Wal-Mart has dropped “the other shoe” on the American footwear industry, and it landed in India. The Telegraph newspaer in Calcutta today announced good news for Indian workers. America’s largest retailer has started sourcing leather products from Indian companies. This news came from the Council for Leather Exports, holding its 20th. Annual Meeting in Calcutta. “Wal-Mart has starting placing orders with some Indian companies,” the head of the Council announced. The Arkansas-based retailer already spends $1.6 billion sourcing shoes from outside of America, so its good news for the future of India that Wal-Mart wants to spend some of those riches on them. “It has started in a small way, but this relationship can be developed in a major way in the coming years,” the Council of Leather stated. The leading importers of Indian leather are Germany, Italy, the US, the UK and Hong Kong. America accounts for roughly 12% of India’s leather exports.
It’s hard to recall Wal-Mart’s “Made in America” campaign. The giant retailer’s “testing the waters” in India is where the leather hits the road. Wal-Mart can advertize all it wants about being good for American communities, but its sourcing of shoes in Calcutta is just another example of how it disinvests in America, and leaves U.S. workers with the clerk jobs, while the manufacturing jobs go international. When it comes to sourcing American shoes, it looks like Wal-Mart doesn’t know how to walk the walk.
