ANFAO companies pursue emerging markets
An intensive international marketing program for helping Italian companies to enter new markets The latest market data have confirmed it: the very strong international leaning of Italy's eyewear firms is the strong point that continues to support the sector and balances a domestic market that is still having problems. In the first half of 2013 the sector's total exports grew by 5.4% in value compared to the same period in 2012. But this encouraging result does not mean that they can rest on their laurels: ANFAO, the Italian Association of Optical Goods Manufacturers, that represents the companies in the segment, has prepared an intensive international marketing program that will help Italian companies to enter emerging and growing new markets. The two geographical areas chosen for the promotional initiatives to be produced in collaboration with ICE – the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade – are South East Asia and Central-South America, two subcontinents that are showing good levels of growth and where there is an ever-larger middle class that appreciates quality products and wants to make the much desired Italian Style its own. The internationalization plan enacted by ANFAO to help the Italian eyewear industry is supported by ICE and its aim is to have a proactive approach to the current economic context by taking advantage of the ability of Italian firms to assert themselves on foreign markets. It begins on October 31 with a two-day workshop in Singapore. A large delegation of 20 Italian firms will meet a selection of about forty buyers from countries in the area to present their products and, hopefully, finalize new collaborations. Thereafter collaboration with ICE will continue in Asia when 16 Italian companies will jointly participate from November 6 through 8 at the Hong Kong Optical Fair, in the Visionaries of Style (VOS) area, an exclusive space dedicated to manufacturing firms with a penchant for research and design. On December 10 and 11, ANFAO and ICE will hold a workshop in Miami, the USA city that is most open to Latin American countries and an economic and cultural bridgehead to Central and South America. In Miami, Italian companies will be engaged in an operational mission that will enable them to meet selected buyers who are interested in Italian excellence, sector operators from all over Latin America, an area that showed a 14.7% increase in exports from Italy during the last six months. Supporting ANFAO's constant actions for the internationalization of small and medium enterprises, the Vice President of ANFAO responsible for internationalization, Giovanni Vitaloni, confirmed his commitment towards this type of initiatives. "The data have confirmed it once again: the successful weapon possessed by Italian firms in our sector is their ability to compete on international markets, thanks to the invaluable chemistry of tradition and innovation at the basis of Italian excellence. ANFAO has decided to maximize the power of this trump card by continuing to organize and participate in meetings and business opportunities between our companies and strategic operators in the most interesting geographical areas. We are convinced - and it is being repeatedly demonstrated – that when they are promoted in the best way and presented in the right context" – Vitaloni stated – "our products have no rivals on international markets. Our job is simply to create the perfect occasion for them to be appreciated."
