Start A Footwear Manufacturer - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Footwear Manufacturer

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Starting a footwear manufacturer requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell , or selling online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$2B
starting costs
$30.1K
gross margin
30%
time to build
720 days

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$6,900

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Business Formation Fees

$5,600

$20,400

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$63

$700

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Vehicle Expenses

$2

$10,004

Training & Education Expenses

$0

$2,000

Website Costs

$13

$215

Food Business Expenses

$25

$500

Retail Business Expenses

$0

$950

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$2,486

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Made-in-China.com

made-in-china.com

1,321

Ecwid

ecwid.com

2,111

Under Armour

underarmour.com/

9,213

Shoes.com

shoes.com

19,867

ECCO

ecco.com

25,144

On Running

on-running.com

25,656

Timberland

timberland.com

28,175

KEEN Footwear

keenfootwear.com

30,426

Ariat International

ariat.com

40,774

Clarks® Shoes Official Site

clarksusa.com

42,854

Red Wing Shoes

redwingshoes.com

57,376

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Rewarding work

Starting a footwear manufacturer can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a footwear manufacturer. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Footwear Manufactureres have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Unlimited income potential

With starting a footwear manufacturer there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your footwear manufacturer, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A footwear manufacturer can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Low margins

The gross margins for your footwear manufacturer are typically around 30%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

High employee turnover

In the footwear manufacturer, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Work can be inconsistent

As a footwear manufacturer, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Affiliate Program

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

    Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

    The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

    Learn more about affiliate program ➜

  • 2

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 3

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜