We spoke to Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, who has been the Secretary General at COTANCE for more than 30 years. We discussed some of the critical issues around the European leather industry, including traceability standards and material metrics   

The German retail sector is split in two: the footwear and leather goods market is experiencing one of its worst years, with sales falling by 4.2% year-on-year in the first eight months of the year, while overall retail is growing and e-commerce is booming, fuelled by Asian marketplaces. Complicating matters further, footwear imports have surged in value by 16.9%, defying the decline in domestic sales and raising questions about the country’s trade position. Despite current volatile business conditions and subdued consumer confidence, the industry is cautiously seeking signs of positive change   

A 2% year-on-year increase in comparable sales in the second quarter of its financial year was reported by the UK-based luxury group. Growth in Greater China also resumed during this period   

The Portuguese slow luxury brand Via Essenza creates timeless bags in limited editions of 25 per collection. The first creation, the VIA backpack, is available to pre-order from the brand’s official website   

Despite reporting a solid performance in the third quarter, the UK-based sportswear retailer has lowered its full-year profit outlook in light of recent weak macroeconomic and consumer trends