A few days before the "Week of Furniture", in Milan, Ikea has confirmed the transfer from Asia to Italy of a further part of its productions. The announcement comes in a note released by CEO Petersson, which states that "new Italian partners have been identified who have taken the place of Asian suppliers thanks to their expertise, commitment and ability to produce items of better quality and at lower prices than their Asian competitors".
The recent move to Piedmont (the main supplies of the Swedish group however remain those of the major Italian districts in the sector: Veneto, Friuli and Lombardy) of these productions has brought Ikea's Italian suppliers to 24, For a total volume of 1 billion euro of purchases, which would make Italy, behind China and Poland, the third largest producer for the Swedish furniture giant, which supplies itself in Italy 8% of its furniture, a share that rises to 34% considering only the kitchens.
One of the consequences of this operation will be the'increase in our country's favorable trade surplus vis-à-vis Ikea, which thus remains the first customer of the local furniture-wood supply chain . Already today the volume of purchases made by the group in Italy exceeds the sales volume in the peninsula's stores in percentage terms.
Obviously, linked to these new orders, there will also be repercussions on employment, the impact of which is estimated at around 2.500 jobs. The occupational relapse produced by Ikea on Italian soil would therefore rise to a total of about 11.000 jobs.
