Furniture industry: prioritising innovation, sustainability and new markets
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's leading bank in financial support for the Italian design and home system sector, organised the talk “Italian excellence: Strategic investments and competitive advantages for the international development of the supply chain” at Salone del Mobile.Milano.
The event, involving entrepreneurs, designers and start-ups, was dedicated to discussing:
- technological and digital innovation
- geographical and generational repositioning
as levers for growth in the medium to long term.
In addition, the green and energy transformation is increasingly emerging as a strategic element within the design and furniture supply chain, with a decisive role in the success of companies and their impact on the local economy.
In fact, for the furniture and furnishing sector, its supply chain system is among the levers of development that have enabled Italy’s distinctive positioning: this quality and uniqueness must now be supported by investment strategies attentive to innovation and sustainability – a key to foreign markets.
Through its Supply Chain Development Programme, Intesa Sanpaolo has already activated about 40 supply chain contracts for the home system, corresponding to 450 suppliers and about 3,200 employees, with a turnover of over €2 billion.
In the three-year period 2020-2023, Intesa Sanpaolo also supported more than 45,000 companies in their internationalisation and export processes with around €4 billion.
According to an analysis by Intesa Sanpaolo's Research Department, presented for the occasion, the Italian furniture industry, with around 15,000 companies and over 128,000 employees (3.3% of total manufacturing), is one of the flagship sectors of Italian excellence and has been one of the main drivers of Italy's post-Covid recovery: innovation, sustainability, international projection and marketing will remain crucial to sustaining the sector's growth and profitability.
“The scenario for the furniture sector: strategies and competitive advantages for the international development of the supply chain”
Highlights of the study by Intesa Sanpaolo's Research Department are provided below:
- The Italian furniture industry, with around 15,000 companies and over 128,000 employees (3.3% of total manufacturing), is one of the leading sectors of Italian excellence and among the main drivers of Italy's post-Covid recovery, which in 2022 saw the sector overtake Germany as Europe's leading manufacturer by turnover. In 2023 Italian furniture remained at the top of the rankings in Europe, with a turnover of €25.8 billion, down only slightly (-3%) from the record 2022. Both a cautious orientation of purchases on the domestic market and the natural drop in demand on international markets weighed on the result.
- In a global scenario of accelerating trade in the second half of 2024, after a first part of the year that remained weak, the export orientation of the Italian furniture industry is set to grow further, to just under 50% by 2026, for an export value of up to €13 billion. On the domestic front, the outlook is for an improvement in household consumption from the lows of 2023, thanks to the gradual easing of inflationary tensions and the recovery of disposable income.
- The Italian furniture sector faces a variety of new challenges: the findings of Intesa Sanpaolo's periodic survey of managers indicate that the uncertainty and complexity inherent in the scenario are leading furniture companies to further increase the efficiency of their processes (through organisational innovations and investments), including in logistics and warehouses, as well as to make further efforts on the energy front (with investments in energy self-generation). Diversification of target markets – already higher than for the main competitors – is also crucial, and is clearly more acutely felt than in other sectors, particularly within business districts.
- Strategies in the “green” arena, in addition to the push towards renewable sources, will focus on increased circularity, through separate waste collection, the use of secondary raw materials and the reduction of packaging. Important support for efforts in this direction may come from the push of large and medium-sized leading companies to support the transition of their supply chains.
Intesa Sanpaolo is an institutional partner of the Salone del Mobile.Milano for the eighth consecutive year.
Photo credits:
© Salone del Mobile.Milano
Ingressi 62° Salone del Mobile.Milano
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Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Last updated 29 April 2024 at 08:11:19
