Tabacchi: recovery is patchy

In an interview published in the Gazzettino Vittorio Tabacchi, president of Safilo, commented on a sector that is suffering as a result of various factors (first the war in Iraq, then the crisis in tourism, not to mention the downturn in consumption), and last but not least, the drop in United States currency.

'We are being penalized by this decline', said Tabacchi. 'We export between 30 and 40% of our production in dollars; it's obvious that this situation and rising industrial costs have reduced our margins by 10%.'

But Tabacchi is not thinking about relocating abroad, and the recent opening of a 10-thousand-meter, completely automated warehouse near the Padova Est turnpike exit is proof of this. 'All the finished articles and the spare parts produced at our facilities leave from here', explained Tabacchi. 'A call center collects the orders and a complex computerized system sorts them and in just 24 hours distributes them, complete with documents, to opticians all over Europe.' Delivery times are therefore reduced, service quality is increased, and the cost of the 220 people who work in the warehouse and who guarantee up to 8 thousand deliveries a day, is controlled. A second , equally sophisticated complex destined to hold stocks, will come into operation in two months' time.

Going on to talk about the trend at Safilo, Tabacchi commented: 'After a negative first six months, thanks to the new collections there have been positive signs at Safilo, but it's a patchy recovery: good in some countries, the United States for example, but not so good in others, Italy included.' The reason? 'There's too much bureaucracy here', said Tabacchi, 'too many decisions have been postponed and now, especially for traffic and infrastructures, the day of reckoning has come.'

Lastly, on a possible return to the Stock Exchange, Tabacchi said that this is his intention, but 'bearing in mind that the stock market situation must calm down.'