Luca Sburlati: 'The future of fashion is based on courageous and shared choices'
The president of Confindustria Moda starts from the recent investigation into Loro Piana to reiterate the priorities of the Italian supply chain and the desire to work towards ever greater transparency and accountability
4' min read
4' min read
'The issue goes beyond Loro Piana: it is an issue that concerns the entire Italian industry (...). What happened will have no repercussions - and rightly so - on the image of Loro Piana'. Cecile Cabanis, cfo of the French group Lvmh, the world's largest in high-end fashion, took less than two minutes to answer a question about the consequences of the investigation by the Milan prosecutor that led to the judicial administration, for a year, of Loro Piana, one of the approximately 80 maisons of Lvmh, a company that the group bought exactly twelve years ago, in July 2013. The words we have quoted are the most ambiguous passage of those used by Cabanis during the conference call with analysts on the sidelines of Lvmh's half-year figures that, on Thursday, confirmed theslowdown in revenues (-4%) and profits (-22%). At another point in the Q&A session, responding to those who asked for a comparison with the numbers of Brunello Cucinelli, which continues to grow against the trend in the luxury sector, the cfo had emphasised: 'The brand that grows the most in the global quiet luxury scene belongs to Lvmh', referring to Loro Piana. Cecile Cabanis's words did not fall on deaf ears, but Confindustria Moda-Federazione Tessile Moda has taken the time to respond, to oppose the debatable and hasty interpretation offered by Lvmh with some facts and, even more important, concrete actions that call on everyone, Italians and French alike. As Luca Sburlati, president of Confindustria Moda, explains, 'on behalf of the entire Italian fashion industry.
The cfo of Lvmh said that the company at the centre of the investigation was 'a sub-supplier of a sub-supplier of a supplier of Loro Piana', denying, in fact, any responsibility. How does he respond?
One of the three points on which we would like to initiate a discussion with the entire supply chain, which in Italy sees the presence of important companies controlled by the French, and with the institutions is precisely this: the cost targets assigned to subcontracting companies must be compatible with the required quality and must guarantee economic sustainability and respect for regular hourly costs along the entire supply chain, because economic sustainability also means social sustainability. It is a priority that 'lead' companies, such as those of Lvmh, only work with companies that apply the newly renewed national contract and avoid those that choose so-called pirate contracts instead. Let us remember it clearly: in Italy, the fashion industry employs over 500 thousand people and around 50 thousand companies, a highly specialised network that works with rigour, competence and a great sense of responsibility, supplying yarns, fabrics, design, innovation and unique products to the major international brands.
What are the other two priorities?
The second is in turn related to the issue of cost distribution, which cannot be the sole objective of the operational management of contracting companies. All the more so when it comes to high-end products: quality requires investment, know-how and time. A supply chain geared only to price also compromises the product quality perceived by customers in the long term and undermines the relationship of trust between consumers and brands, with incalculable damage, particularly in our digital age, in which information, whether true or false, is transmitted at uncontrollable speed.
