Spain’s footwear industry is weathering the crisis with steady performance

Outside Europe, the US remains the most important trading partner, although the value of exports fell by 15.5 per cent in a year marked by the conflict with US President Donald Trump. “Despite all the challenges facing Spanish brands with branches and warehouses in the US, the trend is positive,” says Imanol Martínez, managing director of the industry association FICE, offering a hopeful assessment of the situation. “The brands are adapting by reducing their margins or by managing to reach agreements with local distribution partners.” The fact that Spanish manufacturers have adapted to the situation is also evident from the latest figures for January to May 2026. The average price of shoes exported to the US has fallen by 58 per cent compared with the same period last year. It should be noted that the US government had announced the imposition of higher general tariffs on 2 April 2025. A significant portion of the comparison period was therefore not yet affected by the high and volatile tariffs. Given Trump’s threats to completely sever trade relations, the situation for companies is likely to remain characterised by uncertainty for the foreseeable future.

Spanish footwear manufacturers need to diversify further in light of the uneven trends across different countries, according to the industry association FICE. Whilst many markets were flagging, the opportunities presented by serving growth markets were also becoming clear and needed to be capitalised on. Against this backdrop, internationalisation, adapting to demand and positioning price points are the decisive factors, as Martínez explains: “Our brands are very resilient; they are expanding their presence at international events and are increasingly on the move to attract new customers. We are growing in Eastern Europe, Latin America and China. Our sector consists mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises. Whilst this is a disadvantage when seeking to operate globally, it also offers flexible structures that enable us to adapt to these challenging times.”

China’s importance as a sales market has grown significantly. In 2025, the value of imports rose by 45.5 per cent. This was followed by a further increase of 122.6 per cent between January and May 2026. In terms of the number of pairs, growth was as high as 822 per cent. In terms of imports, China remains the most important supplier of footwear, although its share of the total volume has fallen to 55 per cent. In contrast, imports from Vietnam, Indonesia and, above all, Bangladesh – the fourth-largest supplier by volume – have grown. A total of 370.8 million pairs of shoes, worth 5.249 billion euros, were imported. This represents an increase of 8.1 per cent in volume and 7.3 per cent in value compared with 2024. The average import price fell by 0.7 per cent.