World

Italian footwear sector hits the brakes in the first half of the year

Sep 18, 2024 Italy

The latest snapshot from the Confindustria Accessori Moda Research Centre for Assocalzaturifici shows that the footwear sector saw its turnover, exports and production fall in the first half

“The phase of weak demand, compounded by a lower consumer propensity to purchase, a slowdown in several economies (not only China) and uncertainty resulting from the geopolitical turmoil in different parts of the world, has significantly affected orders, including in the luxury segment”, commented Assocalzaturifici Chair Giovanna Ceolini. “The economic downturn is having a strong impact on the production trends of companies”, she added.

All the main economic indicators are in the red for the first half of the year, according to the latest snapshot from the Confindustria Accessori Moda Research Centre for the Italian Footwear Association. During this period, the Italian footwear sector recorded a 9.1% fall in turnover and an 8.5% fall in exports in value and 6.8% in volume as compared to the same period last year. The Istat index of industrial production also fell sharply by 19.5% over the first half of 2023.

“Exports have been affected most significantly”, stressed Ceolini, “despite traditionally representing the sector’s driving force, since 85% of the shoes produced in Italy are sold outside the country. The balance of trade for the sector still shows a surplus of 2.34 billion euros, but this drop in foreign sales (8.5%) represents a decrease of 4.7% and comes despite a concurrent reduction in imports (11.6%)”.

Looking at the export data in more detail, it should be noted that the slight falls in sales to EU Member States (down by 1.6% in value and by 2.4% in volume, with flows to France remaining positive at 2.6% in value and 1.5% in volume) were accompanied by falls of the order of 15% in sales to non-EU markets.

The Middle and Far East (including China and Hong Kong) were the only bright spots in this context. In the first half of the year, exports rose by 10.7% and 2.9%, respectively, in value terms, as compared with the same period of the previous year. To the US, Italian footwear exports decreased by 3.5% in value and 14.7% in volume. Italian footwear exports to the US fell by 3.5% in value terms and by 14.7% in volume terms.

As far as domestic consumption in Italy is concerned, in the first six months of the year, Italian household purchases fell by 2.1% in the first six months of the year, both in terms of volume and expenditure. However, there is good news in terms of purchases by foreigners visiting Italy, thanks to the increase in foreign tourist arrivals and stays in the country, following the strong growth in 2023.

Moving forward, expectations of footwear companies for the second half of the year seem to rule out any major improvements in the short term. The survey of member companies shows that most respondents (56% of the panel) still expect sales to fall in the third quarter. Looking at the year as a whole, 3 out of 4 companies believe that 2024 will be a worse year for their business than 2023.

Italian Footwear Industry

According to the World Footwear 2024 Yearbook (more information available HERE), Italy is among the world’s top 10 footwear exporters and importers. In 2023, imports and exports alike fell in volume but increased in value, resulting in record-high average export prices per pair for Italian footwear.

Image Credits: italianshoes.com

Italy Exports Footwear International Trade Organisations Production Sales