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Europe’s Shoe Exports Fall, Hitting Spain and Italy Hardest

Europe’s footwear industry exported less in 2026 than a year earlier: Spain’s exports fell 7.3 per cent, Italy’s 4.3 per cent and Portugal’s 2.1 per cent.

Eva Winterer

Shoe exports from Europe’s main producing countries fell in the first half of 2026, with Spain and Italy recording the largest declines. Spanish exports were down 7.3 per cent and Italian exports 4.3 per cent in the first five months of the year, compared with the same period of 2025, according to figures compiled by the Portuguese industry association APICCAPS. Portugal’s exports fell 2.1 per cent year on year in the first half, to €813 million.

● In brief

Portugal. Germany and France are Portugal’s largest markets, taking 24 per cent and 20 per cent of its footwear exports. The share of leather shoes in Portuguese exports has fallen from 69 per cent to 58 per cent in three years, while rubber, plastic and textile footwear have grown.

Italy. Italian footwear exports fell 1.6 per cent in value and 3.6 per cent in volume in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, to about €3 billion, according to the industry association Assocalzaturifici. Exports to the Middle East fell by a third. The number of active manufacturers fell by 85 in three months.

Outside Europe. Exports from China, which makes 55 per cent of the world’s shoes, fell 10.9 per cent year on year in the first five months. Brazil’s fell 15.7 per cent and Turkey’s 5.3 per cent.

Investment. Singapore’s state investor Temasek bought 9 per cent of FSI, an Italian investment firm, and the French group A&B Couture took a majority stake in Bertan Maglie, an Italian knitwear maker founded in 1965. Both deals were announced in late September.

● Why it matters

Italy, Portugal and Spain are the main manufacturing bases for luxury footwear sold in Europe, and many of their producers are small, family-owned companies supplying several brands. In Italy, companies in the leather supply chain used 6.2 million hours of state-funded short-time work in the first quarter, according to Assocalzaturifici. That was 40 per cent less than at the 2025 peak but more than three times the level before the pandemic.

Assocalzaturifici cites US tariffs, falling demand in the Middle East and higher costs for raw materials and energy. APICCAPS attributes Portugal’s smaller decline to its focus on value, quality and fast delivery, and to a broader product range.

The downturn has coincided with new investment in Italian manufacturing, including the Temasek and A&B Couture deals.

The Silent Luxury will publish a longer analysis comparing manufacturing in Portugal, Italy and Spain this week.

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