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Home > GERMANY > Akzente
LUXURY AND DESIGNER BRANDS BRING NEW LIFE TO PISTOIA
Rome - (Ign) - After four years of restructuring, the footwear district of Pistoia is relaunching. 2006 will see a turnaround in the trend for the 453 companies of the area (the majority family-run and cottage industries), which in 2005 achieved overall turnover of €200m, with 3600 jobs and an export quota of just under 60%. The district brings together ten council districts of the Valdinievole area in Tuscany, covering around 187 square kilometres and with a population of around 96,000, in the heart of the province of Pistoia. Their industrial specialisation is above all footwear and leather, which in 1991 accounted for more than 91% of jobs. Then came the crisis, caused by Chinese competition.
But the companies in the area have managed to respond to the difficult situation by deciding to focus on quality. The two phenomena which have characterised the relaunch are subcontracting of luxury goods and the emergence of independent companies which have managed to carve out a place for themselves on the market. Some have started to work exclusively for major groups in the sector and others, risking even more, have decided to create their own brands or distribute under licence. The effects have been evident: sales abroad have started once more to rise, with a significant +8% in the first half of 2006. Now the district looks towards the future with optimism, also because in the meantime the main Italian designer brands have made roots in Pistoia, from Ferragamo and Prada to Dolce&Gabbana and Gucci, which today directly controls two of the largest shoe manufacturers in the area (Tiger Flex and Paoletti).
But together with the advent of the major groups, in the Valdinievole area there are developing producers with brands and collections of their own or managed directly, such as the Panelli group. Previously everything was sold abroad, directly or through a single major American client, then necessary market repositioning forced companies to focus on the medium-high end of the market and on proprietary brands or brands under licence. All this was made possible also by the opening of a technological centre for the promotion of IT procedures (CAD, CAM) and by a special European programme, Force, for the funding of vocational training projects. This is how the age of dependence on the major distribution chains slowly ended, and today quality is found throughout the production chain, from those who make soles and uppers to shoe factories. This first led to a significant increase in the value of each single product, and then also an important recovery in production and export figures.
Today the district is well projected onto international markets all over the world, particularly in the countries of the European Union and in the United States. Companies and institutions have created a centre of excellence for footwear, where the materials are selected. And there are even those who are starting to think of a certification mark, which may serve to acknowledge the quality of the territory's products, while some Italian and foreign investment funds are starting to look with interest at the district. But the most important battle, for the rebirth of the district, has already been won, by focusing everything on quality.
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