Italian Shoemaking Industry And Market Status

Italy is a traditional shoemaking and exporting country in the world, ranking sixth among the world's major producing countries and fourth in exports. Its finished shoes, especially leather shoes, are made of high-quality and scientific materials, with the design concept representing the world trend, fine manufacturing process and continuous innovation. It has always occupied the high-end market with high-quality and high price brand effect in the international market. At the same time, Italian shoemaking enterprises characterized by small and medium-sized enterprises have been constantly innovating in recent years. On the one hand, they highlight the main body of innovation in product research and development, and on the other hand, they gradually expand overseas emerging markets, making this industry an important part of Italy's export-oriented fashion industry.

　　 1、 Basic situation of Italian shoemaking industry and market consumption

The shoemaking industry has always been Italy's traditional export industry, which plays an important role in Italy's national economy. The main shoemaking industrial zones are concentrated in 23 provinces of Markay, Tuscany, Veneto, Lombardy, Capania, Pulia and Emilia Romagna. Since 2000, influenced by the adjustment of domestic industrial structure and the fierce competition in the international market, the Italian shoemaking industry has been wandering in the valley, with the number of enterprises shrinking and sales declining. However, in 2006 and 2007, driven by the rapid growth of external demand, some operating indicators of the footwear industry have undergone positive changes, indicating that the industry has shown signs of recovery. The main features are as follows:

（1） The adjustment of industrial structure has intensified, and the number of enterprises and employment has continued to decrease

In recent years, the demand of Italian domestic consumers for medium and low-grade shoes from China, Vietnam and other places has been growing, which has led to the continuous closure or merger of some local small and medium-sized family businesses without brand advantages, technical advantages, scale advantages and capital advantages. The number of enterprises in the entire shoe industry has been declining, and the number of employees has decreased accordingly. According to the data of the Italian Footwear Manufacturers Association (ANCI, hereinafter referred to as the Italian Footwear Association), as of the end of September 2007, there were 6501 shoemaking enterprises in the industry, 156 fewer than the end of 2006, down 2.3%, and 330 fewer than the end of 2005, down 4.8%; The number of employed people was 90800, 3289 fewer than at the end of last year, down 3.5%, and 6151 fewer than at the end of 2005, down 6.4%.

（2） Although the production of shoes has declined, the sales unit price of shoes has increased

From the perspective of output, the output of Italian shoemaking industry has been declining since 2003, while the output value has rebounded since 2006 after falling to the bottom in 2005 (see the figure below). According to the data of the Italian Footwear Manufacturers Association, in 2007, the Italian shoemaking industry produced 243 million pairs of shoes, down 0.6% over the previous year. However, due to the increase in the added value and unit price of shoes, the output value increased by 2.9% to 7408 million euros, taking on the upward trend since 2006. According to the results of the sample survey on the output of member enterprises from January to September 2007 by the Association, 36% of the enterprises' output decreased compared with the same period of the previous year, 30% of the enterprises basically remained at the level of the previous year, and 34% of the enterprises' output increased in varying degrees.

　 （3） Italian shoemaking industry is a typical export-oriented industry, with trade surplus increasing

According to the data of Italian Footwear Association, in 2006, the export volume of Italian local shoes accounted for 82.7% of the total production, an increase of 0.4 percentage points over the previous year; The export amount accounted for 79.4% of the production value, an increase of 1.3 percentage points. In 2007, it is estimated that the footwear industry will achieve a trade surplus of 3.7 billion euros, an increase of 12.5% over the same period of the previous year.

（4） Domestic consumption rebounded

According to the data of the Italian Footwear Association, in 2007, the consumption of shoes in the Italian domestic market rebounded, with a total of 166 million pairs of shoes consumed throughout the year, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year; The consumption amount was 6.714 billion euros, up 6.2%. See the table below for the classification of main consumption varieties.

（5） Top five enterprises in Italian shoemaking industry

According to the Italian Footwear Association, due to the challenge of economic globalization, the Italian shoemaking industry has been impacted by low-cost products from Asian countries. In particular, many small and medium-sized family shoemaking enterprises without brands have gradually weakened their international competitiveness and are struggling to operate. However, a large number of enterprises face severe challenges, adjust their international business strategies in a timely manner, attach importance to research and introduce new technologies, constantly pursue excellence in fabric, style and design, actively explore emerging markets, and enable enterprises to achieve rapid growth in the high-end market by constantly expanding the scale and product series, A number of representative advantageous enterprises have been formed. According to the data of PAMBIANCO Research Center, a famous information consulting company in the Italian fashion industry, and according to the operating income and net profit in 2005, the center has selected the top five Italian shoemaking enterprises. The top five enterprises in terms of operating revenue are TOD'S (503 million euros), GEOX (455 million euros), FORNARI (156 million euros), ADELCHI (122 million euros) and ZEIS EXCELSA (95 million euros); The top five enterprises with net profit margin are GEOX (16.5%), TOD'S (10.6%), ROSSIMODA (10.4%), ZEIS EXCELSA (8.5%) and GUARDIANI (7.9%).

2、 Basic situation of Italian shoe industry's foreign trade

　 （1） Export

1. Number of exported shoes

According to the data of the Italian Footwear Association, in 2007, Italy is expected to export 246 million pairs of shoes of all kinds, an increase of 1.1% over the same period last year, reversing the decline in the export volume in 2006; The export value continued to grow, reaching 6.934 billion euros, up 7%; The average export unit price of shoes was 28.16 euros, up 5.9%.

2. Type composition of export shoes

From the type of export shoes, leather shoes are the main export shoes in terms of quantity and amount. From January to October 2007, the export volume of Italian leather shoes was 144 million pairs, and the export amount was 5.071 billion euros, accounting for 66.5% and 83.7% of the total Italian shoe exports respectively.