EXEC: Early Footwear Manufacturing Reports Reveal Positive YTD Trend

Source:China Sport ShowRelease time:21-Mar-2024Clicks:

Article From：SGB Media

Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited, one of the largest manufacturers of footwear for most major outdoor and athletic brands, reported that its footwear manufacturing segment revenue declined 12.2 percent in February, an expected reversal from the 12.5 percent increase in January when the company had very easy comps against the prior year.

The resulting Yuen Yuen footwear manufacturing year-to-date (YTD) revenues were down a flattish 0.2 percent.

Yue Yuen’s footwear manufacturing business trades and reports in U.S. dollar (US$).

Analysts noted in recent reports that the footwear market should not get too excited with the increase in Yue Yuen’s footwear manufacturing shipments in January 2024 or the decline in February in China, Taiwan or Vietnam due to the shifting dates for Chinese New Year (the 16-day holiday in Asia that sees many workers from the outer provinces returning home from working in the coastal provinces where most factories operate).

In 2024, the Chinese New Year was on February 10. Last year, it was on January 22.

The thesis is that manufacturers pulled production into January in anticipation of the February slowdown in labor availability or factory shutdowns. February was expected to decline year-over-year due to the shift in Chinese New Year dates, but the resulting flattish result for the YTD period should be in some level of positive light.

Pou Sheng China, the China retail component of Yue Yuen, saw retail sales increase 34.8 percent in RMB to RMB 1.74 billion compared to RMB 1.29 billion in February 2024. Pou Sheng trades and reports in Chinese renminbi (RMB) or “Yuan” currency.

Yue Yuen consolidated sales were up 0.4 percent to $606.0 million in February. In the year-to-date period through February, overall Yue Yuen sales remained down 5.0 percent to $1.34 billion, with a decline of 0.2 percent in the footwear manufacturing segment partially offsetting a deeper 6.7 percent decline in the Pou Sheng retail business.

Feng Tay Enterprises, one of the longest-tenured manufacturers of Nike footwear, reported manufacturing revenues declined 7.9 percent to NT$5.95 billion after a 26.5 percent increase in January to NT$7.4 billion. The resulting YTD period trend for Feng Tay was a 4.2 percent increase for the two-month period to NT$13.36 billion. Feng Tay reports financials in the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$).