"2009: challenge and change are the hot buzzwords"

Here follows the speech of the president of Mido and Anfao, Vittorio Tabacchi:

“The year 2009 will be a challenge for everybody and for this industry, too.
We cannot take stock of the state of affairs of the eyewear industry without setting it in the context of the global economy with its currently ensuing difficulties.
There’s no point denying that the international economic situation is one of the most difficult we have ever witnessed. I don’t think anybody can come up with a solution on how to overcome this very difficult recessionary downturn, nor foresee how long it will take before the economy rebounds. The epoch-making moment that threw the entire world into what is currently defined as an unprecedented global recession was September 2008, when the problems being experienced by the United States, the world’s leading economy, further exacerbating with various companies in the banking and finance sector, such as the Lehman Brothers investment bank, being put into bankruptcy proceedings.
The collapse of the strongest economy, a market for a great many products, could have nothing else but unprecedented repercussions; in the modern globalized economy the phenomenon spread rapidly, even to Europe and to markets across the world, including Asia.
 

A new world
To put it simply, the economic map has been redrawn and we find ourselves facing a new world. The order of world trade has changed rapidly, is still changing and continues to be in an ever-shifting state.
We must be realistic and honest and look things straight in the face. This is certainly an unprecedented situation and is therefore difficult to interpret. After taking off as a financial crisis, it has become an economic, and now even a structural one, and it is definitely early and impossible to make any forecasts.
As I stated, there are no miracle solutions or magic wands on how to deal with this moment, but we must definitely think carefully about what is happening and find viable solutions. I am convinced that these solutions lie in deeply changing our perception of doing business and how we approach this. This re-positioning brings with it the need to put down new rules for doing business and cooperating, a re-positioning which we hope will take place as soon as possible.

Italy and eyewear are not immune
Italy has not been, and is not, immune to this crisis. Economic indicators by Confindustria for our country are clear and unequivocal. There has been a downturn in industrial production, shrinking orders and, inevitably, a fall in demand.

As far as our industry in particular is concerned we have been hit just like everybody else but to a lesser extent, because some of our products –vision frames especially -- are not only a fashion item but also a health device.
However, against this general backdrop, with demand falling due to a decrease in the average family income, 2008 was a difficult year for the industry, especially in the second half of the year.

Italian eyewear production in 2008 totaled 2.597 million Euros, down by 6.4% over the previous year.

Both the fall in exports (-4.7% over 2007) and a downturn in the domestic market (-7.3%) caused production to slow down, immediately leading to a reduction in the number of companies and people employed.

While small companies, especially in the Cadore eyewear district, had no other alternative but to close, the difficulty being experienced by medium and large companies could be seen in the temporary closure of production facilities, a reduction in working hours, temporary layoffs and the non-renewal of fixed-term employment contracts.

The year 2008 closed with 1,005 companies, 4% less than in 2007, mainly in the Belluno eyewear district, and with 17,500 people employed, down by 5.4% over the previous year.

Exports of frames, sunglasses and lenses, which account for approx. 85% of production by the industry, fell by 4.7% compared to 2007.
While settling at higher levels than in 2006, the last time a negative result was reported was in 2003 after 5 years of steadily growing exports.

Exports of sunglasses fell by 6.9% in 2008 over 2007, settling at more than 1.422 million Euros.
Exports of frames fell by a lesser extent but aroused concern nonetheless (-0.5%), settling at almost 735 million Euros.

The monthly and quarterly results clearly reflect the effects of the worldwide crisis -- especially the situation in the United States -- on the eyewear industry and on sunglasses in particular.

As to our leading export markets:

 in the United States (the main export market with a 21% share – the figure has fallen over previous years when it was 27-29%), overall exports of sunglasses and frames posted a sharp -20.5% over 2007. Noteworthy here is the difference between the two sectors despite the negative results reported by both: frame exports fell by 10.9% whereas sunglasses fell by more than double this amount at -24.7%;
 in the leading European export markets after the United States (France, Spain, England and Germany), total exports in 2008 were down with the exception of France where both sunglasses (+9.9%) and frames (+9.6%) rose over 2007 by more than 9 percentage points. Sunglasses seem to have been the most impacted by the downturn in consumption and therefore in exports, in most countries: Spain -8.1% (-1% frames, -10.9% sunglasses), England -8,1% (+4.4% frames, -15% sunglasses), Germany -7% (-11.4% frames, -3.6% sunglasses).
 In addition to the good performance posted by exports to France, interesting results were reported in Mexico (+19.3% over 2007); in Russia, a market that has a good potential for all the industry, figures were +27.8% overall versus 2007, driven mainly by frames at +83.4% and a less significant +9.1% by sunglasses; the United Arab Emirates (+12%) have now become one of the 10 main export markets.

In terms of worldwide exports by the industry (8,100 million Euros approx.), Italy continues to rank No. 1 with a market share in excess of 26%, despite the downward trend over 2007.
If sunglasses are considered, the market share of Italian exports rises in value to 39%, while frames settle at 26%. Italy is followed by China and Hong Kong which, however, even if combined, fail to measure up to Italy’s performance.

More detailed figures on the industry can be found in your press kit.

As you can see therefore, I have described a difficult situation that seems to be confirmed in the first months of 2009.

However, we should be comforted by our important and obvious strengths.
The strength of the Italian production model lies in its ability to make products that are the combination of two opposites which are apparently difficult to reconcile: tradition and modernity, craftsmanship and technology, aesthetics and functionality. As a result of these distinctive features, I believe that we can recover stronger than before from the major crisis that we are currently experiencing.

With this objective in mind and in the all-new economic context such as the present one, an exhibition like Mido becomes even more important and plays a fundamental role, not only as an important promotional and marketing tool for its exhibitors, but also as an opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas.

Mido, a unique opportunity
Mido is therefore a unique opportunity to underline all this. A moment when the national and international industry become a system, an undisputed promotional showcase. One of the distinguishing features of our exhibition is that we are not an empty container that is just waiting to be filled with stands. We are everything but this.
At such a critical time, this proactive mindset helps us to come up with solutions and initiatives that are always new, and that confirm our dynamism year on year.
However, I don’t want to tell you anything about the innovations and projects that you will be discovering at this meeting.

Eyewear, an eyeful of fashion
I would like to make one final remark.
As I stated at the beginning, eyewear is definitely a fashion item, but not just that. Eyewear is also a corrective device. Once perhaps, many people preferred not to wear glasses but now they have become a must-have accessory to create a certain look.
A quick glance at television programs is proof of this, with many young singers happily wearing glasses. Sometimes these glasses are very conspicuous and become a distinguishing feature. I’m happy about this because it means that prescription eyewear has been destigmatized. There are good hopes therefore, that from this moment on, people will be less frightened about going to the eyecare professional and finding out that they are shortsighted, longsighted or astigmatic.

…and health!
The time has come to place the accent on eyecare as well.
As you know, in addition to my work for Anfao and Mido, I also serve on the Eyecare Defense Commission (CDV), an organization that has always been in the forefront in promoting eyecare, by providing timely and correct information on eyecare-related topics. We are working in various directions jointly with the CDV. The following are some significant statistics that emerged from research studies conducted over the last few years:
1. 60% of children aged 1-5 have never been to an eye specialist and the figure does not get any better as they get older;
2. according to the World Health Organization, 75% of all adult blindness cases could have been avoided through prevention and treatment;
3. exposure to UV rays is among the main causes of cataract and eye diseases, this exposure could be reduced by using sunglasses;
4. more than 50% of road accidents are also caused by eyesight problems (failure to use prescription eyewear, wrong prescription eyewear and so on,…).
This is just to give you a picture of how both ophthalmic eyewear and sunglasses are fundamental in eyecare. I’m at your disposal for further information about this at the CDV.

I look forward to seeing you at Mido, starting tomorrow thru to Monday, at Fieramilano’s pavilions in Rho-Pero.”