German shoe market

The peculiarity of the Russian shoe retail is that it repeats what is happening in Europe with a delay of several months. Demand is growing in Germany - in two months it is also growing in Russia. And vice versa. Therefore, it makes sense to study the state of German retail in more detail - very soon the trends may repeat themselves in our country. Although the global economy has not yet emerged from the crisis, the economic development of the German footwear industry in the second half of 2009 gives every reason to look to the future more optimistically.

The footwear industry Germany 2010 began the year with cautious optimism. The decline in sales has bottomed out, and in recent months, sales have begun to grow, albeit slowly so far. In general, according to the results of the 2009 year, sales fell by 6,4% in all respects, including export.

Germany's domestic market turnover reached 11,2 billion euros. 65% of sales are to manufacturers' stores, and the remaining 35% to online stores, shopping centers and showrooms.

If we compare the sales of shoes by month, then the relationship between these figures and weather conditions becomes obvious. Double increase and decrease in sales may be associated with a change of seasons.

However, fortunately, the decline in sales did not affect the labor market. The number of people employed in the shoe sector has even grown a little. About 10 600 people work in shoe factories in Germany. Although of the 47 factories, two were closed.

Retail prices for shoes in the country increased on average by 1,6%, purchase prices by 1,3%, and are slightly ahead of the general price increase in the country. However, it must be remembered that in recent years, prices for shoes and clothes in Germany have grown more slowly than prices for other consumer goods.

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According to the national association HDS, the development of the domestic German market is hindered by anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear introduced in the EU countries in 2006. On 22 December 2009, the European Commission extended their validity for another 15 months. According to HDS, since the introduction of duties in 2006, barrage duties have already cost the European shoe industry 800 million euros. Losses of the German footwear industry are estimated by HDS at 200 million euros.

The financial and economic crisis has damaged the shoe industry in many ways. In the first six months of the 2009 year, shoe sales in Germany fell by 10% compared to the same period of the 2008 year. Export value fell by 18,3% (amounting to 504 million euros). By the number of pairs, exports fell by 5,5%. Exports to Russia have fallen dramatically, by almost 1 million pairs. To understand: in 2008, 5 million pairs of German shoes were imported into our country. 86% of exports go to EU countries. The average price for the exported pair increased by 0,6% and amounted to 15,65 euros.

Prices for Chinese imports rose by 10% and amounted to 13,15 euros, in quantitative terms, imports rose by 1 million pairs.

Import volumes from Italy decreased by 18%. The share of Italian shoemakers on the German market in 2009 was only 5%. For comparison: in 1997, Italians occupied 25%. The number of imported shoes from Spain increased slightly (by 6%) and amounted to 6 million pairs. Imports from Portugal decreased by 16%, and the Portuguese share in the German market is 2%. The volume of imports from the Netherlands increased sharply (by 51% compared to 2008), but this is due not so much to the growing production in this country as to the opening of a new transit route through Rotterdam. The overall economic situation remains dire. Nevertheless, the German labor market remains stable and consumer spending on footwear is gradually increasing. According to research by GfK, they will maintain this steady growth in 2010.