Founded in 1944, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) is governed and directed by footwear executives and is the only trade organisation focused solely on the footwear industry. It serves the full footwear supply chain and boosts the bottom lines of its members through innovative products, training and consulting on footwear design and development, sourcing and compliance, trade and customs, advocacy, and consumer and sales trend analysis for retailers selling shoes around the world. Matt Priest, president and CEO at FDRA, has been at the organisation now for over 11 years and has previously worked for the US Department of Commerce.

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, Priest talks about the main challenge of the organisation’s members, which is liquidity. Most companies have had to furlough 80-90% of staff and are trying to free up as much cash as possible. He also says that the FDRA would like to see the government defer duty payments on imported shoes to help out businesses. 

Elsewhere, Priest discusses what competitiveness and success looks like right now. Competitiveness is now about having enough cash and being able to make good decisions quickly. He says that no one should be embarrassed about looking for life lines or taking advantage of government loans if that’s what’s going to help.

Additionally, he also talks about how reshoring is something that people want to happen but probably won’t, how bad times are actually great opportunities for searching for new tools because they force people to change their ways, and how the FDRA itself is a nimble and well-positioned organisation that can hopefully navigate the industry through these tough times.