According to the Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Substitutes Manufacturers Association (APICCAPS), in 1974 there were 673 companies in Portugal, responsible for 15,299 jobs. "Five decades later, the Portuguese footwear industry is made up of 1,171 companies (74% growth since April 25), responsible for 33,057 jobs (116% growth)", it highlights. For the association, the April 25 revolution "was much more than a political movement that overthrew the dictatorship and culminated in the implementation of a democratic regime": "For Portuguese society it was the greatest promise of hope", while "for some sectors of activity, such as footwear, it was really starting over", it argues. Shortly after, in 1975, APICCAPS was born in Porto, founded to represent the footwear, footwear components, leather goods and equipment sectors for these sectors. The first strategic plan for the sector was drawn up by the association in 1978 and was signed by Miguel Cadilhe and Manuel Baganha, who, in an initial x-ray of the national footwear industry, described "an intersectoral entanglement that, in the 'inputs', allows an irregular supply in quality, quantity and prices, and that, in the 'outputs', suffers from the irrationality of an atomized internal market". At the time, "unhealthy competition" was identified in the sector, resulting from "the predominance of undersized production units, many of which were in a pre-industrial regime", which was joined by "a management lacking modern methods and techniques, a deficient organization and [...] a relatively low productivity". "Thus began a path of strategic and structured thinking that made a difference in the history of the Portuguese footwear industry", recalls APICCAPS. Currently, it highlights, "Portugal exports 90% of its production, equivalent to 74 million pairs (1,170% growth since the Carnation Revolution) worth 1.9 billion euros (54,533% growth), and contributes positively with 1.3 billion euros to the balance of the Portuguese trade balance". In addition, the companies in the 'cluster' - made up of the footwear, footwear components and leather goods industries - represent 2.6% of total national exports of goods. The association also stresses that Portugal is "one of the only countries in Europe where footwear production activity has not decreased", citing the latest data indicating that "the industrial core of the 'cluster' represents 6% of employment in the Portuguese manufacturing industries and 3.2% of its added value". "The 'cluster' has a high geographical concentration and, in the north of the country, its contribution to the manufacturing industries amounts to 10.9% of employment and 7.1% of added value", it details, specifying that "these values ​​rise to 29.8% and 28.5% in the intermunicipal community of Tâmega e Sousa, where a high percentage of the companies in the 'cluster' are located". Recently, the Portuguese footwear sector renewed its strategic vision, assuming the ambition of becoming, in the next decade, "the international benchmark for the footwear industry and strengthening Portuguese exports", and proposing for this purpose "to virtuously combine sophistication and creativity with productive efficiency, based on technological development and management of the international value chain", in order to guarantee "the future of a sustainable and highly competitive national production base". In this sense, the new Strategic Plan for the Footwear Cluster 2030 defined four priorities (Qualification of People and Companies; Sustainable Products and Processes; Flexibility and Rapid Response; Active Presence in the Markets), 24 measures and 113 concrete actions to reposition the sector in the international competitive scene", providing for an investment of 600 million euros in this process. Read Also: April 25. Parties highlight leaders for speech in the AR, except PSD (Portuguese version)