Intimo più mare n° 216 | Luglio 2019

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
FOCUS ON (on page 70)
FASHION AND QUALITY
ABSOLUTE VALUES
Foreign buyers are increasingly interested in the sort of quality
and fashion contents regularly featured in Italian collections
Italian fashion is proving to be increasingly synonymous
with quality and creativity, values that enable it to maintain
its leading position on the international economic landscape.
This is demonstrated by the data gathered by various prestigious
research institutes.
«In the upcoming months the Italian fashion manufacturers
will be operating in a more complex global scenario,” explained
Stefania Trenti, head of the Ufficio Industry-Direzione Studi
e Ricerche Intesa Sanpaolo at their most recent meeting regarding
2019 scenarios and forecasts for the Fashion System,
sponsored by Sita Ricerca, the leading institute for marketing
information in the Fashion System. “The world economy
should have passed through the worst of it, the low point, in
the first quarter of the year and gradually improve, but a lot of
unknowns and risks still remain, from the tariff war between
the United States and China, to Brexit. In this scenario, the
Italian GNP once again started growing in the first quarter,
overcoming the difficult phase of the second semester of 2018.
On the average the forecasts, the expectations for 2019 call for
a continuation of roughly the same performance in terms of
consumption, even despite the Italian propensity for saving,
while investments will remain weak, conditioned by the elevated
level of uncertainty in Italy and in the global scenario
in general. The Italian GNP will be sustained by the positive
contribution of net exports. In this context the Italian fashion
industry, the leader in Europe in terms of added value, number
of people employed and trade balance, will continue to augment
its expansion into the international markets, with sales
transacted abroad estimated to reach 70% within the next five
years, as highlighted in the Rapporto Analisi dei Settori Industriali,
put together jointly by Intesa Sanpaolo and Prometeia
and presented just recently. The ISTAT data for exports in the
first quarter of 2019 reveal the robust competitive capacity of
fashion goods that have been made in Italy (+6.1%). The list of
outstanding performers on the part of Italy’s foreign customers
was headed by Switzerland (+48.3%), the United States
(+12.6%) and the United Kingdom (+10.9%). Good showings
were also registered by China (+8.4%) and Japan (+8.2%), by
way of confirming the capacity of Italian exporters when it
comes to reaching ever more distant markets.
According to an analysis recently conducted by the Direzione
Studi e Ricerche di Intesa Sanpaolo, in recent years the
range of action of Italian fashion manufacturers has further
increased, placing Italy in first position among its European
competitors in the fashion industry in terms of distance covered
by exports (in terms of kilometers clocked up relative
to the level of bilateral trade). The capacity to reach distant
markets, in particular the Asian countries, is a strong point
not only for high-end goods, an area in which Italy specializes
and maintains excellent market share, but also for the middle-range
of the market.”
Also according to the fashion focus of the Area Studi Mediobanca,
2017 confirmed the growth trend registered by the
Italian fashion sector. Total sales, amounting to some 70.4
billion euros, highlight a significant increase over what was
recorded in 2013 (+28.9%), due in large part to the excellent
performance turned in for 2015 (+9.9%) and 2014 (+7%).
More modest but still relevant, the rate of growth last year was
also very encouraging (+4.5%). This sector has a growing impact
on our country. As a matter of fact, in 2017 it represented
1.3% of the country’s GNP, compared with 1.1% for 2013. The
leading fashion segment is apparel, accounting for a whopping
40.5% of total revenues. Foreign sales, playing an increasingly
crucial role on the balance sheets of the companies analyzed,
accounted in 2017 for 63% of total sales (+22.9% over 2013),
a much greater share than anything posted by the principal
Italian manufacturing companies (56.7%). The excellent
performance of the Italian fashion sector both in Italy and
abroad served as a driving engine, a major benefit for the work
force which in 2017, thanks to the 59,800 new employees
(+19.7% over 2013 and +4% over 2016), is able to boast nearly
363,000 employees. Distribution (+26.8%, +8,000 units),
leather goods (+26.7%, +11,000 units) and clothing (+22,4%,
+28,000 units) are the the categories that experienced the
greatest growth in terms of additional workforce.
THE BUYERS LOVE MADE IN ITALY
The international buyers are increasingly eager to find products
boasting fashion content, quality and creativity. These
three characteristics are easy to find in the made in Italy collections
being shown by the exhibitors at fairs like Immagine
Italia in Florence and the big Salon de la Lingerie of Paris.
NICOLA ADAMS
TALLULAH-UNITED KINGDOM
Nicola Adams opened her boutique, Tallulah in London in
2003 and has always selected collections and models that appeal
personally to her.
«For me, selling underwear is first and foremost a very personal
passion,” she explained. “I’m not interested in following
trends or seasonal fashions. So I’m constantly on the lookout
for new brands, often little-known, rather obscure ones.
But when I find a brand that I like and doesn’t go on to disappoint
my expectations season after season, I’m faithful to
that brand. Many of the brands I’m selling have been available
in my boutique from the very beginning, since it was opened.
For me it’s important to support the brands that perform well
over time and so only rarely would i abandon one after just one
or two seasons.
Naturally, we sell plenty of collections which have been made
in Italy, like Cosabella and Clara Rossi, a family-run business
that turns out very finely crafted garments. My choices are
based on considerations like the look and quality of the items,
but also the sort of relationship that develops with the manufacturer
and their willingness to restock over the course of
the season.»