Il goldsmith sector is confirmed to be in good health and over half of the operators in the sector expect a growth in turnover in first half of 2022 by +32%, even surpassing the sectors of the fashion sector and the Italian manufacturing average.
This is what emerges from the economic survey carried out bythe Goldsmiths Club, in collaboration with the Studies and Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo, presented to Vicenzaoro September 2022, the Italian Exhibition Group's international gold and jewelery show that has just closed.
The survey, now in its second edition, underlines how the jewelery and bijouterie are among the best performers of Italian industry in terms of production, both in comparison with the first half of 2021 (+23%) and with respect to the first six months of 2019 (+30%). Despite an inevitable downward revision of expectations, due to the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and tensions on material prices, and which in any case only affects smaller operators, as many as 70% of survey participants declare a growth in turnover .
«The perception of entrepreneurs, confirmed by the analysis of the numerical data, is that of a sector that is experiencing strong growth, after an already exceptional 2021 also referring to pre-2019 values» he declared George Villa, President of the Club degli Orafi Italia.
Gold sector: concern about raw material prices and lack of manpower
In this moment, operators are most concerned about, in addition to the difficulties in managing the prices of raw material, is the finding of the labor, indicated by 80% of the largest companies. "The scenario for the coming months remains uncertain and complex, but Italian businesses still appear confident, given the good results achieved and the competitiveness demonstrated in recent years," he declared. Stephanie Trent, Head of Industry Research, Intesa Sanpaolo Studies and Research Department.
Vicenzaoro: pre-pandemic levels exceeded, most of the interest comes from abroad
Il goldsmith-silversmith-jewellery sector has recorded a growth of exports in value by 36,5% in the first five months of 2022, reaching just under 4 billion euros, about one billion more than in the same period last year, according to the Confindustria Moda Study Center on Istat data for Federorafi. The United States is in first position with +24,9% compared to the same period of 2021 (+115 million euros, in absolute value), followed by Switzerland +31,4% and +23,3% in the United Arab Emirates.
Vicenzaoro September closes the 2022 edition recovering and surpassing the pre-pandemic results: +10% overall visitor attendance compared to 2019, with foreign markets growing by 20%. More than half of the total attendance is international (51%), from 124 countries around the world, says a release.
“After the pandemic, we recorded a complete turnaround at the fair which saw a significant increase in the interest of the international public” he says Luca stefanini, CEO of Roberto Demeglio. “Commercially it went very well, especially with the presence of European customers, but also from Australia and America”.
In detail, foreign origins see Europe as the most represented with Spain (7,3%), France (5.5%) and Germany (5.1%) in the lead. Among the non-European countries, the United States is in first place (5.7% of the total visit), followed by Turkey (3.3%), the Middle East in particular Israel (2,5%) and the UAE (2,3%). India (1,9%) and Latin America also returned with Mexico, Colombia (both 1%) and Brazil (0,7%).
Generational change and metaverse the key themes of the sector
Among the topics addressed during the event was the generational change, particularly felt by goldsmith traders. According to a survey by Federpreziosi Confcommercio Imprese for Italy, 48,3% of those interviewed are facing it and, of these, 85,4% will leave the company in the hands of a family member.
Furthermore also Metaverse, virtual reality, NFT, Artificial Intelligence, digital platforms, apps, 3D viewers have entered the world of jewellery. During the Trendvision Jewelery + Forecasting event (IEG's independent observatory on the world of jewellery) Joris Jeelof, marketing director of NFJ Labs, presented the first platform in the world that digitizes unique physical jewels, taking them into the metaverse. The platform is connected to a marketplace based on the NFJ (Non-Fungible Jewelry) blockchain, where it is possible to bid on the pieces for sale and buy them, coming into possession of both the NFTs and the original physical jewels.
