Eyewear is the core of I-style
A fashion accessory that makes you stand out, a cult object that gets you noticed or a tool that improves sight: Italian eyewear is big business and it's highly popular in all the world's markets and especially in the Russian market, which is very sensitive to the exceptional sense of esthetics and the love of detail that distinguish it, as the figures for Italian exports of sunglasses to the Russian Federation demonstrate: +6.4%.
«Russia is a market with huge potential and excellent prospects for the rapid growth of a market whose 145 million consumers make it one of the biggest in Europe», stated Paolo Cannicci, Vice President of Anfao. 'Exports from Italy to Russia have no competition because in 2006 France and Germany, the traditional competitors, exported 10% and 20%, respectively, of the amount Italy exported. Made in Italy eyewear' Cannicci continued, 'has always been popular here and elsewhere because of its design, top quality and, obviously, the excellent technical component and precise choice of materials. This is the key to our success.' And that of Made in Italy in general.
By and large, all I-Style had excellent results in 2007 and eyewear is one of the driving sectors with exports at +12.5% and an overall value of over Euro 2,128 million. Specifically, sunglasses are a strong element of Made in Italy eyewear with two-figure growth in exports: +13.7% and a value of Euro 1,397 million. Although the growth in vision frames was lower, it was still significant at +9.6% and with a turnover in excess of Euro 685 million. Imports also proved to the liveliness of the sector; at +7.6% they reached Euro 488 million during the first eleven months of 2007.
In brief, sector exports from January through November 2007 were strongly supported by the export of sunglasses to all international markets and by sun and vision eyewear to Europe, which is confirmed as the reference area for exports with 51.2% of total exports and total growth of 16.7% compared to the same period 2006, and two-figure growth for sunglasses (+17.8%) and frames (+15%).
From January through November 2007, exports to the American market accounted for 31.1% with growth of 7.9% against the same period 2006. Trading with Central and South America was also interesting with +38.6% growth in exports compared to +3.4% in North America. These are good results considering the particular general economic situation in which the euro is at a historic high against the US dollar.
The 11 months of 2007 confirm the growth in Italian eyewear that began in 2006 and was reconfirmed in the first three quarters of the year. The key to this lasting success is the continual ability to take up challenges, the extreme competitiveness of its companies - small, medium and large - a tendency to look forward at all times, and to always strive for even better results. Quality, design, experimentation: Italian eyewear meets with approval everywhere.
