As part of the GDS opening press conference, held at the Areal Böhler on the 7th of February, Brigitte Wischnewski, President of the Federal Association of the German Footwear Retail Trade (BDSE) presented some of the figures marking the last year.

Wischnewski started to say that the survey concluded that 75% of shoe stores were unable to reach their previous year’s figures and only about 10% of companies were able to increase their turnover.

Overall, the footwear retail trade posted a 2% drop in turnover with smaller firms tending to come off worse than larger ones. However, online retail was once again able to post growth for footwear even though the growth rates have weakened significantly. The BDSE estimates the online share to now stand at 17%.

Physical shoe retail has been suffering for a good while now from declining footfall in town/city centres. Over 80% of shoe shops also report falling numbers at their locations for last year. The dwindling number of customers on shopping streets is one of the largest problem areas currently pressuring shoe retail.

The Germany-based footwear retail association is also concerned with the increasing competition from online suppliers with too early and extensive price reductions in the sector: “This last issue is partially driven by online retail which increases price transparency considerably and additionally fuels price competition by means of discount and voucher promotions”.

The BDSE also underlined the importance for companies to have a structured and consistent omnichannel strategy incorporating the signs given by the purchasing behaviors, investing in the instore experience without ignoring that more than ever customers wish to have all the information accessible online.