macro backdrop, the footwear machinery industry, a key sector overlapping heavy manufacturing and consumer goods production, is undergoing a brutal structural reshuffle. A rational analysis of the market fundamentals—including shrinking profits of global leading footwear brands, differentiated development of foundry clusters, and overcapacity in the supply chain—reveals an obvious industrial winter. The upcoming GISMA GUANGZHOU Exhibition in May 2027 will unfold against this challenging industry landscape, forcing the entire sector to rethink development logic and seek viable survival paths.
I. Industrial Cooling: Profit Pressure Spanning Global Brands and Foundry Giants
Footwear machinery represents heavy capital expenditure with long procurement cycles and high technical iteration costs. The equipment purchasing willingness of downstream manufacturers is entirely determined by order volumes from top-tier brands. Currently, poor financial performances of global footwear leaders have transmitted downward pressure across the entire industrial chain.
International premium brands have fully tightened supply chain investment to defend market shares. Nike’s revenue growth has stagnated recently, with its core direct-to-consumer business shrinking sharply and net profit declining. Burdened by high inventory and brand restructuring pressure in core markets including Greater China, the brand has drastically cut orders for foundries and reduced inventory scales. Adidas faces severe profit erosion due to soaring operational and supply chain costs, despite occasional revenue growth driven by sports events. Sluggish terminal demand in Europe has forced retailers to rely on heavy discounts to sustain sales. Similarly, Puma’s exchange-rate-adjusted sales have dropped, and the brand is still struggling with destocking amid weak overseas market demand.
This brand-side cost control has directly impacted manufacturing end profits. Major global footwear manufacturers, including Pou Chen Group and its subsidiary Yue Yuen Industrial, have witnessed shrinking revenue in core footwear manufacturing businesses. Their current profits mainly rely on financial investment gains rather than production capacity expansion. With reduced brand orders and idle production equipment, foundries have adopted flexible production strategies, leading to a sharp drop in the industry’s willingness to invest in new footwear machinery.
Chinese leading sports brands have also shifted from aggressive expansion to conservative operation. Anta Sports’ core main brand revenue growth has hit a record low, with group growth now dependent on acquired outdoor sub-brands. The brand has closed unprofitable stores and intensified inventory clearance. Li-Ning has lowered its annual revenue growth forecast due to weak offline passenger flow, focusing on improving single-store efficiency instead of blind store expansion.
II. Structural Dilemmas: Internal Overcapacity and External Market Risks
The global demand downturn has exposed deep-seated structural problems in China’s footwear machinery industry. The most prominent issue is severe overcapacity and stagnant inventory. Driven by blind expansion in previous years, a large number of new machinery units have been warehoused directly after production, gradually turning into second-hand equipment. Most manufacturers suffer from insufficient equipment utilization and tight cash flow, resulting in extremely low willingness for new equipment procurement and replacement.
Insufficient core technological innovation is another key bottleneck. Most domestic footwear machinery products are improved imitations of German and Italian advanced equipment, lacking original underlying technology and technical barriers. Severe product homogeneity triggers cut-throat price competition during the industry downturn, further compressing corporate profit margins.
III. Market Pre-judgment: Insights from 2026 Vietnam VFM & VTG Exhibitions
The 2026 Vietnam International Footwear Machinery & Material Industry Exhibition (VFM) and Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition (VTG), held at Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC) from October 14 to 17, serve as a critical vane for observing Southeast Asian supply chain demands. The dual exhibitions integrate the entire textile and footwear industrial chain, focusing on practical cost reduction and intelligent manufacturing solutions rather than cutting-edge technologies.
IV. Cold Thinking and Breakthrough Strategies for 2027 GISMA Exhibition
A clear Matthew effect will emerge in the 2027 Guangzhou GISMA Exhibition. Thanks to the clustered holding of domestic exhibitions, the show will witness a high proportion of international buyers, presenting a superficial prosperous passenger flow. Nevertheless, most overseas purchasers will only conduct market research and seek low-cost alternative equipment rather than placing substantive orders, leading to low on-site transaction conversion rates.
Facing the industrial winter, exhibition operation must shift from scale expansion to refined survival strategies. First, moderately control exhibition scale, optimize booth layout, reduce operational costs, and prioritize cash flow security. Second, leverage buyer resources accumulated from Vietnam exhibitions to launch a special zone for inventory and second-hand machinery sales and replacement, highlighting high-cost-performance Chinese equipment alternatives to European and American products.
