Spanish footwear is mainly imported, the sector's 2022 situation at a glance

The Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (Fice) has shared with FashionUnited a report that analyses the sector's performance between January and November 2022, a period in which Spain has consolidated its role as an importer in this sector, having recovered its pre-pandemic export figures.

In the first eleven months of 2022, the sector reached 2,830 million euros in sales generated abroad, which increases in value by 22.2 per cent compared to 2021 and by 11 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic figures of 2019, a year which they also outperformed by 1.7 per cent in market volume.

During this period, 148 million pairs of shoes were exported, and it is estimated that, pending the final figures for the last quarter, the total for the year will be around 150 million pairs. This is a 6 percent volume improvement when compared to the same period in 2021.

The data shows that the European Union has consolidated its position as the main buyer of Spanish footwear, representing 76.7 percent of total exports in volume and 71 percent in value. Among the EU member states, France, Italy and Germany are the countries with the highest export share.

The main non-EU destination for Spanish footwear is the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, which after Brexit has positioned itself as the second most important market outside the EU.

Exports in the European Union

In total, exports to the European Union reached 1645 million euros and 96 million pairs, with an increase of 26 per cent in value. Exports to non-EU destinations exceeded 670 million euros and 29 million pairs, representing 29 per cent of the total in value and 23.3 per cent in volume.

France, with 19 percent of the export share, is the main customer: from January to September it bought 442 million euros, 29.3 million pairs.

Italy ranks second with 311 million euros and 17.1 million pairs, followed by Germany with 255 million euros and 10.6 million pairs purchased.

The United States and the United Kingdom, the main destinations outside the EU

The main non-EU destination for Spanish footwear is the United States, where exports increased by 16 percent in volume (in annual terms) and 34.5 percent in value. It would occupy the fifth place if we take into account the European Union in the ranking.

After Brexit, the UK is now the second most important market outside the EU, up 26.8 per cent in value and 7.6 per cent in pairs of footwear, but still 35.5 per cent in value when compared to 2019.

Even though the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom establishes zero tariffs and quotas from January 1, 2021, since leaving the Union, EU footwear companies must follow the procedures for third countries, processes that, according to the Confederation of the European Footwear Industry (CEC) end up complicating synergies.

As compared to the same period in 2021, a growth of more than 30 per cent can be observed in Poland, Turkey, Greece, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and Austria, as well as in the United States, and Spanish exports have shown positive growth in all the main markets except China, Japan, Denmark, South Korea and Australia, although the biggest drop has been in Russia, with -75.5 per cent.

Spanish footwear generates more imports than exports

Imports of foreign footwear into Spanish territory reached 3249 million euros in the first nine months of the year, compared to the 2830 million euros generated in exports.

The average import price has risen by 27 percent compared to the pre-pandemic data due to the inflation we have been mentioning. And, if we compare the most current data collected in the report with those of 2019, although imports in pairs remain practically the same in volume, their value is 26.6 per cent higher.

Once again, Asia reinforces its position as Spain's main supplier, with China leading the way as responsible for 62.5 percent of total pairs imported.

Outside Asia, Italy has overtaken France as the top supplier of Spanish footwear, with the country taking second place ahead of Belgium and Germany.

The worst inflation figures since the 1990s

According to data by Statista, the footwear industry in Spain has been gaining strength within the Spanish market in recent months, although after a bad patch due to the difficult economic situation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the sector had to face the problems caused by the war in Ukraine, which only added to the problem with the country registering the highest inflation levels since the 1990s.

The largest increase in sales of the fashion industry in Spain compared to the same month of the previous year occurred in sales generated in the month of January 2022, with an increase of around 35 percent.

Taking into account these data published in January 2023 on the year-on-year variation of fashion trade sales by month Spain 2017-2022, the situation experienced by the sector during 2020 seems to have been a long way off.

Particularly noteworthy was the sharp drop in sales in the months of March, April and May, in line with the lockdown as part of the Government's measures to try to halt the advance of COVID-19. Specifically, sales in April fell by almost -90 per cent compared to the same month in 2019.

In November 2022, the consumer price index (CPI) for clothing and footwear in Spain reached the highest value of the entire period analysed, per the revised Statista statistics, which reflect the Spanish CPI from January 2016 to December 2022. A CPI that has seen a historic rise since the second quarter of 2021, registering inflation levels unknown in the country since the 1990s.

This article is based on an analysis of the most recent Fice report to date and various sector studies published by Statista, which can be consulted on its website, and which have been compared with the official data published by the Spanish government.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.ES and has been translated and edited from Spanish into English by Veerle Versteeg.