9 Marikina shoemakers dream big with launching of online footwear store

MARIKINA-MADE shoes that are now sold online at www.marikinashoes.theshop.ph are put on display during the project’s launching Wednesday at Sentrong Pangkultura in Marikina City. LYN RILLON

The Marikina shoe industry is expected to get a big boost as the local government launched Wednesday an online store showcasing several of the city’s quality handmade footwear brands.

The initiative, done in partnership with Luzon Brokerage Corp. Express Inc.-Lubrocor Commerce Corp. (LBC-LCC), will allow the nine shoe companies featured on the website (www.marikinashoes.theshop.ph) to participate in the growing online footwear market which is currently generating a monthly income of P20 million.

During the launch held at the residence of Laureano Guevara, founder of the city’s shoe industry, Mayor Del de Guzman said the online store would open up the doors for the city’s shoemakers to once again “provide Asian consumers with the best handcrafted shoes.”

De Guzman noted that in Asia, Marikina was one of the first to establish its own shoe industry.

In 1881, Guevara opened his own shop at his house in Barangay Sta. Elena, which is now the city’s Sentrong Pangkultura. At the height of the industry, Marikina had around a thousand shoemakers. However, because of the influx of imported shoes into the market during the 1990s, the number of shoe manufacturers dwindled. To date, only around 100 shoe companies are still operating in the city.

De Guzman told the shoemakers featured on the site, which currently carries 47 unique designs for men and women that the online shop was not just an opportunity for them “to be known worldwide,” but to also “help improve their livelihood.”

He also cited their resiliency through the years although he expressed sadness that some had already left the industry.

As part of their support for the city’s shoemakers, LBC-LCC chief operating officer Philips Yu said that their company was waiving shipping fees for six months. Yu’s company has been tasked to deliver the items to buyers within seven days.

Yu explained that their role was to handle all the “dirty work,” from warehousing to distribution and even product presentation. All the shoemakers have to do, he said, was “to be creative and make designs people will love to buy.”

He added that the assistance their company was extending to the industry was to help give them “a fighting chance” in the increasingly competitive market.

Yu noted that apart from shoemakers offering unique designs, one key factor for the venture to prosper was for Filipinos to change their attitude toward locally-made products.

“We have to support and be proud of our own [products]. Think of it as, when you buy a pair of shoes, you are helping provide employment,” Yu said, adding that every pair of handmade shoe was the product of a Marikina shoemaker’s “sweat and tears.”

Philippine Footwear Federation director general Roger Py said that the online shop, whose startup and logistical cost of around P200,000 for a year was shouldered by the local government, was a “big help” to the Marikina shoe industry.

He noted that it was very timely to have locally made shoes featured on the web as “30 percent of footwear sold worldwide are sold online.” To date, Py said the annual demand for shoes was a whopping 22 billion pairs. Of this number, the country accounts for just 150 million pairs.

Among the shoe brands initially featured on the online shopping website are A-fit-zer, Check Point, Fontelle, Medz Shoes and Valentino. Also included are Pads Shuz, Ellen & Mae, Gibson Shoes and Alicia. Currently available on the website are casual, formal and school shoes for men and women at prices ranging from P960 to P3,300. The site will soon offer shoes for children, as well as industrial and military shoes.

Buyers have at least three payment options: through credit card, over-the-counter payment at LBC branches or online banking.