Negative footwear results in Italy

Both the present situation and the previews for the Italian footwear industry are quite negative. Last year, the experts had forecast 2002 as a negative year for the sector and they were right. But no increase is expected during the first six months of 2003 in the Italian footwear sector, Antonio Brotini, president of Anci, said recently. In fact, export statistics confirm the difficult times: from January to July 2002, the Italian export of shoes decreased in value (e4.066 billion, -7.2% in comparison with the same period in 2001) and in quantity (210 million of pairs, -9.6%). There were strong losses in Germany (-18,6% in value) and USA (-19,5%), which are the first and the third market for the Italian shoes and represent about one third of the total Italian export of shoes. In contrast, France (+7,7%) and UK (+3,8%), the second and the fourth markets, showed an increase.