The fashion System of Naples and Campania, the pride of Made in Italy

Mr. Casillo, in March you were elected President of the Fashion System Section of the Industrial Union of Naples for the 2017-2019 two-year term. What are the initiatives and objectives of your program?

The main focus of the program is the implementation of a tax credit for samples. We ask the institutions to strive to ensure that companies in the fashion sector investing in research and innovation can benefit from this tax break. Another theme is training. I believe that a stronger collaboration between secondary schools, universities and industrial Unions, would keep those skills alive as they are our strength and must not disappear. In parallel, entrepreneurs must have the opportunity to update themselves.

Our goal is internationalisation as a means of expanding growth and we call for the support of the institutions for trade fairs, for the incoming of buyers and missions in the most interesting countries. It is also essential to establish a collaborative dialogue with the local institutions and with the ASI to promote the development of the territory and the companies in the fashion sector.

Some data related to the Neapolitan and Campania fashion system
In 2016, Campania exceeded a 3 billion euro turnover with employment figures of 70,000 employees; Naples recorded a 2 billion euro turnover and 50,000 employees. The Campania fashion sector breakdown is: clothing 50.9%, footwear 25.4%, leather 13.6%, textiles 10.1%; from 2008 to 2016, the growth trend was 9.5%. The main markets for our production are European (42.4%), followed by non-EU European countries (19.9%), North America (12.1%) and East Asia (9.2%).