SIC 5139 Footwear Wholesalers

SIC 5139

This industry consists of establishments that engage in the wholesale distribution of athletic and other footwear of leather, rubber, and other materials.

NAICS CODE(S)

422340

Footwear Wholesalers

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

In 2003, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total number of establishments in the footwear wholesalers industry was 23,925, with total annual sales of $12.5 billion. The average sales per establishment was $7.2 million. States with the highest number of establishments were California with 504, New York with 294, Florida with 225, and Texas 115. Shoes accounted for 1,107 establishments, and controlled 54 percent of the market. Total sales in this sector were $6.7 million. Footwear accounted for 629 establishments, and controlled more than 30 percent of the market, and generated $6.7 million in sales.

The Commerce Department divides footwear wholesalers into three categories: merchant wholesalers, who take title to the goods they sell; manufacturers' sales branches and offices, which are kept apart from manufacturing plants for marketing purposes; and agents, brokers, and commission merchants, who buy and sell products owned by others on a commission or agency basis. Additionally, the footwear market is divided into several sections: women's and misses' footwear; men's, youths' and boys' nonrubber footwear; children's, infants', and babies' nonrubber footwear; leather athletic footwear; sneakers, rubber and plastic protective footwear; and house slippers. By way of imports, wholesalers play a major role in each of these markets and dominate several.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

According to the 1992 Census of Wholesale Trade, almost 80 percent of the total establishments in the industry were merchant wholesalers, which accounted for nearly 75 percent of all sales. Manufacturers' sales branches and offices comprised 1.5 percent of the total establishments and tallied less than 9 percent of sales. Over 19 percent of the establishments and 16 percent of the sales were attributed to agents, brokers and commission merchants.

Footwear wholesalers benefited greatly during the 1980s and 1990s from the booming popularity of athletic and other sport-oriented casual shoes. Nearly 180,000 employees at domestic manufacturers lost their jobs between 1968 and 1995, according to the Footwear Industries of America (FIA) trade group, but footwear wholesalers flourished by importing inexpensive models. Nike, Inc. and Reebok...

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