The Italian footwear industry has closed, as explained by Tommaso Cancellara (general manager of Assocalzaturifici), following the letter of the Prime Minister’s Decree published yesterday. But it also tries to evaluate its implications. “On the basis of the decree, Italian footwear companies have concluded the work in progress on schedule. And on Wednesday, March 25th, 2020, they closed”. Impossible, however hard you may try, it is, instead, to hypothesise the impact of the CRV emergency on the Italian footwear sector. Too early, perhaps, also in relation to how the epidemic is spreading in European and non-European countries.
Things to understand
First of all, there is a whole very complex part to understand and manage, explains Cancellara. It is linked with the development of commercial contracts, cancellations, postponements, for which “we have activated a free legal service”. Then, there is an aspect which is related more to the list of those who can and cannot produce from March 23rd to April 3rd. “We still have to understand what to do with those who produce technical and safety footwear for all those activities that must guarantee the regularity of production. Then there is CIMAC which develops chemical, physical tests and CE certifications. For example, in relation to work gloves: for now, it won’t stop, hoping to correctly interpret the decree”.
The testimony from Marche
“In this season – says Marino Fabiani from Fermo, in the Marche region – the production had been diluted. For example, some accessories made in China had arrived late, just before Micam. So, today we have shoes in the manual conveyor, other shoes in the warehouse that can no longer be shipped, and others in the shippers’ warehouses, because they are not picked up. What will we do when we reopen? Turnover and collections are stopped: how will we fulfil the payments due in the coming months?”.
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