REPORT
shape anymore: it is the baseball cap. Even for older men, that shows how rapidly the taste of the customers is changing and how important it is for us to give a different mood to our collections. All is constantly moving and therefore you have to be ready for quick delivery. Working with shorter production periods is definitely a challenge.”
When pressured by the market, European fashion and hat brands started to move production to Asian countries a few decades ago. However, most Italian hat brands managed to keep their factories in their own country. What made the difference to other countries? “Historically, we have a well-developed net of workers in our sector,” explains Giacomo. “There are a lot of hat makers in Italy, both for ladies’ and men’s hats, which means that the workers as well as the skills can still be found here. This has helped us to maintain production on our own shores, unlike some other countries such as France and the UK.”
One of the strategies that helped the hat industry to stay strong in the past decades was the foundation in 1986 of Il Consorzio Il Cappello di Firenze, the consortium in which all the hat makers in the region are unified. The organisation works together on important issues, such as the training of workers. For a short period of time, the area had a special school where sewing and other hand skills were taught, but this was closed a couple of years ago. The consortium is now trying to collaborate with mayors and administrations in the region to restart it. “It is clear that keeping the knowledge of all
hat making techniques is fundamental for our industry,” Giacomo says. “We have never tried to compete on price, but always continued producing high quality items for the high range label market. When China started to produce hats about 30 years ago, the quality of their hats was low. Now, the situation has changed as the Chinese are able to make good quality hats, so there is definitely some extra competition. But the craftsmanship of Italian products is still highly valued by our customers, proven by the fact that we are still around and still doing well.”
Production of the summer collection in the Tesi factory
A bigger challenge the industry is facing at the moment is the availability of raw materials, as Giacomo points out: “The current situation regarding raw materials is not so easy for manufacturers, as prices go up and availability goes down. The current quick rise of energy costs is a big concern for any kind of producing company as well. Focusing on felt and Panama, there are only a few suppliers of these materials left and they are changing their prices constantly. The production of both materials is very slow. Sometimes you can’t get a confirmation of a price, because the costs are going up so quickly that suppliers do not know what they need to charge you by the time the order is ready for delivery. The problem is that we are a manufacturer and obliged to have stock, especially now delivery times are getting shorter. We sometimes have to order hat bodies one year in advance. With constantly changing rates and availability, forecasts are difficult to make regarding what to order and what to charge your customer. But I cannot change my prices after I have accepted an order from a customer. It is a difficult situation.”
An even more challenging situation for the industry is the disappearance of the middle class sector, Giacomo says. “Another trend we face has been going on for decades. Technology and global competition are destroying the middle class. For us, that is a dramatic loss as they play a key role in moving the money and supporting businesses like ours. There seems to be a wide gap between the lowest and the top price customers: Zara and Primark are very important for a big part of the population, and the step over is Gucci or Armani. The middle doesn’t exist anymore: that is a social and economic analysis.”
Despite his view of the challenges, Giacomo sees long-term chances for the industry. “The situation is difficult, but in my opinion there are big opportunities as well. Because of all this, everybody is thinking how the work can be reset and rebooted. It won’t be easy, but we will always come up with a solution!”
More information
www.tesihats.com
may 2022 | 21
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