The supply chain of FederlegnoArredo, the backbone of the Italian GDP with a value of around 5% (precisely 4,6%), is starting to see the light after a 5,2% contraction in turnover in the first half of 2024. So much so that companies, as stated in a press release from the January-June Monitor of the FederlegnoArredo Study Center, are already foreseeing a slowdown in the last months of the year a possible recovery, which could actually translate into a slight improvement for next year. And thanks above all to what is the strong point: the export which, depending on the sector, ranges from 30 to 50%. This was confirmed Claudio Feltrin, president of the association since 2020, during an interview granted to FIRSTonline in which he shared some reflections on the data of the first half of the year, also delving into the "hottest" points, expectations and requests of a sector so important for our economy.
Mr President, you stated that the forecasts for 2024 expressed in July even indicate a growth of 0,8% for the supply chain, with a positive figure for exports (+3,7%) and a weak stability for the Italian market (-1,3%).
“It is true, after a long period of uncertainty we are confident in a slowdown in the contraction and in particular for the most significant sector of the supply chain, the Macro Sector of furniture, the one that has the greatest impact on the overall turnover”.
So, does furniture maintain its great appeal on the markets despite its particularly high prices?
“The sector is still feeling the effects of the crisis, and of the fact that while the other sectors of the supply chain are able to pass on the price reductions of the raw material, wood, to the price lists, for the finished product, furniture, this is very difficult”.
For wood, in fact, the supply chain depends on imports for 80%. However, you should not complain too much because the government has extended the furniture bonuses to 2025 together with the increase to 50% of the renovation bonus.
“It's true, it was a positive measure because the benefits will be transferred to the entire supply chain.”
Everyone recognizes that companies in the supply chain have steadily increased internationalization, with continuous growth in exports.
"Because they have proven to be particularly resilient in recent years in the face of market difficulties, seeking solutions even for high energy costs. But it is clear that we cannot entrust individual companies, almost all small and medium-sized, with the task of finding solutions to a national problem."
We have seen a surprising 3% growth in exports of kitchen furniture, which consists not of individual pieces of furniture but of complex systems.
“And in fact everything is made more complicated by the fact that the company must guarantee, together with the project and the system, the intervention of the fitter, the plumber, the electrician”.
Listening to the spokespersons of the companies of the trade associations and of the unions, an increasingly heavy and pressing complaint emerges: the Italian manufacturing industry is losing competitiveness in particular because of the high cost, the highest in Europe, of energy.
"It is a problem that is particularly felt by our companies, which have very energy-intensive processes that penalize the entire supply chain. France and Germany, our competitors, purchase energy at significantly lower prices. And on this problem we have asked the government to intervene to lower the costs and to promote even more alternative solutions. We trust that together we will find a common line".
The wood supply chain boasts records of eco-sustainability: for the Symbola Foundation, the Italian wood-furniture industry is first in Europe for circular economy and produces fewer emissions than other large countries. The sectors involved range from the enhancement of forestry heritage to the finished product. But what are, besides furniture, the flagship products of this virtuous path?
“Without a doubt, the panels, the Italian ones are the only ones that guarantee 100% recycled wood origin”.
On the subject of eco-sustainability, the Eudr, the regulation that requires companies and multinationals based in the EU to demonstrate that the products they place on the community market do not contribute to the destruction of forests, has been postponed, as several business associations and the European governments themselves had requested. Any comments?
"No one agrees with the European environmental policy like the companies in our supply chain. Our country did not have a programmatic policy for the protection of forests and we are working on it, but we are of the opinion that environmental protection must coexist with that of companies and workers, and that a regulation must always be applicable and economically sustainable. And in this case, neither the application regulations nor the necessary software had been prepared".
There are several regulations at European level that are still pending and are in any case highly criticized. What do you propose to Brussels?
“We are willing to sit around a table at any time to suggest the most useful changes because on such important issues we believe it is necessary to be consulted”.
2025 is coming up in a few months: are you optimistic?
"Despite the slowdown in the first half of the year, many companies are looking to the second half of the year, maintaining a certain, albeit cautious, optimism. The hope, therefore, is to close the year in line with the results of 2023, indeed, with a +0,4%. And then in 2025 to see a recovery for all our sectors. I recall in fact that, according to Istat data, if the furniture production of July '24 on July '23 records a -1,2%, and the cumulative January-July -4,4%, for wood, July on July records a heavy -10,9%, while the cumulative January-July is at -4,1%".
We have heard from some Italian SMEs a certain disaffection towards the Salone del Mobile, and it seems true that leading this attitude, which is very much a minority one, are the large foreign groups that have bought many illustrious Italian brands. What do you think?
“If there were any, these attitudes or second thoughts seem to have disappeared. Everyone knows that the Salone and the Fuori Salone are a single business and that they feed off each other.”
