What a shoe can do when its the US first lady's

Extracts of an article from China Daily
Chinese exports may have hit a slump, but a shoe factory in Sichuan province has defied the trend, and it has the first lady of the United States to thank for that.
Orders have been pouring in at Reoblan ever since Michelle Obama was seen wearing Bandolino Berry shoes at a public function at the beginning of the year.

The Reoblan factory in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, makes the Berry shoes. It was doing good business, selling as many as 500,000 pairs in the second half of 2007 alone, even before Michelle Obama was seen wearing its shoes.

But then the global financial crisis struck, reducing sales of everything from houses and cars to clothes and shoes.

Berry shoes caught the imagination of the fashionistas after coolspotters.com, a fashion website, posted a photograph of Michelle Obama in a "J Crew dress with Bandolino women's Berry pumps" with the caption: "This sweet and tangy Berry is a thoroughly delicious treat."
The US first lady has become a style icon, with the media scrutinizing her choice of clothes and footwear ever since the US presidential election race heated up.

Such has been the impact of her image in Berry shoes that Reoblan has "received orders for 300,000 pairs, mainly from the US market", said Wu Deguo, owner and general manger of the Chengdu factory.

Berry shoes with leather uppers, classic pointed toe pumps, were priced at $69 on Bandolino Berry's official website yesterday.