“The crisis in the fashion sector is evident and worrying, especially in the Marche region. From 2019 to 2024, the number of companies active in the textile, clothing and footwear sector decreased by 24.1%, from 5,863 to 4,451 companies. This decline is found in all provinces, with Ancona recording a decrease of 31.7%.Ascoli Piceno by 29.1%, Pesaro and Urbino by 24.1%Macerata by 23.6%, And Stopped by 20.9%. At a national level, production in the deMade in Italy dropped by 9.3% in March 2024 compared to the previous year”. The picture emerges from an analysis carried out by Cna Macerata.
Cna has proposed support measures to the government, including the suspension of contributions and tax payments for 12 months, the Redundancy Fund (CIG) in derogation for six weeks and the refinancing of bilateral bodies. These measures aim to support businesses hit by a combination of declines in production, exports and employment.
A survey by Cna Federmoda on almost 600 companies in the sector found that in our country 50.2% of companies expect a contraction in turnover in 2024, with one in five expecting a reduction of more than 20%. The most affected sector is leather goods, with 62% of companies reporting a drop in revenues. The textile and clothing sectors are also in difficulty, with 54.1% and 35.4% of companies expecting declining revenues respectively.
The main problems reported by companies include the high cost of labor (55.4%), the decline in orders (54.9%), the increase in raw material costs (52.1%) and energy costs (46.9%). The use of redundancy payments grew from 15.5% in 2023 to 25.6% in 2024.
Giuliana Bernardoni, president of the leather goods industry for Cna Macerata, reconstructs some of the historical causes of this crisis: “The problem of many artisan businesses in the leather goods and footwear sector is first of all that of having administrative and fiscal obligations equal to those of large industry, perhaps even with some concessions in less” he points out.
“At the moment – continues the Cna executive entrepreneur – the big fashion brands are advising us to lay off our employees because they have a drop in sales. For years, we small producers have been conditioned by these big names on the models to be produced, in the quantities and with imposed prices. We have witnessed, without being able to do anything, a devaluation of our artisan work, our know-how and our great creative abilities. We were the ones who made the biggest sacrifices first and without any recognition or gratification on their part.”
However, Bernardoni sees a glimmer of opportunity in foreign markets and brings his experience as a viable solution: “I can say, instead, that by looking for other clients, perhaps with less striking names, often foreigners, I have found entrepreneurs who fully appreciate our products, also recognizing our greater marginality. The hope – concludes the CNA representative – is that in the future even the big names will valorise our quality artisanal productions as they deserve”.
: “Urgent measures are needed for the sector” – Picchio News){kind=link}