Slow year for Italian exports

A gradual decline in exports of Italian footwear during 2023 resulted in a year-end total of EUR 12.8 billion (GBP 10.9 billion/USD 13.9 billion) according to figures compiled by the Confindustria Moda Study Centre for the Italian footwear association Assocalzaturifici. This represented a 0.6 per cent decrease in value over that achieved in the previous year. Despite logging growth of almost 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, sales to foreign markets dropped by 8.7 per cent in Q4 when compared to the final quarter of 2022. 

This poor performance was reportedly deepened in the second half of the year due to inflation, which caused prices to rise. A drop of 1.4 per cent in imports is also said to point to a lack of momentum in the Italian footwear market.

Although Italian shoemakers experienced a 14 per cent increase in turnover during 2022 and so returned to pre-COVID levels, they have since been affected by rising costs for energy and raw materials. “The year that closed was a mixed one,” said Assocalzaturifici president, Giovanna Ceolini. “Brilliant performances in the first quarter with double-digit growth for export and revenue, and then a progressive slowdown… we expect an additional stop, at least during the first half of the year [2024].”

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 3 of the May 2024 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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