Designers are turning back to the ‘made in Italy’ tag as locally manufactured eyewear hits an all-time high on International markets, delegates to last weekend’s MIDO heard in Milan.
At the show market research firm GfK announced a rise of 11.8 per cent in exports of eyewear made in Italy in 2014. This is a new record for the Italian eyewear industry which sold over Euros 3.1bn worth of eyewear. Exports of Italian manufactured eyewear to the UK rose by 23.7 per cent for sunglasses and 29.1 per cent for optical frames. Cirillo Marcolin, President of MIDO and Italian trade body ANFAO explained: ‘Luxury eyewear accounts for 70 per cent of Italian production. In a time of recession the Italian companies focused their development on high end products to benefit from their higher value’.
Approximately 868 companies manufacture eyewear in Italy. This number has not waivered over the last year with closing businesses being quickly replaced by new manufacturers. This stability was due to the increased cost of manufacturing in China, which lead to many manufacturers returning. ‘The made in Italy concept has been transformed in the last few years. Consumers from Turkey, Malaysia, Brazil even the United States, love the idea of having something that comes from Italy,’ said Marcolin.
The words Made in Italy immediately trigger ideas of design, craftsmanship and high quality particularly in the sectors of leather goods, food products and car manufacturing. Nothing says luxury more than a polished red Ferrari. The Italian eyewear manufacturers take the same pride in their work and the numbers are proving that consumers are willing to pay for this image. ‘Made in Italy is a symbol of excellence and we want MIDO to be of the same excellent quality,’ he added.
Italy’s domestic market is still problematic with very low demand although an improvement is expected for 2015 helped by the falling Euro and oil prices.