Shopping for fashionable shoes is one of life's great pleasures for some people. But, while they may know the names of favourite brands or designers, they rarely consider how important merchandisers are for every part of the manufacturing process.
'As a merchandiser, you need to have a good relationship with the designers,' said John Khuu, product development manager at King Kong Leather Ware and director of the Hong Kong Federation of Footwear.
'You have to understand what they want and be able to communicate that to the manufacturer.'
The strength of that relationship is becoming even more important as Hong Kong-based companies shift their focus from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to original design manufacturing (ODM), which generates better profit margins.
'An estimated 80 per cent of Hong Kong companies are still OEM, whereby customers come to us with their designs and we make the products accordingly,' Mr Khuu said.
'The remainder lean towards ODM. They have smaller customers that do not have in-house designs and we advise them on style and design. This is the big trend right now.'