On the Island, the fashion sector is still suffering from the delay in the post-Covid recovery . In fact, weak global demand is also negatively impacting the 338 micro and small businesses , of which 268 are artisans (79.3%), which operate in Sardinia in the textile, clothing, footwear, tailoring, eyewear, jewelry and fashion product components sectors and therefore on stylists, tailors, manufacturers and designers of clothes, footwear and clothing accessories.
Just 6 years ago there were around 400 Sardinian businesses in the sector .
Of the total number of artisanal production activities today, 105 are in the clothing sector, 122 in the textile sector and 41 in the leather sector, with 539 artisans employed out of a total of 798 in the sector.
These are the most recent numbers elaborated by the Research Office of Confartigianato Sardegna in the dossier "The delay in the recovery of Fashion on the Island", based on Istat data, which confirm the artisan vocation of the sector .
In Cagliari, there are 95 small businesses in the sector with 299 employees, in Southern Sardinia 41 with 64 employees, in Oristano 36 for 82 workers, in Nuoro 60 businesses for 84 employees and in Northern Sardinia 106 businesses with 269 employees. In Italy, 49,593 micro and small businesses are active in the sector with 279 thousand employees, 61.5% of the total sector. The 34 thousand active artisan businesses employ 139 thousand workers, equal to 30.6% of fashion employment.
"A symbol of Made in Italy in the world, fashion is the flagship of the Sardinian and Italian artisan manufacturing tradition - say Giacomo Meloni and Daniele Serra , president and secretary of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna - many perfectly cut sartorial creations, footwear in high quality materials and custom-made accessories. Truly unique pieces that the world envies us".
«We must not, however, hide how artisan tailoring, in the last twenty years, has been abandoned to itself , sacrificed on the altar of mass products and international brands - continue the president and secretary - fortunately globalization, massification and standardization have unleashed a phenomenon of equal but opposite force: the desire for customization, originality, quality and good taste».
"The current situation is difficult but it has been going on for some time and in recent months it has worsened for the entire TAC sector (textiles, clothing, footwear) - Meloni and Serra underline - the most serious problems complained about by companies are: the cost of labor , the drop in orders , the costs of raw materials and energy but our companies remain optimistic and are trying to react, increasing promotional actions and trying to be more present on the market".
«Furthermore, the fragmentation of orders and the uncertainty of planning are activating a dangerous spiral that requires immediate interventions», they conclude.
NATIONALLY - In the first quarter of 2024, manufacturing production fell by 0.9% compared to the previous three months and by 3.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Fashion is the Made in Italy sector that shows the worst performance, with the production of textiles, clothing and leather marking a cyclical decline of 3.5% and 8.8% on an annual basis, with a serious accentuation (-9.3%) in March 2024. In detail by sector, the 4.8% drop in production recorded in the textile sector amplifies to -8.9% for clothing and reaches double figures (-14.8%) for leather.
(Unioneonline/vl)