Vicenzaoro Highlights, September 2023: The Increasing of Competitiveness and Investment

The results of the economic survey, which will be presented today, provide the operators’ updated and original view, and give an integrated and complete vision of the sector’s official statistics. The aim of the survey was to gather expectations for 2023 in terms of turnover and investments and to look deeper into the competitive challenges that the sector is facing. «After the brilliant results of 2022, with growth in turnover and exports in the order of 20%, and despite a context of economic slowdown, the Italian gold and jewelry sector continues to show a positive trend in 2023 with a 10% increase in turnover in the first six months, better than that recorded by the fashion system (+7.2%) and by manufacturing as a whole (+3.0%). The high level of competitiveness on foreign markets is still the sector's driving force: in the January-May 2023 period, gold jewelry exports were well in excess of 4 billion euros, up 8.6% in value and +1.6% in quantity. In this particular competitive context, the sector's positioning, which is more oriented towards the high end of the market, has proved to be a strong point capable of intercepting the demand for luxury goods, which is less impacted by the effects of inflationary tensions and where prospects remain positive,» says Stefania Trenti, Head of Industry Research at Intesa Sanpaolo’s Study and Research Department. Giorgio Villa, President of Club degli Orafi Italia, adds: «Despite the uncertainty, one company out of three has decided to increase investments. By doing so, smaller companies aim to respond to the changing competitive environment, while for medium- large companies, the inclination to invest is mainly linked to international market evolution and technological and machinery upgrading.»