Beginning of shoe industry in Bangladesh.

Shoes are one of the essential things in human life. The shoe industry in Bangladesh started during the British period. During the then Pakistan period leather was one of the export products of our country. At that time many shoe factories were established in this country. During the then-Pakistan period around 1962, the famous shoe manufacturing company Bata Su established the first shoe factory in Tongi, Dhaka.

The footwear industry refers to the industry engaged in manufacturing and selling shoes. For many reasons, the footwear industry has taken a significant place in the economy of Bangladesh. First of all, shoes are a basic need like food, shelter, and clothes. The shoe industry requires a large number of workers. Through this, many people in the country have been provided with employment.

Dependent process which has provided employment opportunities to a large number of people. Thirdly it is operating by establishing backward linkages with the locally produced leather industry and forward linkages with marketing and sales establishments. Finally, the footwear industry in Bangladesh is progressing by gaining a comparative advantage in production and export.

From the period of British rule till 1961, there were no large shoe factories in Bangladesh. At that time shoes were mainly imported from Calcutta. But firstly around 1962, commercial production of shoes started in East Bengal, with a brand name of 'Bata' and the name of the company was 'Bata Sue Company'. Later in 1967, Ipsy started manufacturing and exporting shoes. Its export countries were the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and England.

The footwear industry offers a variety of shoes to its markets to achieve maximum value. In most cases, this industry produces versatile products such as leather shoes, sports shoes, cloth sandals, jute shoes, slippers, and shoe soles.
The demand for foreign shoes has increased in recent times due to changes in global culture and fashion. That is why Bangladesh is importing shoes from abroad and this rate is increasing.

In addition, the domestic footwear market has an annual demand of 30 million pairs, which is growing rapidly with the growth of the middle class.