Our latest Leatherbiz Market Intelligence newsletter is available now for subscribers to read.

Image: It’s consumers who count. The days have gone when all hides would be made into leather and all leather made into finished products. In the new era, the leather industry will have to work harder to spread the word about the material’s qualities. Its communications efforts should be directed at consumers.

The newsletter returns to a familiar theme here: there appears to be no sign of a much-needed pick-up in demand from consumers and finished-product brands for leather.

Demand exists, especially among the buyers and makers of high-end handbags and other luxury goods. There are also strong signs that automotive groups are, increasingly, phasing out their phasing-out of leather. Again, this is particularly true in higher-end models.

In the mainstream market, though, there is weak demand for leather and the newsletter insists that promotional initiatives in the industry need to focus on increasing consumers’ appreciation of leather’s qualities and value.

Market Intelligence says: “If the thesis is true that leather demand at the moment can neither cover the supply of raw materials nor existing production capacity, it is no more than a logical development as the industry adapts to the current realities. We have to prepare for a new era.”