The fashion industry makes a plea to the Ministry of enterprises

The fashion industry will have to endure at least another six months of suffering as a result of the crisis. To maintain the siege, those fighting will need supplies, and brands will undoubtedly be needed to supply them. They were asked for more consistent support with a redistribution of values, which will be given in the form of marginality, institutions, and most importantly, the national government.

There are basically three supply chain requests to the Ministry of Economy and Made in Italy, according to what emerges from the MFF survey among the main Confindustria associations: resolve the complex case of the creative innovation tax credit, granted and then retroactively cancelled for the period 2015-19, increase the use of redundancy, come up with an industrial plan for the fashion sector to underline its strategic nature at the national level and determine future development lines.

At the recent sustainability forum in Venice, Teha-The european house Ambrosetti’s study made clear that European fashion must invest 25-30 billion euros to meet the decarbonization targets. This amount is undoubtedly out of reach for small and medium-sized businesses in the supply chain.

Sergio Tamborini, president of Smi-Sistema moda Italia, the association representing textiles and clothing and which covers the largest share of turnover in the sector (64 billion revenues in 2023), said that «We had three negative semesters, and there is one more coming. This crisis can no longer be considered cyclical but structural. And the new business models that emerged during the Venice meeting are putting traditional ones to the test. The world has changed, and our sector must rebalance itself, probably in an evolutionary way, in a constant revolution. In the meantime, there will be further company closures, which could come especially at topical times, for example, the end of the year or summer holidays. As always, regeneration involves the birth of an innovative supply chain that opens up different, albeit not immediate, prospects for investment, the possibilities of return on capital, and job creation». Tamborini sent this message to the government: «It is now essential to create a national industrial plan. Additionally, the administration of the tax credit for creative innovation has lacked legal certainty, which is crucial».

Giovanna Ceolini, newly elected president of Confindustria fashion accessories, which brings together the companies associated with Assocalzaturifici, Assopellettieri, Aip-Associazione Italiana pellicceria, and Unic-Concerie italiane, said: «We do not expect a recovery until 2025. Companies are clenching their teeth; they do not want to disappear and see entire productive districts close. They focus on international fairs, visited by the best buyers». Ceolini, who also holds the presidency of Assocalzaturifici, then gave an idea of the extent of the crisis. «The data speak clear: in the first six months of 2024, the number of active companies has been reduced by 255 units between industry and craft, falling to 10,136, -2.5% compared to end 2023. The number of employees of the section has come down to end-June to approximately 140.800 units, -3.5% on last December».

To cope with this situation, firms have used the redundancy fund as much as possible. «This is a very important point to stress: companies do not use it to make a living, but to safeguard skilled labor», added the entrepreneur herself, continuing: «The use of redundancy increased significantly in the first half of 2023, increasing by +138.5% from January to June. The authorized hours for the leather industry increased by 158.8% in the two months of July-August 2024, and they are four and a half times greater than those for January-August 2019».

Despite the fact that the council of ministers approved eight weeks of redundancy in 2024 for businesses, including artisans, that employ up to 15 people in the textile, apparel, footwear, and tanning industries, this does not appear to be enough. What are the urgent requests to the government? Claudia Sequi, president of Assopellettieri, has clear ideas.

«There are three demands to save the chain. First, the extraordinary redundancy such as that of the COVID era for at least the first six months of next year. We had talked about the reset of the hour counters last January that did not arrive; let’s do it for the next. Furthermore, the financing that was activated by businesses during the pandemic and that was guaranteed by Sace, Simest, and Mediocredito central needs to be re-priced. They have expressed interest, but we are working with Abi to find a solution because the banking industry needs to give its approval. Finally, the very serious question of the tax credit on research and development must be resolved. Companies are unable to repay their loans at this time, and we believe that the 1 billion euros is an underestimation».

On the front of institutional assistance, Giovanna Ceolini continued: «It is correct to put rules on requests so that they are not indiscriminate. However, you cannot ignore the gravity of the situation or delay taking action». She concluded by outlining the steps that should be taken to secure the industry after the recovery is more solidified. «Innovation and digital transformation, supply chain optimization, inventory management, and sustainability are all examples of the strategic interventions that will be required. However, in order to maintain high-quality training and support the generational shift, we also need to invest».

«Like everyone else, we talk about the second half of next year for a recovery, but we do not have grounds to consider this date significant; the dynamics that led to this market situation are too many and too uncertain», stated Fabrizio Nuti, president of Unic-Concerie italiana. «The majority of our businesses have adequate funding and will weather this economic downturn. We can't predict how many contractors won't attend, even though we are all working to overcome this moment together and create synergies».

Finally, the president of Aip-Associazione italiana pelliccerie, Roberto Tadini, launched the alarm for the system’s durability: «In 2023, compared to 2022, 4% of our companies have closed. We expect a similar result in 2024, but it is not the craftsmen who close because they save themselves with model remittances, of which there is a high demand. The more structured firms, the usual exporters, are paying the price of the crisis. The companies cannot be left alone at this time; the risk is that of losing our Made in Italy because its manufacturing disappears». (All rights reserved)