That the return to China would be positive more than anything else for the fact of closing the terrible Covid parenthesis was clear from the eve of Milano Unica Shanghai, the Italian enclave in the sea of Intertextile formed by 44 companies that decided to return to face the Chinese market.
For the first time, after the partial reopening last March, entrepreneurs were also able to return to Shanghai, thanks also to the collaboration with Ice Agenzia: the final numbers show a growth in visitors compared to March, but something is still missing to return to pre-Covid levels in 2019.
The Chinese market, despite the contraction in Hong Kong, is confirmed, after France and Germany, in third position in the export of Made in Italy fabrics, with a positive variation of 7.3%. This benefits above all the luxury segment, which in China has many admirers among the new rich.
Hopefully the slowdown will be temporary
“Some Chinese customers had already come to Italy to Milano Unica,” explained the salon’s president Alessandro Barberis Canonico, who attended the inaugural ceremony at Filo, “and it is undeniable that the market for less important brands in China is shrinking. Then there is the fact that we went to Shanghai with the summer collections, while in some parts of China it is the winter collections that get more attention. Hopefully the slowdown will be temporary, also because I am sure the government will intervene with some support for the sector, because with an economy accustomed to 5-6% growth they cannot be satisfied with 1%. So you could say that this edition of Shanghai was also preparatory for next year”.
‘Demand for luxury products has remained strong,’ the chairman continues, ‘and if our products continue to grow we know that the Chinese market is huge. We are making a long-term investment and on the women’s fashion front there are already very positive signs”.
