During the annual meeting of Assocalzaturifici in Bologna, the Chair Siro Badon described the current state of the footwear sector, which experienced an improvement in terms of production levels last year.

Badon explained how "Recovery must also mean coming to terms with serious uncertainty and a looming recession caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is exacerbating certain phenomena, like the spiralling costs of raw materials, energy and rampant inflation. From our survey it emerged that 7 associations out of 10 reported a worsening of their economic situation, from the second quarter of 2022. These data leave us no choice but to exercise great caution in the second half of this year. Some districts have been hit especially hard, Marche and Emilia Romagna in particular, as both regions are highly exposed on markets affected by the war; as a result they will experience a progressive and significant drop in exports from the second half of this year. The crisis caused by the conflict has inevitably become a central issue for our association. This mainly comes down to two reasons, strategic and political in nature. In strategic terms, the conflict has required different footwear companies to embrace diversification, insofar as their revenue is heavily dependent on these markets. The banking system has been hit hard by sanctions, making it extremely difficult to make sales, whereas finding different markets takes time and requires the investment of resources precisely at a time in which they are scarce, because fewer orders are being confirmed. In political terms, our government has very limited room for manoeuvre. At this time, most resources are being used to buffer the consequences of energy price hikes and for income support".

Badon's talk was followed by the presentation of the magazine "L'Impronta", an Assocalzaturifici project developed by Strategy Innovation, a spin off of the Ca'Foscari University of Venice in partnership with M&C Saatchi. Carlo Bagnoli, Full Professor of Strategic Innovation at the University's Management Department and scientific director of the spin off Strategy Innovation explained the founding myth of Italian production for footwear companies and the image of Italian footwear held by clientèle in certain countries like the USA, Russia and China, while also covering the topic of sustainability. In Impronta, Bagnoli indicates future pathways for Italian and other companies, divided into four sections: prints from Italy and the world, sustainable pathways, from the environment to social and animals, and guiding prints, recognising the right print.

Digitalisation and sustainability emerged as priorities for the industry. Badon affirmed that "Without digital skills and an approach to new sustainable production standards, not only does internationalisation become tough, but in the medium term, so does surviving global competition. Unfortunately, being good at production alone no longer cuts it in Italy. This is why two years ago Assocalzaturifici launched a few projects, mid-pandemic, in order to accompany companies on new b2b platforms including MICAM Milano Digital. Sustainability is a pillar on which a solid strategy for industry must be built. Sustainability is no longer just a whim, or a finite target: it is increasingly the starting point for footwear industries investing in research to guarantee high standards of eco-compatibility for their production processes. We strongly believe in this, in fact we have launched an important project for sustainability certification specifically for the footwear industry. VCS, Verified and Certified Steps, is a registered trademark awarded to companies that complete an assessment, measurement and above all, improvement pathway, which focuses on performance in all major aspects of business sustainability, based on internationally recognised standards. I believe this is of immense value in a market that is increasingly looking for sustainable products from sustainable companies. The value of the VCS project has been confirmed by the interest of many important companies, including large fashion groups".

SPIN 360, which has integrally implemented the entire system's logic, mathematics and programming, delivered an in-depth presentation of VCS. Spin 360 explained the project every step of the way, from the pilot phase, involving 3 companies in the footwear industry, to the presentation of districts and the illustration of the scientific committee, including business people of the industry, brands and representatives of Confindustria Moda.

The launch of MICAM was also announced, set to take place in September, with the special area: MICAM Sustainability Lab powered by VCS al pad. 3.

LIVETREND was another novelty presented on occasion of the meeting: an innovative trend and market analysis platform that collects and analyses thousands of images from e-commerce, social media and fashion shows, every single day.

Siro Badon affirmed that "Research and the study of trends are fundamental for the production of collections". I believe that today, companies need to innovate with increasing attention and invest in new technologies for the creative part regarding collections.

The LIVETREND analysis illustrates that the fashion industry will increase investments in innovation and technology over the next few years, with reference to specific figures who are up to the task of working on such contents. MICAM and Assocalzaturifici have partnered with LIVETREND to develop specific algorithms for the footwear industry, to identify trends, diversified based on the market, and with the possibility to customise search keys according to brand requirements.

Lastly, Badon described the association's activities over the last year, from projects in partnership with other Confindustria Moda associations and ICE, to the Memorandum of Intent with Sistema Moda Italia and Trade Union Organisations.

Badon did not hesitate on solutions for overcoming the crisis: "We need to restore the centrality of the manufacturing industry and plan a progressive, general cut of the cost of work. This means a structural review of the tax wedge, the downsizing of employer and employee tax burdens. This is one way of freeing up resources that would enable business people to be competitive once more on international markets and invest in communication, product and process innovation at all levels. These measures would also boost the purchasing power of Italian families and relaunch consumption. We don't need money randomly thrown at us as a stopgap in emergencies; what we do need is a new industrial policy that promotes our excellence, both in terms of brands and industry".

Siro Badon, Chair of Assocalzaturifici: “Consolidation of the recovery that began in 2021 is over shadowed by the clouds on the horizon. The effects of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the steep rise in energy costs and the failure of raw materials price increases to slow down are halting recovery” THE ITALIAN FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY: EXPORTS GREW IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022 (+21.4% IN VALUE), AS DID HOUSEHOLD SPENDING (+20.6%), THOUGH A SLOWDOWN IS ALREADY EXPECTED STARTING IN THE SECOND QUARTER. The snapshot of the industry provided by the Confindustria Moda Research Centre for Assocalzaturifici was presented at the association’s national meeting. In terms of regional trends: Veneto (+10.7% in value over January-March 2021) and Tuscany (+26.6%) continue to rank first in terms of exports (together, the two regions account for just under half of Italy’s total for the period analysed), followed by Lombardy (+33%) and Marche (+19%).

The Italian footwear industry has consolidated the recovery that began last year, with growth in exports (+21.4% in value) and household spending (+20.6%) in the first quarter of 2022. This is the snapshot of the industry provided by the Confindustria Moda Research Centre for Assocalzaturifici, presented at the association's national meeting along with the actual results for 2021, a year in which the industry’s total sales climbed back to 12.7 billion euro (+18.7%, though still below the pre-Covid 2019 figure of 14.3 billion) and national production rose to 148.8 million pairs (+13.8%).

In the first quarter of 2022, sales, industrial production, exports and domestic consumption registered double-digit growth as compared to the same period in 2021. This favoured an initial release of tension regarding employment: though the number of active enterprises continued to fall (-36 was the balance since the beginning of the year), the employment trend began to reverse at the end of March, with a timid rise over last December (+209 people, +0.3%), following the decidedly negative trend of recent years (-4,300 employees in the past two years alone). The return to a level of production that was less penalising than that of the pandemic months also resulted in a downturn of resort to social security instruments (-72% in the first 5 months with respect to 2021), though the number of hours of wage support authorised in the leather industry (7.1 million) is still more than double that of January-May 2019 (+121%).

There is still considerable uncertainty about the future scenario, requiring a certain degree of prudence, according to Assocalzaturifici Chair Siro Badon: “The progressive recovery that is bringing companies in the industry back to pre-pandemic levels (almost two out of three companies closed the year 2021 with sales figures remaining below those of 2019) has, since the end of February, faced the outbreak of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in the collapse of exports to these countries from March onwards (sales on these two markets dropped by -52% in value in March-April). The effects have been felt particularly severely in footwear districts that traditionally export to these areas (such as Marche and Romagna), which saw cancellation of shipments due for delivery and orders in their portfolio. In addition to the effects of the war, we have seen a steep rise in energy costs and no significant reduction in raw materials prices, which have been high for many months, in addition to fears of new variants of the virus”.

Taking a closer look at the figures for the first quarter of the year, it appears clear that purchases by Italian households were up +15.4% in quantity and +20.6% in value in the first 3 months of 2022 over the figures for the same period in 2021, but there is still a gap of around 10% as compared to the situation before the pandemic. The strongest recovery in terms of percentages has been in the sectors that suffered the most from the effects of lockdowns and restrictions in 2020: classic men’s and women's shoes (sales of both increased around 30%, in terms of both number of pairs and value, over the first 3 months of 2021). Shopping by tourists visiting Italy is still far from 2019 levels, despite a partial recovery of arrivals in 2021 and an encouraging start to 2022 as the situation of the pandemic improved.

Exports were up +11.7% in quantity and +21.4% in value over the first 3 months of 2021 (with average prices up +8.7%). Including pure trading operations, 58.7 million pairs were exported (-4.9% compared to the first quarter of 2019), worth 3 billion euro. EU markets are recovering (+9% in volume and +18% in value, with a peak of +22% in value in France, due to supplies of footwear to designer brands, a figure of +16% for Germany, +20% for Spain and +37% for the Netherlands). The increases in non-EU27 countries were even higher (+18% in quantity and +25% in value). These include: +70% in value in the USA (already well exceeding pre-Covid 2019 levels); a return to growth in South Korea (+16%, in terms of both value and number of pairs), after the slowdown of 2021 that interrupted a long period of growth in the previous decade; and good results in China (+28% in value). Negative trends were seen, of course, in Russia and Ukraine, particularly after the conflict broke out at the end of February. Exports to Russia shrank by -51% in value in March, while exports to Ukraine were down -95%. Cumulative figures after the first 3 months of the year – unfortunately destined to worsen as the war continues – indicate a drop of around -20%, in terms of both value and number of pairs, for Russia and -48% in value (-56.5% in quantity) for Ukraine, as compared to January-March 2021. According to Eurostat, footwear exports to Russia dropped -37% in value in the month of April, while exports to Ukraine fell by -81%.

At the regional level, Veneto (+10.7% in value over January-March 2021) and Tuscany (+26.6%) performed best in terms of exports (representing just over half of Italy’s total exports in the period analysed), followed by Lombardy (+33%). Increases of around 20% were recorded in Puglia (+22.3%), Emilia Romagna (+20.1%, despite a figure of -1% for Forlì-Cesena) and Marche (+19% despite a drop of -35% in the value of exports to Russia and -51% in exports to Ukraine). Marche (the region ranking fourth in number of exports) and Campania (ninth, with +15%) were the only regions among principal Italy’s footwear-producing areas to fail to match the figure for exports in the first quarter of 2019 in terms of value (falling below it by -14% and -21.5%, respectively).

The ranking by province is still led by Florence (+30.3%, a share of around 20% of the national total), ahead of Milan (+37.3%) and Treviso (+16.3%). Growth was moderate in Verona (+4.7%, ranking seventh); while Vicenza, the sixth ranking region, saw a drop of -19%. Good results in Fermo (the fourth province in terms of exports, at +16.6%) are destined to slow down in the months to come due to the fact that many companies in the district export to the Russian market.

The balance of trade in the industry was positive in the first quarter by 1.28 billion euro (+12.8% over the same period last year).

While the demographics for number of enterprises and employment saw a continuation of the process of selection among companies (-36 over December 2021), despite the positive balance of the number of employees (+209, or +0.3%), probably a bounce-back after several quarters of marked decline. If footwear component manufacturers are taken into account, these balances are -119 enterprises and +140 employees.

La Moda Italiana@Almaty in Almaty, Kazakhstan closed on a note of cautious optimism among Italian operators at the event, which was organised by Assocalzaturifici in partnership with the Italian fashion industry association EMI, Ente Moda Italia, with the support of the Italian Embassy, the practical assistance of ITA Agency, and in collaboration with the Italian Furriers’ Association AIP and the Italian leather goods association Assopellettieri. The event held at Dom Priemov in Almaty April 6 through 8 registered significant numbers of local buyers: more than 200 from the provinces of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. 50 Italian fashion brands represented the best of Italian fashion at the event.

The exhibition was completed with an evening event sponsored by MICAM Milano in the presence of His Excellency the Italian Ambassador to Nur-Sultan, Marco Alberti, preceded by a discussion of Fashion and sustainability: scenarios and trends in Italy and Kazakhstan, organised by the Italian Embassy in Nur-Sultan investigating the prospects of the market and the new drivers of sustainable consumption. The event, attended by the entire Kazakh fashion community, focused on VCS Verified & Certified Steps certification, a project launched by Assocalzaturifici in the last edition of the fair in the new area MICAM Green Zone and presented for the occasion to an audience of more than 30 opinion leaders from Almaty, entrepreneurs, buyers, bloggers and influencers at LA PRIMA in Almaty with the participation of Lilia Rakh, an expert on fashion for 32 years and one of the world’s top 500 fashion leaders.

The attenuation of the pandemic and the consequent upswing of international markets in 2021 has favoured recovery in Central Asia, as elsewhere. With almost 207,000 pairs and an average price tag of 83.08 Euro a pair, exports to Kazakhstan registered a growth rate of +12.8% over the previous year in the first 11 months of 2021. The regions of Marche, Emilia Romagna and Lombardy manufacture three quarters of the footwear exported to the country. Almaty also represented an opportunity to establish contact with buyers in Uzbekistan, a market that has been growing for Italian exports in terms of both quantity (+31.6%) and value (+3.8%). Together, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan import Italian footwear worth more than 20 million Euro.

It’s almost time for La Moda Italiana@Almaty, organised by Assocalzaturifici in partnership with the Italian fashion industry association EMI, Ente Moda Italia, with the support of the Italian Embassy and the practical assistance of ITA Agency, and in collaboration with the Italian Furriers’ Association AIP and the Italian leather goods association Assopellettieri.

From April 6 through 8 the traditional trade fair will be back to help small to mid-sized Italian makers of footwear, leather goods, clothing and accessories penetrate the Central Asian market. 50 Italian fashion brands will represent the best of Italian fashion at the event. Over 250 highly qualified buyers are expected to attend the three-day event, featuring a packed programme of meetings and workshops held through partnerships with the ITA Agency, which organises an incoming programme for all the principal markets in Central Asia and all the provinces of Kazakhstan. Now a middleincome country, Kazakhstan has great potential for development and a very high rate of fidelity to Italian-made goods, demonstrating the population’s appreciation of their handcrafted quality, beyond the usual dynamics of brand awareness.

The attenuation of the pandemic and the subsequent recovery of world markets in 2021 favoured an upswing in Kazakhstan, the 44th largest market for Italian footwear exports in terms of value, 51st by quantity. With almost 207,000 pairs and an average price tag of 83.08 Euro a pair, exports to Kazakhstan registered a growth rate of +12.8% in the first 11 months of 2021 as compared to the previous year. The regions of Marche, Emilia Romagna and Lombardy manufacture three quarters of the footwear exported to the country. Almaty also offers an opportunity to establish contact with buyers in Uzbekistan, a growing market for Italian footwear exports in terms of both quantity (+31.6%) and value (+3.8%). Together, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan import Italian footwear worth more than 20 million Euro.

“The Almaty event has become an essential date on the calendar for the Italian fashion industry,” says Roberto Tadini, Chair of AIP, the Italian Furriers’ Association. “The Kazakhstani market is of particular interest to furriers. We are living in a very complicated time, but by working all together, with Assocalzaturifici, Assopellettieri, Emi and ITA, we continue to offer important opportunities for our companies to do business and help them bring Italian fashions to Kazakhstan.”

“I agree with my colleague, the Chair of Assocalzaturifici, that Kazakhstan, because of its geographical location and neutrality in the current conflict, stands to play an important role for exports of Italian products to former CIS nations,” says Assopellettieri Chair Franco Gabbrielli. “At this time it is very important to continue serving these markets and providing our historic partners with support. The fact that we can do this together with other trade associations in the fashion industry is in itself a great achievement.”

“Kazakhstan would seem to be the only gateway to the Russian market at the moment,” says Alberto Scaccioni, CEO of Ente Moda Italia. “We have always considered La moda Italiana@Almaty to be an event of great interest for small to mid-sized Italian companies, and it is now more important than ever to be there, due to both the country’s domestic market and its location. I'm very confident that this edition of the event will be a great success.”

Martino Castellani, Director of ITA Almaty, comments that “it has always been a pleasure to work with Assocalzaturifici, EMI and our other partners on an event that has become a tradition, but is also becoming more and more important, both for our own companies and for the local market. After the disorders of this January, the situation in Kazakhstan has returned to normal, and despite an initial drop in the value of the local currency due to the Ukraine crisis, the exchange rate has now returned to the level of May 2021, and is therefore also largely back to normal. And so we believe all the pieces of the puzzle are in place to make this edition a success, with the participation of 40 Italian companies and more than 250 buyers invited from all over Central Asia, including, of course, all the principal Kazakhstani buyers.

The ITA office in Almaty and its Punto di Corrispondenza office in Tashkent have been working on promotion of the event all over Central Asia, contacting hundreds of buyers in an area 12 times the size of Italy and meeting with great interest among them, revealing the popularity of Italian fashions among the local population”.

“Last year, Italian exports exceeded pre-Covid levels,” points out Ambassador Marco Alberti. “We are seeing new dynamism in business, as well as effective dialogue between public and private, as a result of constant commitment on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister Di Maio himself. Italy is out there, and Italian companies want to demonstrate once again the importance of Kazakhstan for the growth of their exports. We’re working on this despite the difficulties inherent in the current international situation, working with ITA to take advantage of all the unused potential for our exports in the country. We’re happy that Assocalzaturifici, with Assopellettieri, AIP, the Italian Furriers’ Association, and EMI, or Ente Moda Italia, have confirmed their mission in the country, an essential opportunity to underline the quality of Italian-made goods for various stakeholders as well as the sustainability of Italian fashions and the country’s unique products.”

Opportunities for learning more about the Kazakh market organised by MICAM Milano will include a meeting with buyers and the press scheduled for 7 April at La Prima in Almaty, during an event introduced by a talk on “Fashion and Sustainability: scenarios and trends in Italy and Kazakhstan”, presented by the Italian Embassy with the participation of His Excellency Ambassador Marco Alberti, Assocalzaturifici, and a team of local bloggers, who will discuss the prospects of the market and the new drivers of sustainable consumption in the Central Asian country.

The Italian footwear industry mounted a recovery in 2021. Indeed, turnover increased by +18.7% on 2020 to reach 12.7 billion euro. However, this is still short of pre-covid levels (- 11% compared to 2019). This is the snapshot taken by Confindustria Moda Research Centre on behalf of Assocalzaturifici for a sector where luxury brands are driving exports and where distinct trends can be seen for companies (only one in three is back to pre-pandemic levels) and over which a shadow is being cast by the constantly evolving geopolitical situation in Ukraine.

In detail, exports enjoyed the second-best result ever, including net of inflation (with a final figure of 10.3 billion euro). The two leading export destinations, Switzerland and France, that are traditionally linked to manufacturing on contract, fared particularly well (with the former increasing by +16.2% in value terms on 2020 during the first 11 months of the year, and the latter up +24%). But the USA (+42%) and China (+37.5%) also saw a strong performance and the latter is now well above 2019 levels.

From the leading 20 destination markets, only 3 experienced a fall in 2021: UK, Japan and South Korea (with the latter bringing to an end its stretch of robust and constant growth over the previous years). Finally, there is concern for the Russian-Ukrainian situation which will inevitably put the brakes on the recovery described above given the strategic importance of these two markets for Italian footwear.

The balance of trade surplus is up (+22% between January and November), and is expected to be just under 5.2 billion for the year as a whole.

On the domestic front, however, despite an increase of +15.6% in value terms and +12.1% in volume, Italian household spending is still 11.1% down on 2019 levels, which were already highly unsatisfactory. The analysis by merceological category reveals increases of around +16% in expenditure on 2020 for classic men's shoes and +18% for classic women's shoes; both these items had been severely affected in 2020 due to the sharp reduction in occasions for using them and are still approximately -20% down on pre-pandemic levels; there was a +14% increase for children's shoes; a +16.3% increase for sports shoes and sneakers (where the shortfall on 2019 stands at -4%). Finally, there was a limited increase for slippers (+6%), but this was sufficient to make up the gap with the pre-covid situation (+0.3%), given their widespread use during the time people were confined to their homes in 2020 and the resulting more modest reduction in purchases for the category.

Expenditure by foreign tourists continues to be well below pre-pandemic levels.

In terms of employment, in 2021 there were a total of 3,981 active footwear manufacturers in Italy, representing a negative balance of -171 units compared to December 2020. The sector's workforce fell to 70,586, i.e. there were -1,296 less workers than in 2020 (-1.8%) If component manufacturers are also taken into account, the balance is even more negative: -312 companies and -2,067 employees compared to 2020, across both industrial and craft sectors. The number of active companies is down for all regions. In terms of the workforce, Campania and Puglia are the only two regions bucking the trend (+95 and +148 units). The Marche and Tuscany reported the largest reductions in absolute terms for both active companies (-114 and -65 units respectively) and workforce (-1,269 and -624).

Finally, after the 2020 peak, following the suspension of working activities during the lockdown (83 million hours), in 2021 authorisations granted by INPS for the leather supply chain fell to 68.2 million (-17.8%), but remain 8 times higher than in 2019 (+722%), which demonstrates exactly how complex the situation remains. Indeed, the price increase for raw materials (that continued throughout all of 2021) and energy are eating away companies' margins and putting at risk the sector's recovery.