China accelerates and leaps forward, while the rest of the world struggles to run in place. A fact reflected in the +2.3% rise in domestic production last year. China, in fact, is the only major economic power to report economic growth in 2020.
And there’s more. According to the Center for Business and Economic Research, China can look forward to annual growth of 5.7% from 2021 to 2025 (after which there should be a drop of 4.5% per annum from 2026 to 2030), surpassing the United States and becoming the leading world economic power in 2028, five years sooner than had been forecast.
The Altagamma Consensus for 2021 and the Altagamma-Bain Worldwide Market Monitor 2020 show forecasts for 2021 in the sector of luxury goods that confirm the solidity of China as the leading consumers in this market, also thanks to excellent performance in digital channels.
Paolo Bleve, Editor-in-Chief
Though in ideological and social terms the China-West relationship has emerged from 2020 with its share of damages, on an economic plane it is undeniable that China can be a driver for the business of Made in Italy, bringing some respite to a system sorely tested by the contractions of the 12 months.
We can start with this analysis in our approach to the appointments of the month, including interviews and in-depth features, and making room for new developments arriving precisely from the Far East.
Although “2021 will be a year full of uncertainties, the growing potential foreign demand will be able to sustain Italian exports (slightly less than 3% in real terms), while the domestic market will resume growth (+2.9% in real terms),” we read in the CSIL report on the outlook for the furniture sector in 2021-23. The confirmation of the Furniture Bonus in the budget law for 2021 – together with the Superbonus of 110% in 2020 – will provide further incentives.
Investments, then, will represent the main direction of the rebound, “aided by the arrival of European funding on green transition, innovation, digitalization and automation, to accelerate processes of transformation already in progress.” Our editorial program continues precisely along these lines, where digital and design experimentation will come to the fore – alongside the force of the Chinese market – as potentialities to fully exploit for companies in the furnishing sector.
