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Home > CANADA > Focus On
Luxury Footwear? Made in Italy!
Rome - (Adnkronos Multimedia) - The idea is simple and has the premises for being extremely effective. Eastern competition in the footwear sector is becoming increasingly fierce, so much so that by now as many as half of Italians wear shoes from the East, produced above all in China. But it is precisely China that in the future will represent one of the main export markets for top-quality Italian footwear manufacturers (www.anci-calzature.com). This is a sector where Italian supremacy continues, in fact and is undisputed on a world scale and which, moreover, witnesses constant growth in sales and market share.
There are three areas in particular which specialise in the production of luxury footwear. The first is San Mauro Pascoli, in Romagna, between Forlì and Cesena, where 270 companies operate, with around 4 thousand employees, dedicated above all to the production of high-quality footwear. Every year in this area 15 million pairs of shoes are produced, two thirds of which are destined for export, above all to Russia and the Far East, for an average annual turnover of over € 200 million. The story of the footwear industry in San Mauro began in 1850, when the first cobblers began to work in the small town. Then, in the early 20th century, the production of shoes began and stalls were set up at local country markets. Towards the end of the 1920s there was set up a cooperative of shoemakers, who produced shoes for the army. The revolution took place in the 1960s: entrepreneurial passion, together with craftsmanship, which had been nourished and perfected over decades, led to the setting up of an integrated system of companies and professional expertise which could ensure the standards of quality and design style which are now so well known and appreciated on international markets. This success is also testified by the brands of the companies which work in the area, among the most important in the world in the sector of women's luxury shoes, such as Baldinini, Sergio Rossi, Pollini, Vicini and Casadei. Naturally, there is also a large number of companies involved in the production of semifinished goods, from heels to soles, as well as producers of uppers, cutters and patternmakers and design studios, supplying brands of the utmost prestige, such as Prada, Luis Vuitton and Gucci.
Another important industrial district in the sector is that of Riviera del Brenta, between Venice and Padua. The shoemaking tradition here dates back to 1200 with the confraternity of the Venetian "Calegheri", which finally led in the 19th century to the birth of the first completely mechanised company in the Italian footwear sector and culminated in the 1950s and 60s with a place in the market of high-quality products. Today, 95% of production is concentrated in the sector of women's luxury footwear, realised by almost a thousand businesses, including shoe factories, manufacturers of accessories, patternmakers and sales agents. Of these, two thirds are craft workshops and are distinguished by an extremely high level of quality. Exports account for around 90% of the overall turnover, particularly in the German, French and US markets. There is, moreover, a large amount of work carried out under licence, for the production and commercialisation of major brands, such as LVMH, Armani, Gucci, and also with long-term contracts for the products of brands in the field of pattern making and product engineering. There is also effective and dynamic production on behalf of third parties.
Lastly, the area of Fermo and Macerata, in the Marches, where over 3300 companies work, accounting for around 24,000 jobs. The overall turnover reaches levels of € 1 billion, and around 60% of production is destined for the export market. The lion's share of the products is aimed at the medium-high sector of market, above all for women, and no less than 20% is specifically aimed at the luxury footwear market.
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