Italian Fashion Industry After The Epidemic: Only A Quarter Of Enterprises Have Not Experienced "Financial Crisis"

During the blockade caused by the COVID-19 virus, Italy's fashion industry was forced to shut down on a large scale. By the end of July, less than 30% of the enterprises had not resumed production.

According to a survey conducted by Cna Federmoda and Local Global, a research company, on the Italian textile, clothing, leather and footwear industries, one fifth of Italian fashion enterprises shut down for at least six weeks during the epidemic, and the proportion of those who shut down for 9 to 10 weeks also reached about 10%.

By the end of July, more than 70 Italian fashion enterprises had resumed production, another 15% planned to resume production within 2020, 3.3% of them would be completely closed, and another 10% could not give an exact time for resumption of work at present; Leather goods is one of the industries that restarted most rapidly. By the end of July, 85.7% of enterprises had resumed production. The enterprises surveyed include brands, retailers, contractors and accessory suppliers.

However, even those enterprises that have returned to work still need to face problems such as the decline in the number of orders and financial stress. Statistics show that more than two-thirds of enterprises have lost at least 30% of their sales compared with "normal circumstances".

Only 7.2% of enterprises said they would maintain their investment plans for 2020, and three quarters of enterprises' debts increased. A large number of enterprises use layoffs, loans and negotiations to reduce rent to reduce pressure and seek government subsidies. Only 10.5% of enterprises have not applied to the state for relief, and more than half of enterprises have applied to banks for loans. Only a quarter of enterprises said they had no financial difficulties.

Marco Landi, chairman of the Italian handicraft department and the National Alliance of Small and Medium Enterprises (CNA Federmoda), said: "The impact of the epidemic on the fashion industry is huge. 2019 is satisfactory, while the first few months of 2020 are completely opposite. We are observing the further impact of the epidemic."