ANFAO: "Sunwear Increases, Prescription Eyewear Stalls"
During the first semester of 2002, exports of Italian eyewear slowed down. The value of exports was €796 million, slightly lower than the result for the same semester in 2001 at -0.9%.
Imports totaled €173 million, rising by 8.5%.
The slowdown in exports was caused by an 11.3% decrease in frames (for an overall value of €294 million) and moderated by a +6.5% in sunglasses (at €501 million).
Sales to America, one of the leading export markets, fell by 18.7% and settled at €316 million. This downturn was caused by a dwindling demand for frames (-33.2%), and by the fall, due to the seasonal nature of the product, in the demand for sunglasses (-5.9%). The trend in the European market continues to be positive for both product segments with exports amounting to €341 million (+15.6%), where both frames (+13.5) and sunglasses (+17) have gained ground. A noteworthy fact is exports to France which rose by 36.6% to €87 million, as a result of the lively demand for prescription frames (+48.2%) and sunglasses (+28.2%).
Imports of frames were up by +0.5% (for an overall value of €88 million), while sunglasses, mostly from Asia, rose by +18.4%, at €84 million.
Unfortunately, a large portion of Asian products does not meet European quality standards: many are even imitations, which not only damage a company's profile but, in the case of sunglasses, may pose a severe hazard for people's eyesight.
The eyewear industry stands apart from other fashion sectors because of the big divide between large and small companies, with diverging growth rates.
On the one hand, the large multinationals which have the strength to tackle new export areas and which have average growth rates of more than 20%. On the other, most of the industry, which comprises small- and medium-sized businesses that are more vulnerable to times of recession. These small businesses are exposed to objective difficulties that are linked to an ever more competitive and global market, and do not have the tools required to obtain licensing agreements that can earn them an international status. Small- and medium-sized companies are floundering, some resort to temporary unemployment benefits and, over the last 3 years, as many as 300 companies have been forced to close down.
For some time now, Anfao has been actively involved in bringing this two-sided business reality to the attention of government departments and the appropriate authorities. Its goal is a detailed assessment of the situation of these small- and medium-sized companies, which lack the substantial financial resources and extensive distribution networks that are needed to penetrate new markets.
The intent is to safeguard an industry with 1,410 manufacturing facilities, of which 1,170 are artisan companies and 240 large-scale companies, concentrated mainly in the Belluno district. This area hosts 780 companies, mainly small- and medium-sized, which employ 13,800 people (18,900 people in the entire industry). In 2001, these companies achieved sales of €1,468 million, 80% of the Italian eyewear industry's entire production.
