Italian goldsmith industry: one in three companies ready to react to the conflict

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The Italian goldsmith industry is dealing with the difficult international situation: if before February 24, the day of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia, 73% of companies expected further growth in turnover in 2022 ( despite the unknowns already on the horizon, such as the increase in the prices of raw materials), now 78% of those interviewed show a negative impact of the war.

These data emerge from the first survey carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo and Club degli Orafi among the latter’s members. The results will be presented on March 19th at VicenzaOro – which opened last March 17th – but here are some previews.

One in three companies is ready to react

The first is that an important share of the companies in the sample say they are ready to react: 30% of the companies say they are thinking about organizational changes following the outbreak of the conflict, in particular through a review of the supply channels but also of the price lists. and sales channels.

After all, the Italian goldsmith industry has also reacted well to the pandemic: in 2021, according to Istat, the turnover recorded a + 17% on that of 2019, compared to the +9 of the manufacturing average. And 60% of companies say that in 2020 they did not experience any drops in turnover or, if they did, they have already recovered them in the course of 2021.

Investments in training and human capital

The ability to react is linked to the high propensity to invest shown by Italian goldsmith companies: 60% of respondents state that they have increased their investments in the last two years, despite the pandemic, with particular attention to training and human capital. An element that 95% of companies consider relevant. This is followed by the digitization of the production phase, Research and Development and the enhancement of the brand.