According to the HDS/L, in 2014, imports of footwear made by German companies increased by 11.5% in quantities imported, corresponding to 12.8% growth rate in value.

Taken into account the first eleven months of the year, China continues to be the main supplier of footwear to the German market, supplying 303.5 million pairs worth 1.965 billion euros. The second largest exporter to Germany is Vietnam (79.2 million pairs), followed by Netherlands, Italy and Indonesia.

In 2014 Germany exported 229 million pairs of shoes, 44 million more than in 2013 (up by 23.9%). In value terms, exports went up by 17.2%, reaching 3.87 billion euros in 2014.

Statistics by country are only available for the first eleven months, and based on that the German association estimates that Netherlands has pushed Slovakia to the second place, while France managed to go up the third place, just slightly above Poland. Austria remains in the fifth place.

The German Association also refers the subdued expectations of the shoe manufacturers for the next six months (based on the business index from the Ifo Institute), which can be attributed to problems in important international sales markets, currency risks and the difficult seasonal course of events in the shoe trade. Despite this indication, the Association “remain guardedly optimistic for 2015”, considering the good basic economic conditions.

The 2014 edition of the World Footwear Yearbook presents Germany as the 4th largest importer of footwear in the world (5% of the world share) and the 6th largest exporter. Germany is the 9th largest consumer of footwear, and the third largest market in Europe.