A Timely Response

The sun is shining brighter than ever on Vicenza Expo Center. Thanks to the super glittery new layout set-up to adorn the square in front of the entrances - where the sponsoring company, Wolf 1834, offers an aperitif every evening – not one visitor has resisted the pleasure of taking a selfie moment to share on social networks, with decidedly sparkling results. A welcome that seems to be the perfect metaphor for the vibrant air breathed at Vicenzaoro September 2022, which registered relevant numbers of admission on the first day last Friday. In fact, a rapid excursus of the most important events that took place on the Main Stage in Hall 7 and in the areas reserved for talks and the VO Vintage courses, outlines the profile of a sector that is experiencing a particularly prosperous season which has managed to revive the numbers and positive spirit of 2019, defined as the year of records for the gold and jewelry sector. The ISTAT data reported in the analysis carried out by Confindustria Moda’s Study Centre for Federorafi are all in double figures preceded by a plus sign, starting with national exports, which stood at just under Euro 4 billion (around one billion more than in the first five months of 2021), equal to the famous +36.5% echoed here at the exhibition on several occasions. Driving this revival was also an exceptional May during which sectoral sales reached +63.7% compared to the same month in 2021. To be more precise, gold/ gold jewelry showed a better than average foreign sales dynamic (84.1% of the exports considered here), growing by +40.5% in the first five months of the year; silver jewelry experienced a contained increase in exports at +4.4%, while plated metal jewelry, although not reaching 30 million euros, grew by almost +150.0%. Exponential growth for all concerned and for the entire supply chain that could not fail to translate into an increase in employment levels. According to Chamber of Commerce sources, the number of people employed at 30 June 2022, in relation to the stock on 31/12/2021, had increased by +4.0% corresponding to over a thousand more workers divided among the various districts as follows: 36.8% of the total in Tuscany, 41.0% in Piedmont and 20.9% in Veneto. That said, the natural optimism deriving from a decidedly upbeat situation is accompanied by attention on an expected escalation in production costs provoked by the war. The industry must therefore prepare to once again close ranks and unleash the same reactive strength it demonstrated during and after the pandemic. According to Federorafi President Claudia Piaserico, who spoke at the Vicenzaoro opening ceremony, prompt action must be taken in the direction already indicated by the President of Confindustria Moda, Ercole Botto Poala, with a series of actions aimed at minimizing the negative effects of the new crisis that awaits us. First and foremost, separate the costs of energy produced from renewable sources and from fossil sources to reduce the average price and increase the attractiveness of renewables; obtain a national share of production from renewable sources at an administered reserved cost for the manufacturing industry, as other countries in Europe have done, and intervene on the cost of the bill using EU resources; help companies to invest in energy efficiency, making sure that the NRRP is also available to small companies that do not have the resources to deal with the problem independently. This is the direction and the virtuous path that needs to be taken. Now.