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"DESIGNER" FURNITURE
Rome - (Ign) - Around € 23 billion turnover, almost 50% of which is realised on international markets; 230,000 jobs, in a network of 37,000 companies, most of them small or extremely small; an undisputed record at the top end of the market, were quality and design make the difference. This is the visiting card for Italian furnishing manufacturers (www.federlegno.it). This is one of the most important and dynamic industrial sectors, which in the space of a few decades has succeeded in making a mark on markets the world over, thanks to its image, quality and technological features. But these simple statistics also tell us something about the history of this industry. Around half of those working in the sector, in fact, are employed in 36,000 companies: an average of a little under three employees per company, demonstrating that the sector of furnishings, and furniture in particular, is deeply linked in Italy to a craft tradition, to manual work and thus to the skill and imagination of the individual producer.
Of course, the Italian furnishing production system is not the same as it was in the 1950s, when it started to grow at an increasing rate and to make an impression on international markets. It has changed radically, and has been completely reorganised, with a system of industrial districts, within which each part of the production process has been focused on by increasingly specialised companies. But this transformation has not destroyed the essence of a tradition which is centuries old. Basically, production restructuring, together with loyalty towards an ancient craft, has made it possible to continuously improve the quality of the products without raising in production costs, which would have affected competitiveness. In fact, while Italian furniture has maintained final prices not dissimilar to those of other western producers, it has grown in terms of quality and design to the extent that it has practically become a status symbol. It is no coincidence that the Italian industry is responsible for the concept of "designer" furniture, produced by leading designers to satisfy not only the demand for stylistic and formal innovation, but also for practicality and ease of production.
Today, the Italian furniture industry is confirmed as the most important in Europe, with a capacity for innovation and penetration in all the main world markets that does not seem to have overly suffered the unfavourable economic climate affecting the West between 2002 and 2004. The sector of furniture alone, excluding lighting, wood and furnishing accessories, in 2004 managed to recover a significant portion of the losses accumulated in the most difficult years, realising foreign sales of over € 8 billion. And the result could have been even better if the unfavourable exchange rates between US dollar and euro had not penalised exports to the United States, which fell by 15%. But to compensate for this there was a growth in sales on almost all the other leading markets, both in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Spain, and especially Switzerland, with small losses in Germany), and outside Europe. There were in fact fabulous results recorded in Russia, where Italian sales surged by 30%, alongside other successes in the countries of Eastern Europe. It is thus with pride that Italian industries will participate in large numbers at the next edition of Mebel, the most important Russian show in the sector, from 15th to 19th November. Thanks to the organisational support of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, the Italian presence will account for almost half of the entire show, including a restaurant, and thus combining two of Italy's leading sectors, furnishing and food.
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