Gains in Textile Production Offset Fears
February 9, 2011 The Italian textile sector has shown very promising signs of a strong recovery in 2010. The general trend has been for textile companies to modernize quickly and the key to survival has been to develop new products and services.
In the first 10 months of the year, the industry’s turnover has grown by more than 5 percent (partially offsetting a 15 percent fall to 56.5 billion euros in 2009). In addition, our industry has been squeezed by rising raw materials costs, which drove up fabric prices by at least 50 percent.
Nevertheless, after having considerably reduced their costs and increased efficiency, a number of spinners are taking a more optimistic view of business prospects despite the high cotton price and lingering uncertainty about the global economic recovery. The optimism comes from improved Italian textile production (up 9 percent), renewed demand from the United States and Asia, and the larger-than-expected attendance at the season’s fairs such as the Pitti Yarns exibition in Florence (where visitors from China ranked among the top 15) and the Milano Unica.
The strength of the Italian textile industry remains a belief in the quality of its products and the ability to compete with foreign companies. International trade meetings always register a large presence of Italian producers ready to compete on equal terms with their rivals!
The two biggest issues discussed at these exibitions were the use of natural fibers–with cotton on the front line–and concern for the enviroment. The growing ecological awareness is further motivating our spinners to consider cotton as one of the best natural fibers for these eco-conscious times, and therefore the general opinion is that Italian cotton consumption will remain stable next year at around 45,000 tons, including a limited quantity of biological and organic cotton, which is particularly used for children’s clothes.
After a deep crisis that made many consumers tighten their belts and become increasingly price-conscious, the general feeling of attendees at a recent fashion show is that the Italian textile sector will come back even stronger than it was before–but some companies remain concerned about their future operations.
Exports have increased and so have local sales, but there is still the very real possibility that the companies most severely affected by the crisis will be forced out of the market.
On the other hand, there is also the belief that the crisis has “cleaned up” the fashion world and created new opportunities for well-managed companies. Acquiring some of the failing companies is an option, but one thing is clear: Companies shouldn’t be focusing on numbers and volumes, but on quality and innovation.
Some entrepreneurs have decided to globalize their operations, and a good number seek to consolidate their presence all around the world. This concept is new to the Italian textile sector, but companies are working hard to revitalize our sector in a bold new way.
Medium-sized textile firms have emerged as the clear winners, although there are still concerns about many of the smaller companies. Overall, the climate in the Italian textile sector is improving–especially for those companies that reorganized, invested in their businesses, and strengthened their supply chains.
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