In market feedback and media reports, some believe 2014 was the toughest year for the footwear industry, while others see it as a year of accelerated transformation and upgrading. In the athletic footwear sector, led by Anta, many companies gradually recovered; in men’s shoes, Aokang actively sought collaboration with Alibaba to focus on channel and terminal development; women’s shoes remained in a slump, with leading brands like Belle and Daphne seeing declining financial figures; children’s shoes saw changes, with smart footwear like Yun Duo introducing new directions; the outdoor market grew steadily, with Toread continuously expanding and building an ecosystem… Meanwhile, the rise of internet channels allowed many traditional small and medium-sized brands and emerging e-commerce brands to compete on par, becoming significant new forces in the footwear industry.
Against this backdrop, the “2014 China Footwear Industry Gala,” hosted by Global Shoes Network — China’s leading B2B platform for the footwear industry — was launched. After going through four key stages — brand recommendation & screening, data collection, online voting, and expert review — the event ultimately announced the most credible “Top 10 Footwear Brands of 2014” using scientific statistical methods.
2014 China Footwear Industry Gala Brand Awards Ceremony
2015 China Footwear & Apparel Industry E-commerce Summit Award Ceremony
The organizers believe that brand rankings should be assessed based on four criteria: market share (both online and offline), brand influence, growth and innovation capabilities, and consumer preference. Therefore, from the 176 brands recommended by 8,181 participants, the organizers used key metrics such as Tmall Index (Taobao Data Cube), Baidu Index, media index (comprehensive news volume from major search engines), and Global Shoes Network B2B Index as main references. Combining over 170,000 public votes and evaluations from 20 industry experts, they selected ten lists: “Top 10 Men’s Shoe Brands,” “Top 10 Women’s Shoe Brands,” “Top 10 Children’s Shoe Brands,” “Top 10 Outdoor Brands,” as well as “Rising Forces in Men’s Shoes,” “Rising Forces in Women’s Shoes,” “Rising Forces in Children’s Shoes,” “Rising Forces in Sports,” and “Rising Forces in Outdoor.” These were published on the official website.
On April 17, 2015, at the 6th China Footwear & Apparel Industry E-commerce Summit, co-hosted by the Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce and the Quanzhou Municipal Government, the “2014 China Footwear Industry Gala” awards were presented. The summit also announced three additional honors: “2014 Online Consumers’ Favorite Men’s Shoe Brand,” “2014 Online Consumers’ Favorite Canvas Shoe Brand,” and “2014 Online Consumers’ Favorite Women’s Shoe Brand.”
The presentation of the “2014 China Footwear Industry Gala” awards held special significance at the 6th China Footwear & Apparel Industry E-commerce Summit, themed “Internet + Reviving New Hope for Traditional Enterprises.” On the day of the summit, Professor Chai Yueting from Tsinghua University, CEO Zheng Min of Ebrun.com, and Zhuang Weixiong, General Manager of Quanzhou Yipinjia, all delivered speeches on the footwear and apparel industry from different perspectives, centered around the theme of “Internet +.” As the industry undergoes continuous transformation and upgrading and is on the brink of major change, the awarding of these honors also carries varying degrees of guidance for the winning companies.
The following is the complete list of all awards:
2014 China Footwear Industry Gala Award List:
2014 Top 10 Men’s Shoe Brands
Aokang, Camel, Ecco, Youngor, Mulinsen, Fuguiniao, Mister Yan, Spider King, Bull Tribe, Zero Degree
2014 Top 10 Women’s Shoe Brands
Belle, Daphne, Geox Style, Youngor, Tata, DUSTO, Hotwind, Teenmix, Kiss Cat, Youngor
2014 Top 10 Children’s Shoe Brands
ABC KIDS, Bobdog, Qibu Hui, Mutong, CAMKIDS, Goodboy, Dr. Kong, Yonggao, MiFei, Froomee
2014 Top 10 Sports Brands
Li-Ning, Anta, Xtep, 361 Degrees, Erke, ERKE, Peak, Jordan, Deerway, Double Star
2014 Top 10 Outdoor Brands
Toread, Camel, Naturehike, Kailas, KENTOP, Skyleader, Maibu, MobiGarden, Polar, Osprey
2014 Rising Forces in Men’s Shoes
Simier, Musketeer, Sirui, Faton, Bofan
2014 Rising Forces in Women’s Shoes
Mollycoo, Guqitianlun, Comanico, Gulinadaji, Hongke
2014 Rising Forces in Children’s Shoes
Happy Bear, Cloud, Geonoop, Peter Pan, Happy Mickey
2014 Rising Forces in Sports
Warrior, Xidelong, Kangta, Xidelang, Bage
2014 Rising Forces in Outdoor
Rui Xing, Luo Chi, Ye Le, Hantutu, Scarecrow
2015 China Footwear and Apparel Industry E-commerce Summit Rankings:
2014’s Most Popular Men’s Shoe Brand Among Online Shoppers
Oulunbao Zero Degree
2014’s Most Beloved Men’s Shoe Brand by Consumers
Mulinsen
2014’s Most Popular Women’s Shoe Brand Among Online Shoppers
Shepherdess, Jiafei Red, 172 Lane, Love Fragrance, Luomange
2014’s Most Popular Canvas Shoes Brand Among Online Shoppers