In 2019, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro was positive that the Marikina shoe industry was still lucrative. This year, the once PHP 1 billion-worth industry is struggling as 80% of its shoe enterprises ceased operations due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
The remaining 20% of Marikina shoe enterprises still operating are almost only those with online platforms. However, many are still hard hit by the pandemic and continually face income loss and threats of business closure.
Two cases of Marikina shoe enterprises still operating but struggling are Seacrest and Cpoint Marikina. Seacrest is a pioneering shoemaker in Marikina known for their original one piece leather technology which was established in 1997. Cpoint Marikina is also a household name in the industry that manufactures their shoes in bulk.
Owing to the pandemic, both shoe enterprises have been shifting its operations and means of marketing to get noticed.
For Seacrest, they’ve been hosting “Bounceback Sale Promos” that offer their genuine leather shoes for cheap. For the price of PHP 2,500, buyers can grab two pairs of shoes and one pair for PHP 1,500. This is considerably cheap and not fit for the quality of their leather products.
Meanwhile, Cpoint Marikina has opted to do online live selling on their Facebook page just to entice buyers that no longer come in store. On top of this, they’ve been having ongoing sales that price their shoes for up to 30% off despite its high product quality.
To aid the industry, veteran actress Angel Locsin toured Marikina City’s Footwear and Leather Goods industry sometime in July, featuring it in her ABS-CBN show for the Kapamilya Channel “Iba Yan”. The episode featured the current challenges imposed by the pandemic and the steps being taken by Marikina’s Local Government Unit.
She was accompanied by Teodoro and Marikina Shoe Industry Development Office Officer-in-Charge Noel Box in interviewing Marikina Tourism Department Head Ponchie Santos and numerous sapateros and cobblers. This was done to let the Filipino public experience the industry and deepen their knowledge and support of it.
Locsin even helped 61-year-old Reynaldo Bayawal, a hard hit shoemaker earning only PHP 300 to 400 pesos, by giving him emergency kits, relief packages, and a new shoe stall to start again.
Last year, Teodoro shared that if there was one lesson he has learned all these years about the shoe industry is that it will survive if each one helps the other. “They were once competitors, but they realized it’s not a good way for the industry to thrive,” he said.
One such shoe enterprise helping others stay afloat is Cora & Bear, a small family-owned women’s footwear manufacturer based in Marikina.
Due to the recessive effects of the pandemic and aftermath of the recent typhoons Ulysses and Rolly, Cora & Bear launched on November 13 their “Shop For A Cause” initiative. For the entire month of November, 50% of their sales went to 42 members of the Marikina shoe industry as aid in rebuilding their homes and businesses.
On the other hand, there are shoe enterprises severely affected not just economically but physically as a result of the typhoons. Due to intense flooding, one critically affected enterprise is POSH Pocket Shoes. Flood waters entered their small store at chest deep levels and ruined most of their items and shoemaking equipment.
Despite the devastation, POSH Pocket Shoes remains generous and tries to sell their salvaged products not only for their benefit to start anew, but to allocate a portion of their funds to other local shoemakers and vulnerable families.
As the Marikina Shoe Industry struggles to get back on its feet, Teodoro reassures that their municipality is doing its best to assist shoe enterprises, shoemakers, and manufacturing groups amid the pandemic and previous calamities.
With 2020 coming to a close, let’s all do our part in ending it with a dash of hope for the affected. As Filipinos, let’s support local now more than ever and strive to revive the Marikina shoe industry from the ground up. We’ve been walking this country for years and our trusty Marikina shoes have never failed us, so let’s do the same and not fail our shoemakers when they need us.
Know any other Marikina shoe enterprise that needs support? Let everyone in the comments know below!