The future of enterprises in the jewelry sector of Italy is under a threat. There are no doubts about it for Fabio D'Onofrio, Secretary of the Italian Jewelry Federation (FIOG), being part of Confesercenti nazionale, who on the eve of the 46th edition of the Orocapital Event (dedicated to the Rome Fair in March) shared his views on the state of affairs in this industry with Italian media-agency Labitalia.
“The market players were affected by the crisis almost homogeneously. It is obvious that small jewelry workshops have been hit hardest but to say that bigger jewelry factories have weathered it out would be exaggeration. As people’s incomes dwindled they did not start rejecting essentials, but jewelry,” he explains.
“Taking into account that jewelers have to invest in gold it becomes clear that this is not the best time for them. The crisis breath was first felt in Italian workshops as far back as 2006. This is a very peculiar kind of crisis and to overcome it a “large-scale” intervention is needed. For this purpose, FIOG intends to launch some initiatives, such as starting a discussion on taxes and a study of the jewelry sector. To save small and medium companies we should go from something in mind to something in kind taking steps which could help these companies to survive on the market and make it easier for them to export their products,” Fabio D'Onofrio stressed.
“The current negative situation on the market is feeding crisis phenomena affecting the “Made in Italy” trademark, which is in any case subject to a tough test by competition. It is no secret that in India or China it is two times cheaper to fix a gem in a setting than in Italy. Of course, there is nothing to compare in terms of work quality, but taking into consideration the dropping rate of sales you have to keep your mouth shut,” he concludes.
In center Italy there are 32.1% of jewelry factories and their major part is concentrated in Toscana where there is one of the most important Italian jewelry districts, Arezzo, and in Lazio harboring 18.1% of enterprises. These are the latest data contained in the Survey of Fashion Enterprises in Italy performed by Assicor (Association of Italian Commerce Chambers for Development of Jewelry Sector) and the Tagliacarne Institute. The second area in Italy by the number of jewelry factories is North-West (24.6%) where they are virtually equally divided between Piemonte (12.3%) with Valenza Po, a world leader in artisan jewelry, and Lombardia (10.3%).
Italy’s South is on the same level with its North-West and it shelters 24.5% of Italian jewelry factories together with Campania (8.3%) boasting of the country’s major southern jewelry pole (Marcianise), which links into one pool a whole lineup of jewelry enterprises designing, manufacturing and supplying jewelry, watches, silver pieces and cameos. Sicily (4.1%) and Puglia (4.1%) are the two other important areas in terms of jewelry factories and their number. The North-East of the country brought together 18.8% of jewelry companies where the Venetian Region (13.2%) is the second largest area in Italy by the number of jewelry workshops with Vicenza playing a particularly important role.
Judging by the data on incorporated enterprises going out of business furnished by Assicor and the Tagliacarne Institute, in 2007 there were more entities which left the market (148) than those which entered it (83). Examining the situation only in the major jewelry areas of Italy it can be noted that such a negative balance is especially indicative of Toscana (-1.1%), where during six months the market saw 15 new companies coming in and 40 companies leaving the scene, and to a lesser extent of Campania (-0.5%), Veneto (-0.5%) and Lombardia (-0.3%). An opposite movement towards a more positive balance was registered in Piemonte (+0.1%) and Lazio (+0.2%).
Outside Europe, which on the whole is consuming 57.1% of Italy’s jewelry export, its major customers are North America (13.5%), where the Untied States plays a notable role (12.8%), which is the second-largest market in the world (after Switzerland) for Italian jewelry, as well as the Middle East (12.9%). Nevertheless, whereas sales in the United States are decreasing (-12%), there is a wonton growth in sales in the Middle East (+29.5%). Of other markets, East Asia is standing out (9%) mainly due to Hong Kong (4.4%), as well as China (1.7%) and Japan (1.5%). They are followed by Central and South Americas (4%), Africa (2.2%), Oceania (0.9%) and Central Asia (0.3%), which despite their strong growth are nevertheless secondary to Italian jewelry export.
