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14th footwear, leather expo slated for Dec 28
The 14th edition of Footwear and Leather Goods Expo is scheduled to be held on December 28 at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu, with an objective of promoting Nepali products.The 14th edition of Footwear and Leather Goods Expo is scheduled to be held on December 28 at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu, with an objective of promoting Nepali products.
The six day expo is organised by the Footwear Manufacturers Association of Nepal (FMAN) and has come up with a slogan “Atmanirbhar ko aadhar swadeshi bastu ko prayog” (Use of domestic product, basis of self reliance).
The expo will host 125 stalls. FMAN will have a solo display of shoes, slippers and other leather at the expo.
For the 14th edition, organisers are looking to focus on the exhibition displays rather than chase after sales. The organiser has changed the design of stalls to make the expo more attractive and arranged different pavilions for various products, which will showcase leather, sports and casual shoes, shoes for college and school along with sandals for ladies and gents. Raw materials used to produce shoes, slippers and other leather goods will also be showcased at the expo.
Another attraction planned for the expo is the fashion show that will be graced by famous models and artists every day, reads the press release. Blood donation and free health check-up programme will also be held during the expo.
Out of the 125 stalls, 65 have been booked by companies representing manufacturing units. There are still a couple of stalls remaining for interested companies to book and showcase their products.
FMAN is expecting footfall of 200,000 during the expo. The golden sponsors for the expo are Goldstar shoes and Hatti Chap Slippers.
Nepal sees sales of around Rs30 billion worth of footwear, including shoes, sandals and slippers per year. This market is growing at the rate of around 20 percent per year. In the fiscal year 2015-16, 1,501 shoe factories, established at a cost of around Rs20 billion, manufactured almost 44 million pairs of shoes, sandals and slippers.
Although the modern history of Nepali shoe industry dates back to 1962 when Bansbari Leather Shoe Factory was set up, the sector could not grow in a proper manner for a long time as it was not fully open to the private sector. This limited competition and innovation.
The domestic shoe industry started flourishing only after the restoration of the democracy in early 1990s. New democratic governments that started steering the country then liberalised the economy, paving the way for entry of private players in the footwear business.