Germany is gripped by “sneaker hype”
29/08/2017
This represents an increase of 25% compared to the same period of last year. Data about the number of pairs exported is not yet available.
The report from HDS/L also revealed that 254 million pairs of shoes were exported from Germany in 2016 for a value of €5.29 billion. These figures represent respective increases of 6.7% and 15.7% compared to 2015. The average price of each pair was €20.81, up from €19.18 the previous year.
This strong performance was driven by sports shoes, which saw its exports in 2016 increase 13.7% to 39.4 million pairs. This gave it a 15.4% share of total exports by volume.
German footwear production decreased slightly last year, according to HDS/L. In 2016, the country produced 31 million pairs of shoes, a 5.4% drop compared to the previous year. Double-digit decreases in production of outdoor shoes and men’s and women’s sandals were offset by a 25% increase in sneaker production.
The CEO of HDS/L, Manfred Junkert, said these figures show a “very clear production shift” towards sports shoes and sneakers.
Carl-August Seibel, chairman of HDS/L, said the strong export figures shouldn’t distract from the “upheaval” that the fashion and footwear sector is experiencing. He explained that they were primarily a result of what he termed “sneaker hype”.
Despite the promising figures for the first five months of the year, Mr Seibel said the overall outlook for 2017 is not entirely positive. He explained that the “increasing isolation of domestic markets” due to new trade barriers is likely to impact sales both abroad and in Germany.
He also reported that two-thirds of manufacturers expect exports to stagnate or decline in the medium-term. This demonstrates that only a small number of manufacturers are benefiting from the boom in the sneaker and sports shoe sector, he said.
HDS/L expects sales growth from the German shoe industry to be in the lower single-digit range across the whole of 2017.
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