578 billion market+38% sports shoe market share: China's footwear industry upgrades, ERP becomes the "engine" of digital transformation

1、 The current industry panorama of China's footwear industry: steady growth in scale, deep structural adjustment

1. Market size and consumption upgrading are driven by two wheels

As the world's largest producer and consumer of footwear, China's industry scale continues to demonstrate resilience. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Leather Association, the total retail sales of China's footwear market will reach 545 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. It is expected to exceed 578 billion yuan in 2024 and reach 820 billion yuan in 2030, with an average annual compound growth rate maintained in the range of 5.5% -6.5%. Among the segmented categories, sports shoes have become the core engine of growth, with a market size of 386 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. It is expected to increase to 418 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for over 38% of the overall footwear market, an increase of nearly 10 percentage points from 2020. The consumer end presents a significant upgrade feature: Generation Z and Millennials contribute 68% of the consumption, the per customer price rises from 360 yuan in 2023 to 386 yuan in 2024, the sales proportion of high-end products (with a unit price of more than 800 yuan) rises to 15.1%, and health functions, environmental protection materials and China-Chic culture become core consumer drivers. ​

2. Production and trade pattern: Global leading production capacity, export facing structural adjustment

On the production side, China firmly occupies the core position of global manufacturing, with a total shoe production of 13 billion pairs by 2024, accounting for 54% of the global market share. Fujian Province contributes 45% of the national production, and the Jinjiang region has formed a complete industrial chain cluster. The intelligent transformation of top enterprises has achieved significant results, with an average automation rate exceeding 60%, effectively responding to the pressure of rising labor costs. At the trade level, China remains the world's largest exporter of footwear, accounting for 62.2% of global exports in 2024. However, it faces structural challenges: from January to August 2025, the export volume decreased by 2% year-on-year, and the export value decreased by 8.8%. The intensification of competition for low-priced products and the adjustment of the global supply chain have become the main pressures, while the European Union and Japan markets have shown differentiated demand with both quantity and price rising. ​

3. Channels and Competitive Landscape: Deepening Digital Penetration and Rise of Local Brands

The channel structure shows a deep integration of online and offline sales. In 2024, online sales of footwear accounted for 36.5%, of which online penetration of sports shoes reached 54.3%, live broadcast e-commerce and social e-commerce contributed more than 35% of new orders, and the annual growth rate of turnover of Tiktok, Kwai and other platforms exceeded 90%. Offline stores are transitioning towards experiential scenarios, with ANTA and Li Ning having 10500 and 7300 stores respectively, resulting in a continuous increase in coverage in their lower tier markets. In terms of brand competition, local brands have made a strong breakthrough: in 2024, Anta will rank first in the sports shoes industry with 18.3% market share, followed by Li Ning and Tebu with 10.7% and 6.5% respectively. Through technology research and development (such as Anta Nitrogen Technology), IP co branding and China-Chic narrative, it will gradually squeeze the market share of international brands. ​

2、 The core pain points of the industry are highlighted, and digital transformation is urgently needed

Despite the industry maintaining growth, multiple challenges are forcing companies to accelerate their transformation:

Supply chain response lags behind: personalized consumer demand and a clear trend of quick response to small orders make it difficult for traditional supply chains to match the production requirements of multiple categories and short cycles. Inventory turnover efficiency has become a key limiting factor; ​

Lack of data collaboration: online and offline channels are fragmented, and production, inventory, and sales data are scattered, leading to biased demand forecasting. Some enterprises are facing the dilemma of "high inventory and shortage coexisting"; ​

Cost and compliance pressures: Fluctuations in raw material prices, increased environmental standards under the "dual carbon" policy, require companies to finely control costs and supply chain sustainability, and 60% of mainstream brands need to establish a complete ESG reporting system; ​

Global operations are complex: local brands are accelerating their overseas expansion (such as ANTA's overseas revenue growth of 23.7% in 2024), and management difficulties such as cross-border logistics, multi currency settlement, and regional compliance have sharply increased. ​

3、 Footwear ERP: A Digital Core Tool for Cracking Industry Pain Points

Faced with the above challenges, the shoe industry specific ERP system has become a key support for enterprises to achieve high-quality development, and its value is concentrated in three dimensions:

Full chain data collaboration: integrating core link data such as research and development, production, inventory, sales, and finance, breaking down information barriers between online and offline channels, enabling brands to real-time grasp sales dynamics and inventory levels in various regions and categories, improving demand forecasting accuracy by more than 30%, and effectively reducing inventory backlog risks; ​

Flexible supply chain management: In response to the production characteristics of "multiple styles, small batches, and fast delivery" in the footwear industry, the ERP system can achieve full process tracking of orders, optimize production scheduling and raw material procurement cycles, and work with intelligent manufacturing equipment to shorten production and delivery cycles by 20% -40%, adapting to the needs of small order fast response mode; ​

Refined cost and compliance management: By accurately calculating production costs through a bill of materials (BOM), real-time monitoring of raw material price fluctuations, and integrating with environmental data statistics modules, enterprises can meet the requirements of the "dual carbon" policy and build a sustainable supply chain system; ​

Global operation support: With the ability to adapt to multiple languages, currencies, and tax systems, it provides cross-border logistics tracking, overseas warehouse management, regional compliance report generation, and other functions for brands to go global, reducing the complexity of global operations. ​

Currently, top shoe companies have benefited from the implementation of ERP systems: ANTA has achieved collaborative management of multiple brand matrices through digital tools that integrate supply chain data; Li Ning utilizes ERP to optimize inventory turnover and support precise replenishment of 7300 stores nationwide. With the digital transformation of the industry entering the deep water zone, footwear ERP is no longer an optional tool, but a core infrastructure for enterprises to cope with market competition and achieve a balance between scale and refinement.