MILAN — Italian fabric makers are focused on luxury and innovation as key tools in combatting the soft sales that have resulted from the growing strength of the euro against the dollar.
Exhibitors at this month’s Moda In and Prato Expo trade fairs, held in Milan and Florence, respectively, also said they are dealing with rising competition from the Far East. According to the Italian Textile Association, overall industry revenue last year came to $25.5 billion, about flat with 2003 levels.
“The euro-dollar situation is a shame, because our clients want to buy more than they did last year but can’t afford it,” said Matteo Cecchi, director of Lanificio Cecchi Lido & Figli, who exhibited at Prato Expo.
Despite the challenges that the euro’s appreciation against the dollar has posed to his firm’s export sales to the U.S., he said sales were up 20 percent through the first two months of 2005. That follows last year’s flat sales of $24.9 million. (Figures converted from the euro at average exchange.)
The dollar on Monday was worth 77 euro cents, down from 83 euro cents a year earlier.
At Moda In, Augusto Caravaglia, marketing manager for Gartex International, reported a similar upturn this year, adding that 2004 “was not a good year, but the first three months of 2005 are looking much better.”
He attributed the company’s improved performance to a new dyeing service that allows it to turn fabric orders in as little as three days.
“In this market, it is absolutely necessary to risk a little and then try new ways to get there faster,” he said.
Exhibitors at both shows agreed that stronger fashion offerings were key to maintaining demand for Italian fabrics, though some moaned that relying on fashion requires a delicate balance.
“It’s easy to be innovative and intellectual, but that is difficult to sell,” said Vincenzo Cangioli, president of Lanficio Cangioli, showing at Prato Expo. “We try to do an innovation that is commercial, with a high rotation of products.”
He said Cangioli’s fastest-growing business is its “sushi shirt” fabric, a broad assortment of striped cottons that the company can deliver in as few as 10 days. The success of that business helped the firm boost its sales 40 percent last year, to $34.8 million.
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As for trends, spring-summer 2006 fabrics on display at Moda In included light cotton and rayon jacquards, as well as linen and cotton blends with a crepe hand. Linen was also an important component of collections shown at Prato Expo, where mills showed it in checks, madras and nautical-stripe prints. Moda In ran March 1-3, with Prato Expo taking place March 2-5.
Stefano Rigotti, president of the four-year-old mill Ultra Sandro Ciardi, said his business has focused on high-end, limited-run fabrics as the best way to fend off low-cost competition. This was evident in its six-month old Dynamo silk and linen line that has brought in $2.5 million in sales so far, bringing the company to $16.2 million in revenue last year.
“We believe in high-luxury products that are niche,” he said at Prato Expo. “We don’t want to compete with China.”
At Moda In, Lanificio di Quarona offered a fancy tweed collection in light wools and cotton blends. President Sergio Perotto said the firm has adopted some ecologically sensitive dyeing techniques that use vegetable-based dye and soap to give the fabrics a softer hand.