Textile products managed to overcome the impact of the pandemic quite effectively, thanks to the increase in sales of household goods and at the same time the transformation efforts to produce hygienic clothes. However, the outbreak of war in Ukraine started to hurt the sector, with the rise in energy and raw material prices and the inflation that eventually escaped. And companies are already recognizing the effects of the decline in consumption, which threatens to go further in the coming months. There are even those who prepare the submission of Employment Arrangement Files (ERE).. All this just one week after Textilhogar’s return to Feria Valencia, after five celebrations in Madrid and a two-year hiatus due to covid. The fully occupied event turns out to be a good barometer for measuring the extent of the looming crisis.
Exorbitant energy prices have had a strong impact on the most energy-intensive industries, including textiles, for some time now and have a strong presence in the cluster of Alicante districts l’Alcoià and El Comtat. and one of the Vall d’Albaida in Valencia where they concentrate A thousand companies employing 8,500 workers. The situation is particularly complex for the paints and finishings sub-sector, on which the rest of the value chain depends, as energy currently represents 50% of its costs.
Well, as if that wasn’t enough, inflation is directly affecting the purchasing power of consumers, who have begun cutting costs amid repeated warnings of a tough fall. textile industry. Although there are no concrete figures yet, there are some indicators pointing in this direction. slowdown in export rate.
Pepe Serna, president of the Valencia Community (Ateval) Textile Entrepreneurs Association, said: “We are concerned because we are facing a horizon full of uncertainties and a context of declining consumption in which products like ours, products like ours are not necessarily, they are the first to suffer.” The situation is so complex that some companies have already begun to consider the submission of employment regulation files, at the same time the Spanish Intertextile Council (CIE) They demand direct aid and tax relief from the government This increases energy bills.
This sentiment is generalized among companies, as explained by León Grau, president of the Technological Textile Institute (Aitex) and director of Hilaturas Miel. companies are running out of profit margins. Jorge Sanjuan, CEO of Comersan, also touched upon this issue, drawing attention to the difficulties in passing prices on to customers.
In the middle of this panorama, the Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar fair, which will be held from September 20-23, will be able to take an X-ray of the real state of the industry. The event returns to Valencia, sharing the same stage and dates as Hábitat and Espacio Cocina, making it a meeting point for all professionals in the decoration industry. The numbers are positive from the start, as the textile covers the entire 3,000 square meters of its surface. 82 exhibitors representing 237 brands. Likewise, the event confirmed the visit of buyers from 44 countries thanks to the coordinated action developed by Ateval, Ivace Uinternacional and ICEX in this regard.
Máximo Solaz, director of Textilhogar, said: “Returning to Valencia and doing this together with two events specializing in habitat makes the event a strong commercial showcase for exhibitors. Most companies want to attend the fair and face-to-face. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic will face each other and this points to a good fair”.
Pepe Serna also shares that the effort carried out at the organizational level supports the success of participation and the presence of a large number of international buyers. “What’s to come,” he explains, “is this strong influx of visitors. turns into real purchases or related business contacts at the end of the show. At the moment I insist first of all that there is uncertainty about what might happen.”
Even if the competition is delayed, it has reached half a century
The Textilhogar fair will celebrate its 50th anniversary in this issue. As the event will not be held due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will do so two years late. It was in 1970 when a group of companies based mainly in the counties of l’Alcoià, El Comtat and Vall d’Albaida decided to promote this event in Valencia to facilitate the marketing of their products. After the Madrid tour, the fair returns to its roots on its golden anniversary.