Footwear and leathergoods optimism in short supply in Germany
Germany’s footwear manufacturers achieved combined revenues of €2.33 billion in 2025, an increase of 3.2% compared to 2024. The figures come from the German Footwear and Leathergoods Association, HDSL.
At a briefing at Micam in Milan on February 23, HDSL managing director, Torben Schütz, said sales in the domestic market for German shoe brands rose by 6% to reach €1.7 billion, while sales in export markets fell by 5.9% to reach €493 million.
In parallel, Germany imported footwear with a combined value of €13.3 billion in 2025, an increase of 13.8% year on year.
Mr Schütz (pictured) said revenues for the country’s leathergoods manufacturers reached €365.9 million in 2025, down by 6.6% year on year. Their sales in the domestic market were €245.4 million, a decrease of 10.1%, while sales in export markets were up by 1.4%, reaching €120.5 million.
He said HDSL surveys of member companies show a high level of concern about the domestic market because, he said, “consumer behaviour is changing”, which is having a profound effect on retailers in Germany. As a result, he said, finding new customers in overseas markets had become important for German manufacturers.
“There was a huge wave of shop closures in December,” the HDSL managing director added, “but not because of bankruptcy; they were planned closures, and we think we will see more of them.”
In the surveys, he explained that 40% of companies expect revenues to be at the same level in 2026 as they reached in 2025. Most of the rest “think 2026 will be a rough year”.
