Portuguese footwear industry offers ‘alternative to Italy’

By reducing costs or developing new market segments, Portugal could become a key player in the luxury footwear sector, according to EY Parthenon.

The footwear, components and leather goods sector in Portugal currently employs around 40 thousand people and exports 90% of its products to 173 countries.

Miguel Cardoso Pinto, partner at EY Parthenon, stated that increased competition and rising costs threaten the footwear sector.

The consultant stated that Portugal has “several comparative advantages” over Italy, which dominates the luxury footwear industry but is currently “threatened by high production costs, a market dominated by intermediaries and the lack of qualified labor”.

Although Portugal and Italy offered high-quality footwear production, Portugal offered lower production costs.

Footwear market data from GlobalData shows that the global footwear market is expected to total $403.9 billion by 2026, up from $371.1 billion in 2024.

EY Parthenon predicted that luxury footwear, which currently represents 8% of the sector, will grow 4.1% annually until 2028.

In a study entitled ‘The footwear industry’s path to luxury’, EY Parthenon argues that cost reduction and the development of new market segments are the key for Portugal to position itself as a “relevant player in the luxury footwear sector ”.

EY Parthenon also suggested that Portugal could increase its productivity using new “industrial processes” and optimize labor costs, while reducing raw material costs through innovative products.

Strict ESG standards and high-quality products were also considered essential for entering the luxury footwear sector.

The consultancy adds: “Exploring segments with greater potential for added value, entering new geographies and optimizing new stages of the supply chain are three possible paths to a more competitive future”.

The president of the Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components and Leather Goods Manufacturers – APICCAPS – Luis Onofre stated: “We want to be an important international reference. 24 billion pairs of shoes are produced every year, around 90% of them in Asia, which means that nine out of ten people wear Asian shoes. We don’t think this is sustainable, on the contrary, we think there is room in the market for players like Portugal.”

In March 2024, the European Clothing and Textile Confederation released Aequalis-4-TCLFan EU co-financed project that aims to promote upskilling and reskilling in the textile, clothing, leather and footwear sectors.

“In data: Portuguese footwear industry offers ‘alternative to Italy'” was originally created and published by Just stylea brand owned by GlobalData.

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