In the first five months of 2017, Italian footwear started with positive numbers in production (+ 1% in volume and + 3% in value) and in export (+ 3.5% in value and + 1.5% in quantity). These data indicate a change from the recent past. The export of leather upper footwear (about 50 million pairs at the average price of 55.6 euros) is worth 2.7 billion euros, with a slight decrease in volume but a rise in price. They support the economic figures presented by Assocalzaturifici. “After eight years of uninterrupted downturns and a 2016 less penalising, but not yet confident,” says associate chairman, Annarita Pilotti, “in the first six months of 2017, purchases by Italian families recorded a shortage of 0.4% in volume and a + 0.9% in value. We now hope that improving the economic environment will soon lead to a significant recovery in consumption.”
In 2017, Italian shoe production and exports are growing “but the crisis is not over yet”
