Accessories and shoes, Cig rises to +66%.

"According to an initial survey of our members, in the first three months of the year the leather, accessories and footwear sector recorded a drop in turnover of 6.4% compared to last year. Of course, if we change perspective and look ahead to 2019, revenues are up by 3%, but these figures are spoilt by rising costs and prices. In terms of pieces, however, they are down. In fact, I would say that there is a lack of pieces". Giovanna Ceolini, an entrepreneur in the footwear industry and president of Confindustria Moda Accessori, which brings together the companies in the leather industry in all its forms (including furs), puts the problem that the Italian industry in this sector is currently experiencing into sharp focus: the drop in production.

The effects are many and dramatic. One above all: the management of the workforce at times when companies in the supply chain are working at half their potential, as has been happening for over a year now due to the crisis in luxury goods consumption. "The authorised hours of the Wage Supplementation Fund, in the first three months of the year, rose by 66% compared to 2024. A year that, for our sector, has already been very critical,' explains Ceolini. 'I am convinced that there is a lot of resilience on the part of companies that do not want to lose their employees, they consider them valuable because they are hyper-specialised, and they are trying to get through this very ugly period without having to lay them off'. The other side of an industry that, despite everything, fears losing skills: 'We are worried, yes. Because there have been many people who have asked to retire early and for new recruits it is not attractive to enter a sector in crisis like the fashion industry is today. However, to preserve the supply chain, we will need professionals to manage the recovery of orders, when it happens'.

The when, it is not known. The recovery that was hoped for in the second half of 2025 is now postponed until a later date. "There were no signs and there are no signs now either," says Ceolini. "The current geopolitical situation, then, is disastrous: to the wars that were there, the one between Israel and Iran has been added and, in the background, there are of course tariffs: the United States is at a standstill, waiting, with many people losing a lot of money in the stock market fluctuations. And from the other markets, like China, we don't see any recovery reactions at the moment'. The export figures for footwear accessories for the first two months of 2025 give an account of this impasse: 'in January and February 2025 exports fell by -6.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2024,' says Ceolini. Internally, things are no better: 'Italians are eliminating unnecessary expenditure.

Having photographed the complex situation, companies are trying to act in a less emergency-oriented way, to trigger a long-term transformation. The crisis is systemic, not transient. 'The government, with which we have a close dialogue, has asked us to sit down at a table and develop an industrial policy proposal to support the sector. It should be ready by July,' says Ceolini. There are several issues on the table: 'There is the issue of 'caporalato', which is at the forefront today and must be fought. As companies, then, we certainly need tax credits, even if the controversy over the tax credit for R&D investments has left many entrepreneurs 'burnt', and then bank credits'. Financially supporting transitions such as digital or sustainable is not easy: 'We are constantly spending money to try to keep up with this transformation driven also by European regulations, first and foremost the Deforestation Regulation that is putting the leather industry in difficulty'.

For recovery to take place, however, it is crucial for Ceolini to 'bring all the players to the table, including the luxury groups: we know that those with the most power are in charge, but if we want to continue working, we must understand that it is a team effort. Our task is to make the consumer fall in love again together'.