Italy’s furniture manufacturers beg to be allowed to work again
The president of an Italian furniture manufacturers’ association, Claudio Luti, has said his member companies are desperate to open their workshops and start work again after weeks of enforced closure because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Luti, who heads up the Federlegno-Arredo association, said in recent comments to the Corriere della Sera newspaper that a large number of smaller manufacturing firms are in trouble and that some are at risk of being unable to open again if the lockdown goes on much longer.
He explained that the cancellation of the 2020 Salone del Mobile exhibition in Milan, which was scheduled to take place from April 21-26, meant much more to these companies than just a series of missed appointments. He called the cancellation a watershed moment.
“Italy’s furniture sector must not be allowed to disappear,” he said. “It is unique. Its great beauty is that it is, in essence, made up of so many family-run companies. And, now, this is also its weakness, and this is very serious because, without these family-run companies, Made in Italy would not exist.”
He said Italy’s furniture sector is only able to make the products it makes thanks to the commitment of all players in the sector, from prominent designers and architects to the small-scale entrepreneurs and artisans. This last group, Mr Luti insisted, consists of companies that may be forced to close, that may not have the capability of starting again after the crisis and that live in fear of losing out to cheaper rivals.
“They are on their knees,” he concluded, “and what they are asking for is to be allowed to start work again as soon as possible. This matters much more to them than economic assistance.”
