Feet first

SEMS, a footwear manufacturer in Putian, once famous as China's sneaker manufacturing capital, is taking a new approach to making more comfortable shoes.

"Each person's foot shape is not the same, and rarely are both feet the same size," said Cheng Libo, executive vice-president of the company.

"I wear a size 39 on one foot and a size 39.5 on the other. When buying shoes from a regular store, I typically have to purchase a size 39.5 and use a half insole or padding for the other foot. Many individuals also have issues such as arch pronation. Almost everyone requires customized shoes based on their own measurements to ensure a better and more comfortable wearing experience," she said.

In Putian, footwear manufacturing is an important pillar industry that provides many jobs. It is the largest industry cluster with an output value exceeding 100 billion yuan. There are over 4,200 shoe and apparel enterprises in Putian, including supporting industries, which employ approximately 500,000 people.

These traditional shoe enterprises are now seeking to pursue greater intelligent and quality manufacturing, and SEMS is one of them. It has established the first large-scale industrialized factory in the domestic footwear industry that produces customized and personalized products. Its peak daily output is 2,400 pairs of sports shoes.

In collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, SEMS has also developed a world-leading foot assessment device, which can detect a customer's foot characteristics and "foot health" within 15 seconds.

Driven by big data analysis, it provides personalized shoe recommendations and value-added foot-care services.

Consumers can also use the company's mini program to quickly customize and create shoe designs, including colors, patterns, and signatures.

"The synergistic design and manufacturing platform enables our company to create a pair of customized shoes from scratch within two hours," Cheng said.

In terms of the business climate in Putian, entrepreneurs are quick to praise the local government's comprehensive and optimized business services.

"One of the significant challenges we encountered in our project was related to the approval of licenses and various types of regulatory clearances," said Zhang Xian, deputy general manager of Fujian Eversun Jinjiang, a leading textile producer.

"However, we were able to resolve these problems one by one with the help of local government organizations that provided dedicated 'nanny style' support and services."

"The local governments' proactive approach has facilitated the early implementation and production of projects, resulting in timely results and maximum efficiency," he said.