Bringing together artisans who produce made in Italy fashion (often as subcontractors for big brands) and international brands. By exploiting the network, optimizing costs to obtain economic benefits and enhancing the all-Italian know-how. With this purpose, in 2015, David Clementoni founded Italian Artisan: born as a consulting company and today a B2B platform with a community of over 700 Italian companies and 10,000 registered international customers. «I come from a family of artisans, I know the value of a beautiful high quality product well, and after a series of experiences abroad I decided to create a platform to bring producers and brands together. Until 2019 it was mostly a form of consultancy. Then we put everything into a system by creating a B2b platform ».
Economic efficiency and shorter time to produce
Initially, the reception by Italian companies was complicated: «We were proposing something different from what they had always done: alongside production for big brands that for emerging brands. By eliminating intermediaries, in fact, producers can earn more ». According to the start-up, in fact, if an international brand to develop its collection in Italy comes to spend around 30,000 euros, by putting the producer and client in direct contact, the costs drop to a third, with times that amount to around six months against the canons. 9-12 Immediately afterwards, to clear the cards, Covid-19 arrived: “The pandemic has accelerated our growth, thanks to the push to digital and the impossibility of working abroad with traditional methods”, confirms Clementoni .
The thrust of the pandemic
The push offered by the pandemic has led Italian Artisan to have a community that “is worth about 1% of the manufacturing companies in the fashion sector,” says the founder. For the most part, these are premium-level manufacturers of footwear (40%), clothing (25%), bags and small leather goods (35%), located in 30 production districts mainly in the Marche, Campania, Tuscany, Lombardy and Veneto regions. . Brands and companies, on the other hand, are mostly found “in Anglo-Saxon countries and therefore Australia, North America and Central America, but also in Canada, France and the Middle East,” says Clementoni. The “target” has changed over time: «We have seen medium-sized companies join forces with small and emerging brands that already produce elsewhere and now want to make their products in Italy». An example of that reshoring that companies are implementing to shorten the supply chain as much as possible.
Supporting companies in the supply chain at a time like the current one represents one of the cornerstones of Italian Artisan’s activity: «We take care of material sourcing and therefore we help companies in procurement with a wider supplier package to diversify risk. We also support them in planning and project management to cut waste and better optimize processes ».
GMV’s goal of 375 million in 2028 and a deal
Italian Artisan currently employs 23 people, 85% of whom are women, with an average age of around 26. But it aims to increase human capital. The growth prospects are stimulating: “We closed 2021 with a Gmv – which we remember concerns production assets, therefore it is worth at least a third of their value to retail – and we aim to reach a value of 375 million euros by 2028” . To do this, a little push will be needed: “We are working to close an agreement with an investor,” says Clementoni.