Despite Germans’ continued desire to travel, the German leather goods and suitcase industry is looking forward to a challenging year in 2023 and does not expect any significant recovery in 2024 either. This is the conclusion of the Federal Association of the Shoe and Leather Goods Industry. V. (HDSL).
While the total value of exports of leather goods (excluding leather clothing and shoes) in 2023 (January to November) remained roughly the same at around 2.32 billion euros compared to the previous year (2022: 2.33 billion euros), the total value of imports fell same period from 3.9 billion euros in 2022 to 3.6 billion euros in 2023. This corresponds to a decline of almost 7.7 percent. The declining numbers reflect lower retail orders, which can be attributed to domestic consumers’ reluctance to consume, according to the association.
The most important trading partners for exports were France and Poland. Leather goods worth 198 million euros were exported to France. This corresponds to a slight decrease of 0.5 percent compared to the comparable period in 2022. Goods worth 267 million euros were exported to Poland in 2023, which corresponds to a decrease of over ten percent.
Imports from producing countries are falling
Italy will remain the most important trading partner for imports in Europe in 2023. For leather goods, the value from January to November 2023 was 479 million euros. This corresponds to an increase of 19.8 percent compared to 2022. The world’s most important importing countries are China, Vietnam and India. Goods worth 1.5 billion euros were imported from China from January to November 2023. In 2022 there were goods worth 1.77 billion euros, which corresponds to a decrease of 15.25 percent. Declining numbers are also reported from Vietnam and India.
Sales in the manufacturing sector for the production of leather and leather goods (excluding leather clothing) will only decline slightly in 2023. Total sales from January to November 2023 were around 442 million euros. Of this, around 196 million euros were sold domestically.
In view of the many crises and persistent inflation, the association currently sees little reason for a trend reversal. Only the figures from the tourism industry and the increasing desire among Germans for vacation trips give hope. However, this will not result in a comprehensive recovery in 2024 alone, according to the association.