First, accept that you got simulated leather, not real leather. Real leather doesn't peel, and it would have been way more expensive (and slightly heavier) than that simulated leather you paid for. The bad news is those who pay any extra for not-so-real leather or alternative to fabric won't get the benefits of improvement from fabric just like there are cheaper fabrics that don't last as well.
Beware, then there's the leather-covered furniture, like veneered wood, where the leather covering is so thin over a manufactured fabric, it does what you are describing. I wonder if microfiber would have been a better option, but I recall some have complained that it glazes over or is prone to slower wear than fabric.
Like Rich described, we have had our rig over 10 years and our fabric still looks great and it hasn't needed replacement. However in our case, we use our recliner chairs way more often, and we are on a second set of those because the prior recliners fell apart from poor workmanship.
It's always something.....
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