The Research On The Industry Upgrading Of The Guangzhou Shoemaking Industry

The developing countries represented by Guangzhou facilitated the second shift of shoemaking industry in 1980s. Benefited from the cheap labor force and land as well as the advantages in the currency rate for a long time, the Guangzhou shoemaking industry had grown rapidly until 2008 when the sub-prime mortgage crisis influenced all over the world. For the shoemaking enterprises, it appeared the problems that the break of capital chain, the lack of orders, the plenty of bankruptcies, all of which demonstrated that they were facing the unprecedented situation. Now China is at a crucial point in the economy transition. The change of the way in economic growth is becoming the most important issue for the Chinese economy, which is also considered as one of the best approaches to the industry upgrading. Since the Guangzhou shoemaking industry is the barometer of the foreign trade in Guangdong Province, its upgrading is of more great significance both in theory and practice.The main research object of the article is the Guangzhou shoemaking industry, and the attention is paid to its upgrading. So far there hasn't a common definition for the industry upgrading in academic cycle from the exited literatures, part of scholars define the industry upgrading as the industry structure upgrading, and study industry upgrading from the optimization and adjustment of the industry upgrading. The others use the concept that the global value chain has already contained the industry, and the industry upgrading is in fact a promotion from low-end to high-end in global value chain. The article integrated relative theories and redefined the industry upgrading:The industry upgrading is a process that an industry continuously adjusts and optimizes its internal structure, adapts to the change of industrial environment, makes technique innovations in order to raise the position in the global value chain.According to the definition of the industry upgrading, the industry upgrading of Guangzhou shoemaking industry should include two levels:one is the structure optimization inside the industry; the other is the promotion in global value chain. At the moment the internal structure of Guangzhou shoemaking industry is facing the problems that the kinds of products are too narrow, the organic composition of capital is low, the market structure is imbalanced, etc. Since the Guangzhou shoemaking industry is at the low-end of global value chain, the industry upgrading is necessary. Through study, the article found that the excellent resource platform, huge domestic market, the advantages in competition and talents, favorable policy environment are all provide feasibilities to the industry upgrading of Guangzhou shoemaking industry. However, the long-term OEM pattern in manufacture has led to the unhealthy competition inside the industry. At the same time, negative effect of industry cluster, and lack of R&D capacity, poor brand operation are all restricting factors to the industry upgrading process of Guangzhou shoemaking industry.Guided by the definition of the industry upgrading and considered the research frame, the article made comprehensive positioning to the Guangzhou shoemaking industry:the strategic target is to strengthen the capacity of technique innovations, brand design and cultivation, to develop the sales channels, to optimize the product structure from internal industry as well as the market structure so as to accomplish the promotion from low added value to high added value in Guangzhou shoemaking industry. At last, the article gave the suggestions from the levels of government and enterprises, which is, optimizing the internal structure of industry and promoting in the global value chain to help the industry upgrading of Guangzhou shoemaking industry.