Leather goods, production now moving to Campania

There is a push towards the construction of new factories or the expansion of existing ones both in Campania and on the mid-Adriatic coast, between Marche (Tolentino and Civitanova) and Abruzzo (province of Teramo). The Naples area is the most dynamic, precisely because in the area the brands have not invested directly and have preferred to rely on structured groups that can even exceed five hundred employees: “These suppliers today represent the main alternative to Tuscany,” added Paccagnella. And it is not the only differential source. In fact, production capacities are multiplying in Lombardy, between the province of Bergamo for belts and the Milan/Varese axis for calfskin and fine leather bags, in Veneto in the area between Padua and Vicenza, and in Emilia Romagna in the micro production clusters of Parma and Modena.

These phenomena are observed with interest by Assopellettieri. “Leather goods is an expanding system, within which Scandicci and Tuscany play a central and strategic role, but the difficulty in finding qualified personnel makes it necessary to look for alternatives,” pointed out the association’s managing director, Danny D’Alessandro, agreeing that Campania and Abruzzo are the most interesting fronts for the opening of new factories. Analysing the dynamics at an international level, Alberto Paccagnella notes a strong increase in sales in Italy, but 2022 will not be Omac’s record year in terms of turnover: ‘We are above 2021, but below the two-year period 2017-18 because two-thirds of turnover depended on exports and, compared to that period, we are missing the contribution of important markets such as India and China’.

SOURCE MILANO FINANZA