The attendees at this National Conference kicked off their discussions by observing that the “Made in Italy” label boasts major successes and a strong ranking in the world economy as regards quality products. Yet it cannot survive on past laurels alone: the sharp contraction of the domestic market calls for firms to seek out opportunities in far-off countries and to win over new cohorts of consumers. The challenge for an industry base made up of small and medium-sized enterprises was described as both twofold and tough: on the one hand, firms must understand how to sell in the most distant and promising markets (China first and foremost), and, on the other, they are called upon to work on a new consumer front, that represented by millennials – the digital natives engaging with new styles of consumption.
The enabling factor identified by the participants as common to both these challenges was technology. However, a simple e-commerce platform will not be enough to secure Chinese clients, nor even young European customers. Changes that revolve around the new sharing economy paradigm have replaced consumption as a building block of social identity, with experience now placed center-stage. In turn, in order to offer an experience that consumers want, it is increasingly necessary for companies to be data-driven, and, hence, to know how to collect, process, and best utilize the information that customers can provide them with through technological means.
It was suggested that first-rate “Made in Italy” operators have the potential to meet these challenges, but the mere fact that a product is “manufactured in Italy” will not suffice. It is the Italian lifestyle itself that customers – especially in distant markets – look to experience from products. For this reason, the manufacturing industry needs to create greater synergies with the tourism sector in order to ensure that those who come to Italy buy and continue to buy, even once back at home, the products they enjoyed while on holiday. In this regard, it was stressed that leading Italian firms can themselves become experiential tourism destinations, by means of which production processes, especially for high-end products, can attract and win over tourists, thereby securing new consumers.
It was in any case submitted that global market conditions oblige a significant cultural shift in Italian manufacturing. Not only must there be a resumption of investment in training, starting with the kind of quality technical training that – along with ties between education and industry – has been lost in Italy, but the country must also gear itself up culturally to a world where the only future constant is change. Indeed, only through change and innovation will Italy be able to keep its tradition of industrial excellence at the international forefront.