INFLATION'S EFFECTS ON SHOE MANUFACTURING PRICES

Our world today is gripped with the effect of inflation, and my country is one of the places where this has had a huge impact, which has literally multipled the amount and cost of items in general. These largely impact my skills in the area of shoemaking, because the rate at which we purchased different shoemaking tools skyrocketed, leading us to increase the amount we charge customers before making their desired footwear.

I for one don't like to hike the price of my product beyond what the customer can afford, but the recent inflation has made this impossible. For example, a simple Birkenstock insole we purchased for ₦2,000 a pair is now being sold for ₦4,000, and when you tell a client that the amount they paid the last time they made such would have to be doubled, they begin to withdraw with the prospect of checking out other stuff in the hope of getting their desired footwear for less.

This is a huge burden to we shoemakers, and I'm certain other fields are experiencing the same in their various businesses. The idea of losing customers to others alone is disheartening because customers are the heart of every business, and when they're nowhere to be found, that renders our business useless since it's not in demand any longer.

In order to curb the idea of losing customers, I and most of the others in my trade have decided to reduce our own personal gain from the amount charged, because when you insist on getting your normal fair share, others make it a point of duty to reduce theirs so they can have some income at least. I can't blame them because everyone has to make ends meet no matter what.

Another effect of inflation on shoemaking aside from the fact that customers are liable to deflect to others who charge less is that the amount of people willing to build a new shoe has drastically reduced, and this has led to us having limited orders and demand for new shoes to be crafted. It's not a pleasant experience when the store is being opened all day and you won't be able to boost the sales of having one customer, and if you're lucky you'll probably get just one or two for any entire day.

It's my hope that the prices of these shoemaking items will reduce very soon, because when that happens, we'll be able to get tools and resources at a fair price, and customers will be in excess because they'll all be able to afford the new rate we'll be charging.

Thanks so much for reading through, have a blessed and productive day ahead.