The ICE - Agency for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of Italian companies has created a new project entitled "China furnishes Italian", with the aim of increasing the number of Italian companies in the furniture sector operating in China, through the involvement of the media, decision makers, VIPs, Chinese distributors and suppliers of Made in Italy furniture in the classic, modern and contemporary sectors. It is a'composite initiative, created in collaboration with FederlegnoArredo, Cosmit, CNA, Confartigianato and with the support of the Triennale di Milano, Unioncamere, the Tuscany Region and Toscana Promozione, providing for an articulated program of activities to be carried out both in Italy and in China.
According to what was stated by the President of the ICE Agency Riccardo Monti, Italian companies in the sector can and must improve the results achieved so far, which are below their potential. The increased purchasing power of millions of Chinese citizens and ever more rapid urbanization offer, in fact, a unique opportunity to recover the delay accumulated against part of the foreign competition. This project therefore intends to support the penetration of companies in foreign markets by improving communication and distribution strategies in the Chinese market.
In Italy, the companies belonging to the Home system (furniture, appliances, lighting fixtures) there are 22.621, with 224.550 employees and a turnover of 34,2 billion euros (ICE Agency processing on ISTAT data, year 2010).
In 2011, according to the elaborations of the ICE agency on ISTAT data, Italian exports of the sector to China amounted to 207 million euros, while in the first nine months of 2012 it amounted to 146 million euros, an increase by 2,1% compared to the same period of the previous year. The Chinese market then occupies the sixteenth place in the ranking of main destination markets for Italian exports of the Home System, where Italy's market share of Chinese imports of home system products is 4,8%. The main competitors are in order: Germany (19,8%), Japan (17,1%), South Korea (8,7%) and the USA (5,8%), a sign that the delay accumulated against part of the foreign competition does not reflect the real potential of our companies, requiring effective and timely interventions.
