The Spanish Association of Footwear and Leather Goods Components Companies (AEC) has warned that Spain’s footwear and footwear components industry is facing a critical situation as company closures, job losses and declining industrial activity continue to accelerate. The association is calling for urgent industrial policies and a coordinated action plan to protect its manufacturing sector.
AEC said the footwear industry supports manufacturing, skilled jobs and regional economies across Spain. The association warned that if action is not taken now, the damage could become structural and difficult to reverse in 2026 and 2027.
AEC said the closure of a footwear factory affects the entire value chain, including components, materials, machinery, design, technical services, logistics and talent.
“Businesses can’t take it anymore. We need an immediate, coordinated, and industry-focused institutional response.”
– Álvaro Sánchez, Director General, AEC
According to DIRCE data presented by AEC, Spain’s footwear manufacturing sector lost 1,149 companies over the last 5 years, falling from 3,280 companies to 2,131, a decline of 35%.
Of these, 195 companies closed during 2025 alone, excluding businesses that have already started closing in 2026.
The biggest losses in 2025 were recorded in Valencia at 37%, Castilla-La Mancha at 39.7%, La Rioja at 17.4% and Murcia at 22.5%. Together, these regions account for 87.4% of Spain’s footwear business base.
AEC also highlighted the fragile structure of the industry. In 2025, the sector consisted of 442 companies without employees, 1,084 micro-enterprises employing between 1 to 10 workers and only 5 companies with more than 250 employees.
Industrial activity continued to weaken. Spain’s footwear Industrial Production Index fell 9.2% in 2025 and dropped 29.1% in April 2026.
Globally, footwear production reached 23.9 billion pairs in 2024. Spain produced 71 million pairs, representing just 0.3% of global production and ranking 19th worldwide.
China remained the largest producer with 13 billion pairs, followed by India with 3 billion pairs and Vietnam with 1.55 billion pairs.
Employment also declined sharply. The footwear and leather sector lost 3,670 workers during 2025, while YoY employment fell 10% in December.
In May 2026, the sector employed 35,806 workers on average, down 324 jobs from April. Compared with May 2025, employment fell by 1,704 jobs, representing a 4.5% decline.
AEC said Spain’s footwear components industry is also facing irregular demand, rising costs for raw materials, energy, labour, financing and logistics, along with a lack of generational replacement and growing international competition.
Despite the challenges, the association said the sector continues to stand out for its design, quality, technical expertise, sustainability standards and rapid response capabilities.
The footwear components sector includes nearly 1,000 companies and supports more than 19,000 direct and indirect jobs. In 2025, the sector exported products worth €1.69 billion and imported products worth €1.76 billion.
AEC has called on national, regional and local authorities to implement an urgent industrial strategy to improve competitiveness, support SMEs, protect domestic manufacturing and secure the future of Spain’s footwear value chain.
For more details, click here to read the full article by AEC
