In the UK, growth in designer shoes industry has been fastest in Europe. Italians will have spent 14.6 billion euros on shoes this year, followed by Germany at 10.4 billion euros, Sweden at 9.6 billion euros, Britain at 9.4 billion euros and France at 8.0 euros.

Some market studies by Mintel, published recently, prove that Great Britain in the country where growth in the designer shoes industry has been fastest in Europe.

The footwear market in Britain expanded by 38 per cent in the past 5 years and will supposedly has reached the $12.3 billion level by the end of the current year. The figure is expected to grow on at 17 per cent in the peiod from 2006 through 2010.

France and Italy with their reputation as a haven for the sales of designer shoes stay behind by far. The market for shoes in Italy, the largest in Europe, has grown by just one per cent over the last five years, while France has seen growth of just four per cent.

"Footwear in the UK has moved centre stage in the world of fashion and demand has been growing rapidly," Mintel retail research director Richard Perks noted and added: "People are now far more willing to buy a pair of shoes for a specific occasion or to go with one particular outfit."

Italians will have spent 14.6 billion euros on shoes this year, followed by Germany at 10.4 billion euros, Sweden at 9.6 billion euros, Britain at 9.4 billion euros and France at 8.0 euros.