Assomac: the leather, footwear and leather goods technology sector closes 2024 at -12%
- President Mauro Bergozza: “Deep crisis but Made in Italy can become a protagonist again with vision, supply chain and targeted investments”.
- The current contraction involves both the domestic market - penalised by the slowdown in investments in the fashion supply chain - and exports.
- Despite the difficulties, Italy confirms its leadership in the segments with the highest technological value, maintaining a 30% share of world exports in the sector by 2024.
Bergamo, 20 June 2025
Quality, skills, technology. It is on these pillars that the Italian footwear, leather goods and tannery machinery sector is called upon to build its relaunch. The occasion to take stock was the General Assembly of Assomac, hosted today at the Kilometro Rosso Innovation District in Bergamo, from which a certainly complex picture emerged: according to the 2024 preliminary results, the sector has recorded a 12% drop in turnover, with an estimated closure of around 575 million euros.
This is a significant contraction, which involves both the domestic market - penalised by the slowdown in investments in the fashion supply chain - and exports, in a global context characterised by geopolitical instability, inflation, shrinking consumption and tightening trade barriers. “Our sector is going through a phase of deep, but not irreversible suffering - said Mauro Bergozza, President of Assomac - The quality of our technologies, the solidity of Italian know-how, and the innovative drive that distinguishes us must once again become a driver of competitiveness. To achieve this, we need investments in digitisation, automation, sustainability and above all a shared vision between companies, institutions and the education and research system. We must be ready to play a system game, otherwise we will remain on the sidelines of the global market."
Despite the difficulties, Italy is confirmed as the technological leader in the high-end segment at international level, maintaining a 30% share of world exports in the sector in 2024. In particular, it holds 52% of the global export of tannery machinery and 35% of that of leather goods machinery. More penalised is the footwear segment, which stands at 12%, in a competitive context dominated by the growing Chinese presence: Beijing has strengthened its industrial role in the Asian region.
The Assembly was also a moment of wide-ranging discussion on the future trajectories of the supply chain. Under the title “Growth, Collaboration and Innovation for the European Fashion Industry”, the event was attended by institutional and academic speakers, including Maurizio Tarquini, Director General of Confindustria, Maurizio Forte, Managing Director Export Promotion Department of Italian Trade Agency, and Giuliano Noci, Professor of Strategy and Marketing at the Milan Polytechnic.
At the heart of the debate: the need to ensure technological neutrality in order to preserve and valorise medium technology, a key element to give continuity to the sustainable transition of European fashion; the strengthening of synergies between companies and institutions; and the urgency of joint action at European level to defend and relaunch the manufacturing identity of our continent.
Among the priorities that emerged: greater access to subsidised finance tools - starting with the funds provided by Industry 5.0 - support for exports in key markets such as Africa, India, South-East Asia and South America, investment in technical training and acceleration of digital innovation processes. The competitiveness game, it was emphasised, cannot be played alone: it is necessary to network between players in the supply chain, the fashion system, research bodies and associations, to create a solid industrial ecosystem, with a unified voice in Europe.
“Aggregating to compete is no longer an option, but a necessity - President Bergozza concluded - We have to build a system in which companies are supported not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of infrastructure, industrial policies and international relations. Italy can and must become a protagonist again, but to do so we need cohesion, investment and a long-term vision. The time to act is now”.