A positive 2022, a 2023 of consolidation, a 2024 of difficult reading. Pressures from the general environment are also being felt on the Italian textile-clothing industry: "international macroeconomic volatility, rising inflation, high interest rates and rising prices, leading to a decline in consumer purchasing power," explains the report by the Centro Studi di Confindustria Moda for Sistema Moda Italia, "suggest a 2024 start under the banner of a further slowdown in demand, both domestic and on foreign markets, which would likely lead, also in light of the comparison with a first part of 2023 still in marked growth, to a reversal of the positive trend recorded in recent years.
After a 2022 marked by +17.8 percent turnover and sector turnover at 62.5 billion euros, 2023 got off to a positive start: for the first six months an average growth of +7.1 percent over the same period 2022 was estimated. The third quarter saw the first signs of weakening: between July and September, companies affected by negative turnover dynamics were prevalent, with a decline of -0.7 percent. Compared to the beginning of the year, the expected increase has shrunk to +4.5 percent in the first 9 months compared to the same period 2022.
The overall positive development in turnover was accompanied by a less favorable trend in terms of volumes produced. Many companies reported a setback in production compared to January-September 2022. The order book shows an average decline of -1.6 percent compared to July-September 2022. Signs of weakening are also seen in performance in foreign markets: according to Istat data, the January-August 2023 period saw sectoral exports increase by +3.2 percent, totaling 25.6 billion euros. Based on the results of the Rapid Conjunctural Survey on "Textiles, Fashion and Accessories" conducted between October and November 2023, the slowdown recorded since April was confirmed in the fourth quarter.
If 2022 had closed with a significant share of companies with increasing turnover over 2021, entrepreneurs' expectations for the whole of 2023 are more uneven: many companies expect to close the year with a decrease; only 39 percent expect growth. Despite the undoubted slowdown in the second half of the year, 2023 for the textile-clothing industry is still expected to close under the banner of "consolidation," with growth of +3 percent and industry turnover of about 64.4 billion euros.
