Since 2016, bringing production closer to home has been the top priority stated by many fashion buyers, but the proportion of European and US imports from neighbouring countries has remained unchanged since 2018. The gap between intention and outcome can be explained by cost items that are not included in the budget.
On 19 December 2025, the Albanian Council of Ministers approved Decision No. 776: from 1 January 2026, the minimum wage would rise from 40,000 to 50,000 lek per month – a 25% increase over twelve months – with social security contributions to follow. In January, numerous small and medium-sized subcontracting firms closed down. In the same month, Albanian exports of textiles and footwear stood at 8 billion lek, 5.8% less than in January 2025.
Florian Zekja, of the exporters’ association ProEksport, explains why the blow comes all at once: contract manufacturers work on orders and prices set by foreign clients and have no way of passing on the increased costs to downstream suppliers, so they close down. Those who can are looking for another production location. Zekja points to Tunisia, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Egypt as alternatives chosen by many for the ‘exodus’.
Albania was one of the destinations for Italian nearshoring: close by, covered by the Stabilisation Agreement with the European Union, with a workforce trained in upper production for twenty years. Within a year, the reason it had been chosen had eroded. Those who relocate again face the cost of a second move, perhaps without having fully recouped the cost of the first.
TOP PRIORITY SINCE 2016, SHARE UNCHANGED SINCE 2018
In McKinsey’s annual surveys of fashion buyers, nearshoring has featured among the top priorities cited since 2016. Over the same period, the share of imports from Europe and the US originating from neighbouring countries has remained essentially flat compared with 2018. Ten years of intentions, but no significant shift in market shares.
The intention remains stated: in the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2026, 35% of executives plan to shift their sourcing towards markets with more favourable trade agreements. There is a gap between this intention and the actual container changing port – a gap that surveys do not measure.
WHERE HAVE VOLUMES ACTUALLY SHIFTED?
According to APICCAPS’ World Footwear Yearbook 2026, in 2025 global production remained steady at 24.6 billion pairs (+0.1%). Asia continues to manufacture 88.7% of the world’s pairs, with China alone accounting for 13.7 billion.
The Italian figures appear to indicate some movement, but they must be interpreted with care. In 2025, 376.8 million pairs entered Italy – 32.6 million more than in 2024 – at an average price of 17.84 euros.
Imports from the Far East rose by 33.6% in volume: Vietnam +86.7%, Cambodia +83.4%, China +25.5%. However, the Confindustria Fashion Accessories Research Centre warns that this increase is not driven by domestic consumption – which remains flat – but by purely commercial operations and the opening of large logistics centres in Italy, in some cases linked to sportswear brands. These are goods in transit, not supplies being relocated. And even when they are relocated, they do not move closer to the end markets.
The figures therefore seem to suggest a low propensity for nearshoring, whilst pointing to further relocation to Asia, always in pursuit of the best price.
KEY FIGURES
24.6 billion pairs: global production in 2025, up 0.1% on 2024
+25%: Albanian minimum wage between 2025 and 2026
35%: fashion executives who plan to shift their sourcing in 2026
THE COSTS LEFT OUT OF THE BUDGET
The literature on the repatriation of production is clear on one point: offshoring has often been a decision based on comparing a unit price rather than total cost. Kinkel and Maloca noted this as early as 2009 and identified wage inflation, productivity and quality differentials as the factors that only become apparent in hindsight.
Certain aspects are underestimated when considering offshoring. The first is set-up costs: lasts, sole moulds, cutting dies, and sampling rounds right up to the approved pre-production sample. These are all expenses incurred before the first pair is sold, and none of this is recouped if the new factory fails to maintain the expected quality.
The second is the learning curve of the new team, which no quotation lists as a separate item: returns from the first batches, rejects, and the hours spent by technical support staff sent on-site. The third concerns funds tied up in dual sourcing, because the old supplier must be kept on until the new one delivers: for one season, two supply chains are paid for a single collection.
The fourth factor is documentary. Changing suppliers entails new certifications, audits and the implementation of traceability systems. In short, it involves going through bureaucratic procedures that are burdensome not only in terms of cost, but also in terms of organisation and time.
Shifting the supply chain, therefore, is a demanding and costly operation, even if not always in terms that can be quantified in the balance sheet.
Finally, let us consider a further factor which, in 2025, prompted many to take action: the rise in customs duties. That was until 20 February 2026, when the US Supreme Court ruled that the duties imposed under the IEEPA – the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – were not authorised by law, paving the way for refunds. Then the tariffs return, then their levels change, then the country to which they are applied changes. In short, the fragmented and ever-changing (like a feather in the wind) international tariff situation would seem to favour nearshoring, but in reality it complicates the process of sourcing and evaluating new suppliers, which, as we have seen, involves no small number of complexities.
Modifying the supply chain is proving to be an increasingly complex operation, whether the aim is to bring it closer to the end market or simply to evaluate the most competitive costs.
In such a complicated scenario, it is impossible to make forecasts and, above all, it is essential to understand the markets, scrutinise partners, engage as closely as possible with distribution requirements and then align them with production dynamics.
Engaging with industry professionals becomes essential and indispensable.
For all these reasons, Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags are central to defining one’s business. They are the ideal venue for engaging with all industry professionals, thanks in part to the many networking tools made available by the trade fair. Such as the dedicated app, which allows you to book appointments with suppliers suggested by the sophisticated matching system based on your individual needs.