Sports shoe sales buoy German market
03/09/2019
In the first six months, 174 million pairs worth €3.7 billion were exported, a rise of 7.5%.
Carl-August Seibel, chairman of HDS/L, said leather shoe manufacturers are suffering from major changes in the retail sector such as declining foot traffic, business closures and the increase of fast fashion.
Challenges for all shoe companies include digitalisation, increasing expectations concerning sustainability, tougher inspections, more expensive substitutes and labelling requirements and complex monitoring of the supply chain, he added. Small and medium-sized businesses are struggling to invest as margins are shrinking.
“A look at the price development of production and consumer prices in the last 15 to 20 years proves this,” he said. “Whereas in the 2008 to 2018 period, the production price for a shoe rose by 15.2%, retail prices for consumers increased by just 11.2%.
“This affects the margins of footwear manufacturers and the shoe trade, thereby reducing the available funds for investments in the digitalisation of the businesses and the qualification of the employees.”
In terms of the material mix, exports of sports shoes increased from 23.4 million pairs in H1 2018 to 25.6 million pairs. Contrary to expectations, 12.1 million pairs of sandals with a leather upper were exported in the first half, a rise of 23%. However, exports of ‘street shoes’ with a leather upper fell 2%.
China supplies half of Germany’s shoes; imports from the Asian country rose by 16 million pairs to 197.4 million.
Germany imported 19.9 million pairs leather sandals, a 20% increase over the first half of 2018, but imports of ‘street shoes’ with a leather upper fell 12.3% to 63.5 million pairs.
During a speech at the opening of Berlin-based trade fair Gallery Shoes, Manfred Junkert, managing director of the HDS/L, spoke about the effects of global trade disputes: “The developments in the trade disputes not only between the US and China, but also between the US and the EU, are serious. German footwear manufacturers hope that the meetings between the Trump administration and the EU Commission will be constructive and could result in an industrial agreement. Such an agreement could facilitate German footwear manufacturers’ entry into the US-market.”
However, footwear manufacturers are cautiously optimistic about the future. In a survey carried out by HDS/L in July, two-thirds of manufacturers reported good to satisfactory growth in sales and orders.
The footwear sector in Germany employs 15,500 workers.
Image: Germany-based shoe retailer Diechmann. Credit: Deichmann
Share this story:
