Fiamp presents first quarter data
During the presentation of the collaboration agreement between the Italian Federation for Fashion and Personal Accessories (Fiamp) and the Edison Foundation yesterday morning in Milan, the first combined data 2005 for 'fashion and personal accessories' were announced.
According to Edison Foundation-Fiamp calculations based on Istat data, during the first quarter 2005 overall exports from Italy grew by +5.1% compared to the same period last year: the variation is lower than the +6.1% calculated on the basis of the annual figure for 2004.
Within the context of the development in Italian exports, Fiamp members (the footwear, jewelry, eyewear and leather goods sectors) recorded an overall increase of +3.4% in the first quarter 2005 (against the 1st quarter 2004), after a fairly static 2004 (+0.1% compared to 2003).
Export development in individual Fiamp sectors during the first quarter 2005 revealed certain differences in the four product segments.
Greater growth was recorded by gold and jewelry during the first four months of the year (+16.5%), an improvement in the 2004 trend (-0.7% against 2003), but still not enough to recoup the heavy loss in 2003 (-31%).
Growth in the leather goods and eyewear sectors were quite similar during the first quarter of 2005 and stood at +12.3% and +10.1%, respectively: leather exports slowed slightly compared to the growth calculated on the annual figure for 2004 (+15.6%), whereas eyewear appears to have made a significant leap forward compared to the previous year's trend (+1.2%) but is still below the figure for 2002.
The footwear sector stands out because of the negative export trend for the first quarter of 2005, with a -5.3% downturn, worse than the negative figure recorded for the whole of 2004 (-3.3%). Strong asymmetric competition from China has obviously weighed more heavily on this segment and European footwear manufacturers have asked for antidumping measures to be swiftly adopted at European level.
Overall exports by Fiamp sectors during the first quarter of 2005 stand at around 5 billion euros, 5.4% of Italy's total exports for the period (approximately 91.6 billion euros). An analysis of the main countries to which Fiamp exported during the first four months of 2005 shows a reduction in exports to the three confirmed main outlets compared to the same period 2004: United States (in first place with a variation of -1.4%), France (in 2nd place with -1.6%) and Germany (3rd place and a variation of -8.4%).
As to imports, China has been confirmed as leader of the fashion and personal accessories segment with a further increase of +27.5% during the first fours months of the year.
According to President Biffi, the partly positive data (with the exception of footwear, at least for three Fiamp sectors) are not a sign of recovery in accessories as they are still a long way from the performances which preceded the negative period for the Fiamp segment (the 2002-2003 two-year period). They are however a clear indication that Italian manufacturers want to fight back.
Biffi and the Vice-President of the Edison Foundation, economist Marco Fortis, also illustrated the aims of the agreement which springs from a shared view of the segment's problems and the strategies for relaunching it. The multi-year Fiamp-Edison Foundation collaboration provides for the exchange of qualitative and quantitative information and monitoring of the Fiamp sectors (footwear, jewelry, eyewear and leather goods) for a more in-depth economic analysis and an assessment of its strong and weak points which will help to identify a shared industrial and commercial penetration policy.
The Fashion and Personal Accessories Federation has no miraculous recipes for the relaunch of the Made in Italy segment. What is required is systematic, agreed, unequivocal and authoritative action for Europe, 'with no ifs or buts', not only by the national Authorities but also by the regional and local authorities, for the world-level recognition of reciprocal customs tariffs, the elimination of obvious and hidden technical and commercial barriers to trading, and dignity in terms of products, Italian companies and Italian/European consumers.
