The German shoe industry generated sales worth around 1.15 billion euros in the first half of 2024. In the same period in 2023, total sales from shoe manufacturing amounted to around 1.17 billion euros, a decrease of 1.7%. Domestic sales amounted to 877 million euros in the first half of 2024. In the same period last year, it was around 860 million euros. In nominal terms, domestic sales have therefore increased by 1.98%. Foreign sales, on the other hand, have fallen sharply. From January to June 2024, these totaled 273 million euros. In 2023, it was still around 307 million euros: a decrease of over 11%. Of the sales, 167 million euros were generated within the euro zone. In 2023, the share was 191 million euros. In terms of value, sales are roughly at the same level as before the pandemic. In the first half of 2019, total sales amounted to 956 million euros. This is an indication that the industry has left the Corona years behind with great creativity and resilience and has returned to a growth path.
The number of companies with 50 or more employees remained stable at 33 companies until June 2024. On average, around 9,219 people were employed in these companies in 2024; in the previous year, the number in the same period was around 9,046 employees. There is therefore a slight increase in employment of 1.9%. In the first half of 2019, the year before the pandemic, an average of almost 8,000 people were employed in the industry in the manufacture of shoes in companies with more than 50 employees. The increase is due, among other things, to the expansion of digitalization and the increased requirements in the area of sustainability. Across all company sizes, around 15,700 employees worked in the manufacture of shoes. The gross wage and salary sum was around 26,870 euros in the first half of 2024, and in 2023 it averaged around 24,850 euros per capita. The increase of over 8% is well above the increased cost of living.
