The difficult moment of Made in Italy fashion

Italian fashion is not doing well, or rather, the shops and boutiques of outerwear, shoes, accessories, leather goods, etc. they are going through a really complicated time.

The reasons are contained in several recognizable factors, for example, in the supremacy of the giants of the web, which in recent months have seen an increase in turnover to the detriment of fashion stores.

A trend that has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the pandemic, a pandemic that has radically changed the habits of Italians, also directly affecting the pockets of the citizens themselves who, for a series of reasons, are increasingly moving towards the street of fast shopping, an unsustainable and harmful solution – as well as for physical stores – also for nature.

On 12 January, the Confcommercio research office noted the double-digit decline (-10.5%) in the consumption of clothing and footwear between 2019 and 2021. The data represents an average of the consumption made on all sales channels.

From 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021 the sector this sector lost 31,373 employees in the trade alone
fashion detail.

The causes of the “physical store” crisis

That of physical shops is a drop almost exclusively dictated by the pandemic, a huge drop that stands at around 25/30%; the 138-day lockdown in the red zone, equal to 35% of the working capacity, had a devastating impact.

This crisis does not seem to have an end: after a few slightly positive days for the start of the sales, worrying signs of contraction in sales are arriving following the high reduction in flows certainly due to the spread of infections and quarantines, but also and above all for the ‘excessive use of agile working methods in the public and private sectors, as well as a negative sentiment that slows down, if not completely inhibits, the consumption of fashion products, even if discounted.

A problem encountered in particular in large cities which, moreover, still suffer from the almost total absence of tourist shopping, this factor also has a really considerable weight.

Italian shops run the risk of no longer having liquidity, also due to heavy indebtedness with credit institutions, suppliers, landlords and, in some cases, even with the tax authorities.

Federmoda’s cry

The cry of the fashion world is loud and clear; Below is a part of the words of the president of Federmoda Renato Borghi in the open letter to the Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti and the Deputy Minister of Economic Development Gilberto Pichetto Fratin:

“Compensation, so far, given to fashion stores have been decidedly lower than needs and expectations as they are too selective (referring to the mere loss of turnover with a threshold of 30%), given the peculiar situation of the sector. For these reasons, it would be more appropriate to provide a contribution proportional to losses, without a minimum threshold due to the specificities of our sector. Now more than ever “fresh” resources are needed to meet tax and contribution deadlines, in favor of employees, property owners, suppliers and users, also to recover useful liquidity, among other things, to give oxygen to the entire supply chain. It is easy to foresee that, if commercial operators do not have liquidity, orders to the manufacturing industry and to artisan fashion companies will contract drastically, with serious repercussions on the entire sector. If the companies close, dear Minister Giorgetti, there will no longer be a future for many entrepreneurs and workers with their families, but also for our cities that will desertify, also losing that soul that seemed so much appreciated by our compatriots in recent months, as well as safety, decorum, real estate value and taxes. For this reason, we urgently ask for adequate support from fashion shops which, due to the indirect effects of the restrictions on tourism and the excessive use of smart working, are fully among the most affected activities. In particular, we expect:

  • the renewal of the Covid fund;
  • the renewal of tax and credit moratoriums;
  • tax credits for rents for non-residential properties and business leases, without providing for minimum thresholds for loss of turnover for fashion stores;
  • the extension to commercial distribution of the tax credit to contain the negative effects on final inventories in the textile, fashion and accessories sector (pursuant to art. 48 bis of Legislative Decree 34/2020 “Relaunch”).

Finally, taking into account the control obligations on green passes envisaged from 1 February also in our stores by Law Decree no. 1 of 7 January 2022, it would be useful to provide a tax credit for the purchase of digital and automated control tools for the green pass at the entrances, which would help the management of the work and limit the impact of an additional fixed cost for our companies. detail “.

A strong but legitimate request: never as in this moment is it necessary to protect and protect a sector, that of fashion, among the best in the world. An all-Italian excellence that has always represented a certainty and a driving force for the economy of our country.