CORE... BUSINESS

In the last year, the footwear sector reached a new historical maximum in terms of international trade. Constituted by more than 1.900 companies, responsible for about 40 thousand jobs, the Footwear and Leather Goods Cluster in Portugal exports more than 95% of its production to 173 countries, in the five continents, equivalent to 2.400 million euros per year.

It is time to celebrate this achievement and look forward to a new decade of affirmation of Portuguese footwear. Portugal has the ambition "to be the international reference of the footwear industry and strengthen Portuguese exports, virtuously combining the sophistication and creativity with productive efficiency, based on technological development and management of the international value chain, thus ensuring the future of a national production base, sustainable and highly competitive.

With the awareness that there is much to do, since nine out of ten pairs of shoes are produced in Asia, APICCAPS, through the project Portuguese Soul, presents the excellence of the Portuguese footwear.

This excellence is particularly noticeable when we look at the leather footwear, which promotes, since its genesis, circular economy. The leather used in the footwear industry is overwhelmingly of bovine origin, i.e., a reuse of a noble raw material wasted by the food industry. Durability is another key element in the industry: in the case of leather shoes, the life span improves considerably, besides developing a new appearance that adds value to the product. The core evolves with its environment. And so does the industry's core business.

This is a moment to celebrate the recent past of the industry, but also a moment to perspective and preparing the future, through the transformation of Portuguese Soul into a happening during MODALISBOA CORE, with products from the brands Ambitious, Carlos Santos, Campobello, Tatuaggi, Leather Goods by Belcinto, Luís Onofre, Miguel Vieira, Nobrand, Sanjo and Valuni.