Jiangsu Senda Group, one of the largest shoemakers on the mainland, is working to transform its product-oriented marketing strategy to place more emphasis on brand building in order to shake its image as a low-cost manufacturer.

2006 was a challenging year for mainland shoemakers, as the European union imposed anti-dumping duties on certain Chinese shoes.  Faced with higher export thresholds and a more expensive operating environment, Senda is working to improve product quality and brand image in order to regain status in the market.  In October 2006, Senda entered into a strategic partnership with various shoemakers in the US and Russia, and, as the first Chinese shoe brand to enter the more developed overseas market, the first batches of 60,000 shoes were sold directly in those two countries.  The cooperation agreement means that 1 million shoes will occupy shelves in the US and Russia each year.

So how does Senda plan to minimize the adverse effects of higher export and sales thresholds overseas?  Senda has established a branding center in Shanghai to insert added value, and to further process products to ready them for more mature international markets.  Aiming to shake its low-cost manufacturing and processing image, Senda invested in a modern and international production base for exporting leather shoes.  The entity utilizes advanced and comprehensive production lines from Europe and establishes business relations with 100 international shoemakers in 40 countries, including Italy, Spain, Canada and Japan.  America's Guess brand, Brazil's BCBG and Canada's ADLD have already opened representatives offices in Senda's Shanghai entity.

In order to celebrate the image of designers as the backbone of all its products, Senda has invited designers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy and Spain to work on improving product designs.  It has also established long-term cooperation agreements with leather shoe design firms in Spain, Italy and Japan, gaining in the process access to information about the international shoe industry.  Senda said that 50 international designers have helped Senda create 6,000 men's and women's leather shoes every year.  Senda has invested  10 million Yuan (US$1.25 million) in an ERP management system, and the shoemaker is not equipped to obtain small contracts and other orders for tailor-made products.

To ensure the brand's sustainability, Senda is cooperating with various Italian shoe brands to introduce modern technology, equipment, and human resources and management concepts to its production entity and branding strategy.  The company also entered into the Madrid Agreement to create a more positive external involvement by becoming involved with the industry's intellectual protection efforts.

Since 1998, three Italian shoemakers have been producing and processing Senda's branded products, and this has helped ease the company's entry into the European market in general.  Senda has also established marketing and sales offices in the US, Brazil, and Cuba in order to drive local sales in these markets.  Chief of the International Trade Department at Nanjing University, Zhang Ershen, says that localized production, marketing and sales entities in overseas markets will help optimize the company's overseas expansion strategy, and raise corporate efficiency.

Senda established global strategic cooperation with leather shoe brand Clarks in September of 2004, and a joint venture with Italy's FALC and IIT, the company that owns children's shoe  brand Naturino, to explore the high-end children's shoe market.

"Entering the US and Russian markets is only the first step in our process of internationalization," says Senda Chairman of the Board Zhu Xianggui.  "We have to prove ourselves in mature and challenging markets.  The US, for example, is a market  that deals with heavy demand for leather shoes, and operates under advanced consumption demands and strict requirements toward quality.  We see the US market as a trial platform.  Only when our products achieve high sales in the US will we know we are ready for other mature markets."