Italy’s leathergoods output ‘on the rise’
20/09/2017
The body also measures in weight – 21.8 million kg of goods were exported, 5% more than during the same period last year - which it says shows that goods of higher value are being exported.
Sales to South Korea, Switzerland and China grew by more than 30% by weight compared with the same period last year.
Sales to the US grew 6.5% in value but fell 8.4% in weight. “It is clear that exports to the US consisted of goods of higher value than those exported the previous year,” said Aimpes.
Italy’s imports of leathergoods grew 3% in volume and 5% in value, reaching €1.1 billion.
Leathergoods from China made up about a third of imports while those from France made up about one fifth.
Strong growth was seen in imports from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Romania, India and Pakistan. “More surprisingly, Italian buyers appear to be turning to Indonesian manufacturers for sophisticated goods, as imports from there rose 23% in value but only 2.5% in volume.”
While the volume of leathergoods purchased in Italy rose 2%, the value fell 2%. Aimpes says this was driven by a significant decline in consumer prices, particularly for bags and small leathergoods.
Sales of women’s handbags in Italy fell 1% in volume and 2% in value.
Growth was seen in the men’s segment: domestic sales of backpacks, laptop bags and smart phone covers grew more than 16% year on year.
Image: Milan-based leathergoods show Mipel, which took place from September 17 to 20
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