ANCI points to strong, steady growth for Italian shoes
07/01/2011
Based on the survey sample, footwear manufacture registered a moderate increase in volume (+1.1%) but higher growth in value, with an increase of around 2.5% compared to the same period in 2009. Just over half the operators who took part in the survey (51%) indicated an increase in production and for 15.3% this increase was more than 10%. Around 35% of the companies interviewed said they were experiencing a decrease in production, still a sizeable percentage, but a lower figure than in similar surveys in recent times.
ANCI president, Vito Artioli, commented: “We’re still in the middle of a phase of rethinking the production and commercial strategies of Italian footwear companies and this means that the trends hide pronounced differences. Some companies, those who initiated reorganisation processes some time ago, are now reaping the fruits of their efforts, while others are struggling to find the right positioning.”
Exports accounted for 80% of the Italian footwear sales in the January-September 2010 period, showing an increase of 13.9% in volume and of 11.1% in value over the same period in 2009.
“This is a result that still leaves us below 2008 levels,” Mr Artioli said, “but the gains that have been made are also thanks to the intense promotional activity that has been carried out both by ANCI and by the individual companies. To those who say we are a mature sector without prospects for the future we have responded with a trade surplus that in nine months has surpassed EUR 2 billion, a 9.5% increase over 2009.”
Exports to France (+11.8% in value), Germany (+13.4%), USA (+20.9%) and Russia (+10% in value and +19% in volume) have all returned to strong, steady growth, ANCI said. The only exceptions to the favourable trend that regarded nearly all the major markets were Japan and the United Arab Emirates, which show drops in both quantities and value from the same period in 2009.
From January to September last year the footwear industry in Italy lost around 3,200 workers, around 3.9% of the total, with the closure of 188 shoe factories in different parts of the country. In the leather sector as a whole, 6,890 jobs were lost over the same period, around 4.3% of the total.
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