Dass Group, the Brazilian-based manufacturer of athletic footwear and apparel, announced plans to close its footwear manufacturing facility in Eldorado, Misiones Province, Argentina, leading to the layoff of 150 employees.
According to World Footwear, Dass Group said the action “stems from the worsening critical situation facing Argentina’s domestic footwear industry” and that “the combination of persistent production decline, a lack of new customer orders and market opening to imports has led to severe loss of competitiveness, rendering the local manufacturing base unsustainable.”
Dass Group said the decision came after all possible alternatives to keeping the plant operational had been exhausted.
The Eldorado facility had been in operation for almost 20 years it will no longer have manufacturing operations in Argentina following the closure.
Despite ending manufacturing activities in Eldorado, Dass has confirmed that it will maintain a strategic presence in Argentina through its commercial and logistics operations. The company will continue to operate its brand management office in Buenos Aires, as well as its footwear distribution centers in Coronel Suárez and Cañuelas.
Dass Group handles product development and manufacturing for athletic footwear brands, including Nike, Adidas and Veja. It has also partnered with New Balance, Umbro, Fila and Asics to handle distribution in certain areas in Latin America, particularly Brazil and Argentina.
Image courtesy Dass Group
