Struggling shoe brand files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, will liquidate | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

The shoe market has always been challenging, but in recent years, it has gotten very crowded.Sneakers, for example, used to be dominated by Nike and Reebok, with outliers like Adidas and Puma having minor market share. Now, brands including Hoka, NoBull, Asics, Brooks, and more have taken reasonable market share.

That’s partially because while Nike remains a cultural phenomenon, it has struggled in figuring out its balance between wholesale and direct-to-consumer. That has opened doors for every company listed above as well as Crocs, HeyDude, Skechers, and other brands.

The overall shoe market, however, has been growing and is expected to expand by $103.6 billion between 2025 and 2029, according to a report from Technavio. The study expects the industry to grow by 4.2% on a compound annual basis. Shoe companies face three major challenges, according to Firework.com, which produced a major study on the footwear industry.

Challenges facing the footwear industry:

Meeting evolving consumer demands;
Adopting emerging technologies; and
Adapting to the rise of e-commerce and direct sales models.

Three forces are reshaping how we buy and sell shoes:

Customers demand better comfort, more sustainable options, and personalized products.
New technologies are transforming design, manufacturing, and retail processes.
E-commerce and direct-to-consumer models are gaining market share.

Not every company will make it, and one emerging player has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Shoe brands like Adidas have been resurgent.

Image source&colon; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Amiga Shoes files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Amiga Shoes isn’t a household name. The company was trying to make a mark manufacturing a number of shoe lines designed to be both stylish and affordable.

The ambitious player shared its mission on its now-defunct website.

“Welcome to the Amiga Shoes online. We are a leading manufacturer located in Dongguan of China. Our main products are synthetic ladies fashion shoes, sandals, winter boots as well as the kids collection, we also specialized in back to school items,” it shared.

The company had an online store and wholesaled shoes all over the country, as well as in South America.

More Bankruptcy:

“Our warehouse in City of Industry has been newly set up to provide the prompt service for wholesalers and retailers in both North and South American customers. We are currently offering a wide range of products for immediately delivery, new designs are launching once a week all over the seasons. Importers’ own designs and private labels are also welcomed for container order,” it added.

Amiga Shoes Factory Inc. filed a Chapter 7 liquidation petition in a California bankruptcy court in Los Angeles on July 23.

Amiga Shoes ran out of money

Amiga Shoes simply ran out of money. The company has not commented on its Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and did not return a request from TheStreet for comment made to the email provided on its Facebook page.

The company’s Facebook page has not been updated in years. The Amiga Shoes website has also been taken offline.

Amiga Shoes’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing listed one unsecured creditor, a service center connected to a small business administration loan in the amount of $150,000.

The filing, which listed Woon Hung Leung as the owner, indicates that the SBA loan was its only debt.

Total assets were $8,635, consisting of $7,438 in a checking account and $1,197 in a savings account.
The debtor owes its legal counsel $4,500 for the bankruptcy oversight, and said that after any administrative expenses are paid, there won’t be anything left over for its unsecured creditor.
The petition also said the company didn’t own any real estate, nor did it have any lease interests.

“It wasn’t immediately clear when the business shut down, but at the time of the Chapter 7 filing, Amiga Shoes also said it no longer had any inventory in its possession,” WWD.com first reported.