FOOTWEAR IMPORTS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 260, 30 July 1937, Page 13

FOOTWEAR IMPORTS

1 Serious Effect on New Zealand Factories r ONE DISMISSES 13 MEN By Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, July 29. A serious position has been reached in several of the local boot: and shoe factories due to the flood of imports of footwear from other countries with lower labour costs. One firm has dismissed 13 operatives already, and others are working short time in order to keep their employees going, but it was stated this morning that the position was rapidly going from bad to worse, and that further dismissals in the near future seemed inevitable. The manager of the factory which has dismissed 13 hands said to-day that prior to taking that step the factory was working only three days a week. The dismissals were made to enable a return to be made to full time work for the remaining employees, but he could not see how it would be possible to avoid a further reduction in the stall in the next few weeks. Price cutting had already broken out. he said, and his firm and others were prepared to make sales at prices below cost of production to-day in an effort to keep their factories going, but still they could not make sales because of the intensity of competition of imported footwear. Mr, Savage had said that those people who were importing goods to undercut New Zealand manufacturers might, find their goods would not arrive, but so far he had not lived up to his words. “They have kidded us on all along, but nothing has been done, and now the breaking point has been reached.” he concluded. VIEW OF MANUFACTURERS * IN DUNEDIN . Dunedin, July 28. Although manufacturers in Dunedin are watching the position of the market closely, there appears to be no immediate prospect of the development locally of such serious conditions as those prophesied in a message from Wellington in which it was stated that manufacturers throughout New Zealand were alarmed at the prospect of a tremendous slump in factory production accompanied by widespread unemployment. Many of the Dunedin manufacturing concerns have been working at top pressure during the past few months fulfilling orders from retailers who desired -to stock early in order to avoid a subsequent rise in prices. Goods supplied by .local manufacturers have been augmented on retailers’ shelves by importations from Australia and the question that has now arisen is can the community absorb those goods sufficiently freely to maintain the market for local products? The consensus of opinion among manufacturers in Dunedin is, however, that there is no immediate cause for undue anxiety, but that the result of the next two or three months’ trading will clarify the position.