Assocal bemoans Italy’s domestic 'collapse in consumption' of shoes
09/01/2014
The total volume of shoes shipped to customers outside Italy over the nine-month period was just short of 173.5 million pairs. In terms of value, these exports brought in more than EUR 6.3 billion, which represents growth of 4.4% compared to the previous year’s performance.
Within these figures, shoes with leather uppers accounted for 60% of the volume and 83% of the value. Exports of leather shoes showed a small decline in volume, 0.2%, but an increase of 4.5% in value. There was particularly heartening growth in exports to countries outside the European Union, including the US, with growth of 4.2% in value, Canada with 13% growth, Russia with 10.5%, China by 25.2% and South Korea with 12%.
France and Germany are still the two biggest markets for Italian shoes, with French customers taking 33.2 million pairs over the nine months and German customers 25.4 million. The value of exports to France over the period was more than EUR 1 billion, compared to EUR 692.9 million in revenues from Germany. These numbers represent growth of 8.6% in value and 7.7% in volume for France, but of only 0.2% in value for Germany and a decline of 1.5% in volume there.
Assocal said it was pleased with these results but warned that, even if they are confirmed in the figures for the final quarter of 2013, they represent, at best, only a partial recovery. In part, this is because the figures for 2012 were very poor; in 2012, Italy produced 9 million fewer pairs of shoes than in 2011.
Of greater concern is what the association has referred to as “a veritable collapse in consumption” in the domestic market.
Consumption of footwear in Italy over the first nine months of 2013 fell by 4.8% in volume and by 7.1% in value.
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