The European footwear industry in the 21st century

The Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) for south-western France will organize a conference on developments and prospects for the European footwear industry in the 21st century, to be held in Pessac, France, on 8 and 9 October 1998. The aim of the conference is to act as a focal point for contact between all the relevant actors in the industry, including shoe manufacturers, producers of equipment, software suppliers, researchers and technical centres.

The conference will discuss the growth in electronic exchanges and the resultant emergence of new economic models and rules of business competition. The implications of the extension of consumer power into worldwide markets for the footwear industry will also be discussed, in terms of the increasing reliance of business on customer proximity and loyalty, and product, service and organizational innovation.

Lectures and presentations during the conference will cover the following:

- Shoes tomorrow;
- Preparing today for tomorrow;
- Net enterprise: the competitive advantage;
- Customer-focused service: flexible manufacturing.
For further information, please contact:

Innovation Relay Centre South-western France
ADEPA
Mr. Michel Blanchard or Mr. Alain Gaini
Centre Condorcet
162 avenue du Dr. Albert Schweitzer
F-33600 Pessac
Tel. +33-556-151188; Fax +33-556-151191
E-mail: conf@eurofootwear.archimedia.fr
URL: http://www.eurofootwear.archimedia.fr/(opens in new window)