Italian fashion industry expects recovery in 2014

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 11, 2013

The Italian fashion industry is still being impacted by the financial crisis, but it should see the light at the end of the tunnel by next year. Such was the cautiously optimistic scenario issued by the Camera della Moda on Monday, Sept. 9 during the presentation of Milan’s Fashion Week program, which will run from September 18 to 23.

According to the projections of the "Fashion Economic Trends" report, conducted by Hermes Lab for the Italian Chamber of Fashion, turnover for the textile and apparel industry should reach 58.8 billion euros in 2013, posting a drop of 2.5% compared to 2012. Last year the decline was much more pronounced, suffering a decline of -5.4% for a turnover of 60.3 billion euros. "In 2013, the improvement in foreign markets will generate a fourth quarter that is positive overall for sales, which however will remain in the negative on the domestic market," concluded the study.

"We should see a slight improvement at the end of the year on the domestic market. This reversal should come about in 2014 with a growth of 3.5% of total sales expected in the first half, while in 2014 we should recover the level of sales before the financial crisis in 2008," said the president of the Camera della Moda, Mario Boselli. Noteworthy in the second quarter of 2013 was a growth of 1.3% in the upstream sectors of textiles, which tends to anticipate trends for apparel by a few months.

Regarding the industry overall, while the Italian market continued to decline, exports were on the rise, contributing to the Italian fashion industry's positive trade balance, which rose from 12 billion euros in 2010 to an expected 19 billion euros for 2013. "Never has the Italian fashion industry's turnover abroad been so high," the report said. “The market changed in 2009. Previously fashion sales were in unison between domestic and foreign markets. Since 2009, exports have not stopped increasing, while sales in Italy continued to decline," said Mario Boselli.

Export is more than ever the key to the success of Italian companies. Thus, exports of textiles and clothing should continue to increase: from 43.3 billion euros in 2012 (+1.8%) to 45.1 billion euros in 2013 (+4%). Between January and May 2013, France was the top foreign customer of Italian fashion, followed by Germany, Switzerland and the United States.