The district model, which in Italy represented one of the successful tools in the development of manufacturing in the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, is today in difficulty due to competition from emerging countries, the issue of generational turnover and the lower propensity on the part of young to start new production activities.
Faced with these challenges, many districts are partially changing their characteristics. The most promising evolution models appear to be two: in the first case, survival is guaranteed by the presence of one or more large companies that internalize a large part of the district's production processes. In the second case, the reduction in the number of firms leaves ample room for smaller ones.
Interesting examples of these two types of evolution are the Belluno eyewear district and the Brenta footwear industry. In the Italian eyewear industry, the Belluno district occupies a central position, with 485 companies, 12.800 employees and a turnover exceeding 2 billion EUR. In the last decade, the district has been characterized by a strong contraction in the number of businesses which has not been matched by a similar decline in employed persons, which was also large (-20,8%).
The evolution of the district towards a model dominated by a few large companies is demonstrated by the degree of concentration of turnover: in 2010 (latest data available) the first five companies accounted for 97,5%.
In the footwear sector, the Brenta district has been able to carve out an important position in the high-end women's footwear sector. Between 2002 and 2011 the number of enterprises in the district decreased relatively little compared to similar productive realities (-5,2%). The district is still today made up above all of small artisan enterprises, a characteristic that is reflected in a modest degree of concentration: the share of turnover belonging to the first five enterprises is equal to only 54% of the total.
The evolution of the district, conditioned by competitive pressure from emerging countries specialized in the same products and accelerated by the recession that began in 2008, had as its most evident element the generalized reduction in the number of businesses, both as a consequence of a higher mortality rate than the birth rate and due to intense delocalization processes.
The phenomenon has sometimes led to an increase in concentration (both turnover and exports) in a limited number of companies, distorting in some ways the very concept of district. In many cases, delocalisation has also interrupted local subcontracting chains, further accentuating the phenomenon.
On the other hand, already from the beginning of the XNUMXs an enlargement of the district's shirts, at least in its socio-cultural connotation, was made evident by a growing use of immigrant personnel, above all in the low skill intensive processing phases, in the face of an ever-decreasing propensity of young people to start up new businesses.
The traditional configuration of the districts is today put to the test by the issue of generational turnover, which can be observed above all in micro-enterprises.
In the face of these common features, Italian districts today seem to be faced with two development alternatives to oppose the decline: in the first case, survival is guaranteed by the presence of one or more large companies that internalize a large part of the district's production processes. In this way, however, while partially preserving employment levels, the district is deprived of one of its main characteristics (the presence of a dense fabric of businesses). Evidence of such a development is a growing turnover (or at most a slight decrease) despite a sharp decline in the number of active businesses and a relative stability in employment.
At the opposite extreme we find examples of more marked decline – in which the decline in the number of businesses is associated with a drop in turnover – and finally an intermediate model of survival of the traditional model, in which the decline in businesses is more contained while we see in any case to a maintenance of the turnover. An interesting example of these three types of evolution can be found in a recent study by Unioncamere Veneto, in which the Belluno eyewear district, the Vicenza goldsmith and the Brenta shoemaker seem to reflect the three models quite faithfully, especially if they accompany the information relating to the stillbirth rate of the companies and the turnover trend with that relating to the degree of concentration of the turnover itself, which gives a fairly clear idea of the state of the fabric of the entrepreneurial fabric of the three districts.
The evolution of the two extreme district models appears to be particularly interesting: the one which concentrates around one or very few large companies and practically ceases to exist as a traditional district (the Belluno eyewear industry) and the one in which instead a still conspicuous number of it gathers around a specific production proposing the traditional model (the Brenta shoemaker).
The Belluno eyewear district
In Italy, the eyewear sector has about 900 companies and employs over 16.000 people; during 2011 the sector increased production levels by around 8%, reaching turnover levels of 2,65 billion. euros thanks above all to the driving force represented by foreign demand, which represents the key to the success of the sector. With a market share of 27%, Italian exports of sunglasses and frames are first in the world, followed by China and Hong Kong. The measure of the sector's projection abroad is demonstrated by the average distance traveled by its exports: 3.800 km, about 800 more than the average of the fashion system which is one of the manufacturing sectors with the highest international vocation. In the Italian eyewear industry, the Belluno district occupies a central position, with 485 companies, 12.800 employees and a turnover exceeding 2 billion euros, of which over 1,7 from abroad. During the 2009 recession, the sector suffered less than others on foreign markets, recording a 13,6% decline in sales (which, however, followed a 5,6% y/y decline the previous year) against a reduction much larger than total manufacturing. The two-year period of growth 2010-2011 allowed for a complete recovery of losses, even if the first six months of 2012 show a decrease never recorded in recent years (-32%). The figure (which follows a general slowdown in Italian exports which, however, remained in positive territory) is the result of a rather heterogeneous trend among the various destination countries. Among those in the EU 27, sales to France (-1,7%) and Spain (-8,5%) are down, while those to the Netherlands (+14,6%), Germany (+ 8,7%) and the United Kingdom (+5,2%). Outside the Union, the variations are very large (both negatively and positively) and this suggests that they are also the result of movements of some companies in the district due to logistical-administrative issues which involve the departure of goods from different provinces. In any case, the weight of the United States, although highly variable, appears considerable, while China still absorbs a limited portion (variable from 1,5 to 2,5%) of the district's sales. According to the Unioncamere Veneto study, the decline in sales in some of the main outlet markets (including the United States) penalized above all the smaller companies, most of which have left the market. On the import side, the district recorded rather large variations over the course of the decade, which reflect in some periods the accentuation of the phenomenon of delocalisation, in particular in the peak of 2006, when the strong growth (+48,2%) was largely due to imports from Romania (+160,8%), from China (+58,4%) and Mercosur countries (+85%).
In the last decade, the district has been characterized by a strong contraction in the number of businesses, which fell from 2002 to 2011 by 50,4% if one considers the core activity, and by 47,3% if one also considers parallel productions, such as the production of cases. The decline in businesses was not matched by a similar decline in employed persons, which was also large (-20,8%). According to Confindustria Dolomiti of Belluno, the decrease would have matured above all among the smaller artisan companies compared to an increase in the large ones, which have partially reabsorbed the workforce expelled elsewhere. The evolution of the district towards a model dominated by a few large companies is also demonstrated by the distribution of companies over time by legal form. Between 2002 and 2011, sole proprietorships and partnerships fell by 53,7 and 56% respectively, against a 24,6% drop in joint-stock companies which thus came to represent 34% of the total number of enterprises since 24 in 2002. Incidence of the various legal forms in the eyewear district of the province of Belluno EUR; however, they give a good idea of the strong concentration: in 2010 (latest data available) the first five companies accounted for 97,5% of the total turnover, with the first alone representing 77,5%. In four of the first five companies, among other things, in the period 2006-2010 the turnover increased, even if with a very large dispersion ranging from 0,3% of the fourth to +24% of the first, to about 43% of the fifth, which however operates in the non-core activities of the district.
The Brenta footwear district
At the opposite extreme with respect to the evolution followed by the Belluno eyewear industry is the Brenta footwear district, which represents one of the cases of survival (and in some sections of prosperity) of the traditional model based on the large number of players present in the area In Italy the footwear sector has (as of 2011) about 5.600 companies and employs almost 90 people; like eyewear, footwear also shows a marked propensity to export: in 2011, according to the ANCI2, around 83% of the value produced was sold on foreign markets, in particular to France, Germany and the United States which represent the main clients. Within the sector, the Brenta district (which extends into the municipalities on the Brenta between the provinces of Padua and Venice) has been able to carve out an important position in the sector of high-end women's footwear. The choice was made in the early 2009s, in an attempt to survive external competition, and continued even during the worst phase of the recession that began in 2009. The main consequences were the maintenance of turnover and an intensification of the delocalization process of the phases of the production process with lower added value, above all in India, China and Romania. Over the past ten years, district exports have recorded rather variable trends, with a sharp decline in 1, which was followed by a recovery in the following two years. In the first six months of this year, foreign sales of footwear from the Brenta Riviera municipalities slowed down sharply, recording a 20,7% growth compared to the same period of the previous year. The most penalized were sales to Spain (-11,8%), Germany (-14%, the second export market in the district, with a market share of 15,7%) and the Netherlands (-16,8 .58,3%). Exports to OPEC countries also decreased (-59,6%), India and Japan. Conversely, sales recorded strong growth in China (+15,8%), Mercosur (+2007%) and the United States (+5%). The sharp decline in exports recorded in the aftermath of the world recession has slightly changed the scenario of the main customers of the Brenta shoe factories, France (second in 19,2) has since then gained almost 6,2 percentage points and now occupies the first position with 6,5 .2007% of the market share, followed by Germany and, at a distance, the United States, with a share of 0,6% (slightly down from XNUMX% in XNUMX). The weight of the main emerging countries is still limited, with China covering only XNUMX% of exports and India practically non-existent. The share held by some Eastern European countries deserves attention: Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
In the ten years between 2002 and 2011, the number of businesses in the district decreased relatively little compared to similar production realities (-5,2%) and today it comes to counting 607 businesses. The decrease is moreover distributed in a rather uniform way along the period examined, with the exception of 2008, in which an increase was recorded. The relative stationarity in the number of businesses has not however prevented a recomposition on the side of the legal form: today sole proprietorships are the prevalent form (47%) and their weight has grown by 2 percentage points in ten years, on the other hand it has decreased substantially the weight of partnerships is substantial (about eight percentage points), to the advantage of joint-stock companies which come to cover 28% of the total (from 22% in 2002).
This evidence confirms how the district is still today made up above all of small artisan enterprises which generate on average a similar level of production value. This evidence is also confirmed by the fact that most of the turnover (on whose analysis the limits mentioned above remain) is made by small and medium-sized enterprises, and in the district the share that belongs to the largest enterprise is only 11,3%, while the first five cover about 54% of the total. In the years 2006-2010, however, the revenues from the sales of the district companies showed a positive trend, with a decline concentrated in 2009 alone and largely recovered the following year.
