Polish shoes walk away with the market

Polish shoe companies are successfully winning the battle for the domestic market against a flood of  Chinese imports. The reason for Poland success - stress on quality. And despite the fact that Polish-made leather shoes are more expensive, their sales are growing, even when bearing in mind that in 2006 alone 92 million pairs of shoes were imported from China which is 50% more than one year earlier. "We do not compete with cheap imports. We put stress on good quality materials and diligent production," said Kazimierz Ostatek, president of Wojas, one of the largest domestic shoe companies. At the same time stock-listed Gino Rossi boosted its earnings from zł.2 million in 2005 to zł.9.5 million in 2006. "Most Polish factories are working at 100% capacity. It is also worth noting that the sector achieved these results with an employment level reduced by 7%," said Krystyna Bednarek of the Polish Chamber of the Leather Industry (PIPS). (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.