Unfortunately, even the furniture sector, except for some niches, is in decline. After the Furniture Fair in 2018, which gave hope, there was actually a slowdown in the sector.

This is how Aldo Donati, owner of Conceria Ausonia, summarises the situation, who identifies the cause of the production standstill of many brands in the instability at world level and above all in fears connected to the “trade ware”. Not to mention the still weak real estate market, which also reflects its shadows on furnishings.
For Donati only the most important names are saved, despite some downturns, and those that were able to renew proposals. Frau, Cassina, Giorgetti are still doing well …, but if you decrease in level the situation becomes very difficult.

“We are able to control the market well (the furniture sector covers 20% of our turnover and our reference market is 70% for Italy, where Germany and the Scandinavian countries are located), because there are just four or five companies in the world able to work leather at certain levels”.

Despite this, problems are not lacking: at the moment buyers are only interested in the price, which among other things is very low in the furniture sector (from 16 to a maximum of 35 euro). The concepts of sustainability are of no interest to Ausonia’s furniture customers.

Is it, therefore, a very difficult world to manage? “Following the furniture sector is not easy. Designers should be pampered, especially when they present innovative ideas. For example, at the Furniture Fair 2019 in Milan we presented a very particular leather, garment dyed as happens with Berluti shoes. It is the beginning of an interesting as well as complex project, given that it does not have to do with a shoe, but a sofa. We will see how the market will react, but it is these particular initiatives that can keep the furniture sector alive”.

Finally, a broader thinking: “It seems that nobody wants leather anymore, and production clashes with an inconsistent demand, so much that in many cases you risk throwing it away, burying it to make gardens. Also because converting it into jelly (little but sure profits) is not so simple and you have to be well equipped to do it”.