Shoe retail: 13% fewer locations in just one year

Since 2017, Austrian shoe retail has been struggling with massive declines – and recovery remains elusive this time as well. In the past year alone, the number of stores has decreased by a further 13%. Few industries are as heavily impacted by online retail. Of the 2,116 municipalities in Austria, 1,800 no longer have a brick-and-mortar shoe retailer – meaning that 85% of the municipalities must do without stationary shoe stores.

The shoe business is not disappearing, but it is increasingly shifting. The average Austrian spends over 200 euros annually on women’s, men’s, and children’s shoes – yet a growing portion of this amount is flowing into online retail. Clothing and sports retailers are also gradually conquering the shoe market, further eroding the market share of traditional shoe retailers.

Particularly rural, sparsely populated, or mountainous regions are almost “shoe-less.” The current analysis of the RegioData location database shows that shoe retailers are mainly concentrated in economic centers, along major traffic routes, and in densely populated areas.

While the shoe industry is gradually shifting toward online retail, the stationary business in the provinces presents a mixed picture. Salzburg has the highest shoe density, with just 0.1 stores per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Carinthia and Tyrol. Styria and Vorarlberg are also still above average. The network is much sparser in Vienna, where the store density is the lowest at just 0.05 – however, the stores there are generally larger.

Despite the wave of closures, there are still locations with a relatively stable store structure. Graz leads the list with a total of 25 locations, followed by Salzburg and Innsbruck with just over 20 stores. Klagenfurt on Lake Wörthersee and Linz are also among the last strongholds of stationary shoe retail. These cities benefit from high population density, economic strength, and flourishing tourism.

However, not all retailers are surrendering to the online boom: While ANWR-Garant, for example, is reducing its stores, Leder & Schuh is defying the general trend with its brands Shoe4You and Humanic and continues to expand its store network. The Deichmann Group remains the undisputed market leader, closely followed by Zalando, which has now become the second-largest shoe retailer in Austria.

Austrian shoe retail is at a crossroads – between consolidation and innovation, it will become clear who can survive in the long term.