“It is a discount store, and that is why there are not many models or numbers. Here they only bring us the shoes that are left over from other stores,” says one of the three saleswomen who serve the people inside the shoe store, who came attracted by the low prices.
The La Joya shoe store has a discount store in the Guerrero neighborhood.
The La Joya shoe store enjoyed popularity in the 90s.
The La Joya shoe store enjoyed popularity in the 90s.
Expansion
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Shoe stores are still experiencing the ravages of the pandemic. (Photo: Expansion)
Shoe stores are still experiencing the ravages of the pandemic. (Photo: Expansion)
The shoe store, which enjoyed great popularity in times of high demand such as back to school, now sports worn wooden display cases with little interior lighting, a contrast compared to other company stores that are located in a shopping center, as Forum Buenavistajust a few streets away.
Near both stores, there is an area of shoe stores that covers almost three streets, very close to the San Cosme metro. Although there are also brand outlets like Vans in the place, there are some abandoned stores, with the curtains down and the shelves empty.
A woman who sells sweets in the area says that the stores began to close after the pandemic. “Between the closures and those selling clone tennis shoes in the stalls here and the market, it was no longer a business,” she declares with complete confidence.
What happens in this area of the center of Mexico City is a small reflection of what happens in the shoe industry of the country, known for the quality and price of certain areas, such as León, in Guanajuato, a destination where people travel to buy leather shoes and bags.
The pandemic, a turning point
The National Chamber of the Footwear Industry (Canaical), in a statement, detailed that in 2020, the industry had a 50% drop in its production, caused by store closures during confinement, and the recovery was expected, slow pace, until 2024.
In 2023, revenue in Mexico’s footwear market is expected to reach €5.7 billion ($6,085.98 million) this year, with compound annual growth of 3.9%, boosted by the sale of sports shoes, estimates Statist.