Italian leather goods exports down 7.5% in first five months of 2025

In the first five months of 2025, Italian leather goods exports fell by 7.5% to just over €4 billion. Export sales account for more than 85% of the industry’s annual revenue, and they had posted a downturn of nearly 9% in 2024.  

Regional data shows a 1.5% decline in exports to EU markets, and a more significant slump in sales to non-EU markets, where exports fell 10.6%. Italy’s leather goods exports outside the EU are characterised by higher average prices, and generate nearly two thirds of total export revenue.
 
Exports to Italy’s two main European markets, France and Germany (first and fifth respectively in the ranking of destination markets by value), recorded contrasting trends: exports to France fell 3.8%, while those to Germany increased 1.1%.

Among non-EU countries, positive results were achieved in the Middle East, where exports grew 26.4% in the first five months of 2025, thanks chiefly to increased sales to the UAE (up 35.7%) and Qatar (up 49.9%). Exports to Turkey were also significantly up, by 16.7%. Conversely, negative results were recorded in the Far East (down 17.3%), the former USSR (down 4.3% overall, but with heavier losses in Russia and Ukraine), and in the UK (down 13%). Exports to Switzerland continued to fall and lost 39% in value, a phenomenon that is chiefly due to logistics/distribution reasons. Exports to North America were nearly on par with last year (up 0.9% in value), although those to Canada fell 13%, while exports to the USA posted a modest 2.1% increase.
 
In terms of product types, exports of leather products lost only 3.6% in value, while those of leather substitutes fell by a more significant 15.8%. Handbags were by far the most popular item, generating an export revenue of €2.83 billion in the first five months of 2025, and accounting for nearly 70% of total exports, though the figure was 9% below 2024. Exports of luggage and travel goods were down 12.4%, while small leather goods lost only 2.4%, with genuine leather articles growing 3.7%. Exports of belts increased by 4.7%.
 
Forecasts for the second half of the year aren’t overly optimistic, because the current difficulties are likely to be compounded by Trump’s new tariffs on exports to the USA, whose impact is currently hard to quantify. At any rate, Italian leather goods exports in 2025 are likely to record a second consecutive downturn.