Average price per pair of shoes in Italy 2019, by type of shoes
Footwear manufacturing in Italy
Italy is the leading shoe manufacturing country in the European Union. With 4.3 thousand companies employing almost 75 thousand individuals, the production value of the footwear sector in Italy grew steadily from 2012 to 2019. In 2019, it registered a value of roughly eight billion euros. The success of the footwear sector in Italy is linked to an entrepreneurial and creative spirit and to the typical structure of the sector which relies on local sub-suppliers of raw materials, tanneries, components, accessories, machinery manufacturers, model makers and designers.
An export oriented sector
The Italian footwear manufacturing is without a doubt an export-oriented sector: approximately 85 percent of the production was destined to foreign markets in 2018. Furthermore, despite decreasing in volume, the value of exported shoes increased steadily from 2012 and reached a value of over ten billion euros in 2019.