Paul Farago, president of footwear brands Jack Erwin and Ace Marks, has been navigating the shifting tariff backdrop firsthand for years.

More importantly, he’s already seeing a structural change in footwear production, moving from central concentration to a new normal with distributed manufacturing networks and regional specialization.

“I don’t believe there’s a single “new China” emerging. Rather, we’re moving toward a more regionalized production model where brands maintain manufacturing relationships across multiple countries to balance costs, capabilities, and risk. This diversification strategy is more resilient but requires more sophisticated supply chain management,” he said.

For more on the challenges and opportunities in global markets from Brazil and Mexico to Italy and P

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