Today, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, the President of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Carlo Ferro, and the Amazon VP and Country Manager in Italy and Spain, Mariangela Marseglia, launched the “Made in Italy Days”, an initiative to enhance thousands of Made in Italy products in eight key markets: Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, United States, Japan, and United Arab Emirates. A special four-day promotional event will be held in the eight Countries on the occasion of the celebrations of Republic Day (30 May – 2 June).
As proof of the importance of the synergy between the public and private sector in supporting the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, Amazon joins Be IT, the nation branding campaign to support Made in Italy, promoted by the Farnesina in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency.
Through the “Made in Italy Days” event and the online showcase dedicated to Made in Italy, Amazon also announces its commitment to support the over 18,000 Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that sell in its store and that have created over 50,000 jobs in Italy to date, to reach 1.2 billion euros per year in foreign sales by 2025 – more than double the value of exports in 2020.
From 30 May to 2 June, Amazon customers in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy will therefore be able to shop by choosing from a wide range of items belonging to iconic Made in Italy categories, including food, design and fashion.
Minister Di Maio said: “Enhancing digital marketplaces as exceptional tools for the export promotion of Italian excellence is one of the pillars of the Pact for Export, signed in 2020 by 46 public and private entities. The Italian Trade Agency has signed 33 contracts with the main international platforms for the creation of virtual Made in Italy pavilions in 33 different Countries.” Minister Di Maio concluded: “Among these, the collaboration with Amazon for the Made in Italy Days which we launched today at the Farnesina, stands out. Thanks to these agreements, we will be able to involve thousands of Italian SMEs, which will thus have an additional tool to make their products of excellence known and to sell them on international markets.”
Carlo Ferro, President of the Italian Trade Agency, said: “Digital transition is not just a trend of the post-COVID-19 recovery, but also an imperative for all Italian SMEs. At ITA, we accompany enterprises on this journey towards what I call the digital lift. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and as part of the Pact for Export, we have renewed and strengthened our activities with 19 new actions that did not exist three years ago. 11 of these actions are indeed dedicated to the digital modernization of the Agency itself – with the inclusion of a team of 30 digital experts – and of its services. As for e-commerce, we have 33 B2C and B2B agreements under our belt, a real showcase for Made in Italy all over the world, with the participation of 7,100 Italian SMEs. The collaboration with Amazon, one of the first launched in 2019, is part of the strategy to help our enterprises win the challenge of the markets.”
Mariangela Marseglia, VP and Country Manager at Amazon.it and Amazon.es said: “Today, we are excited to publicly announce our further commitment to support Italian SMEs. We are aware that, through our impact at the national level, we can contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). I want to thank all those who have endorsed this initiative, it is an important signal. The only way to build a future together, full of opportunities for the entire Italian economy and to the benefit of society as a whole, is through synergy and constant collaboration between the public and private sector. For Amazon, it is pivotal to enhance Made in Italy in the world. Thanks to the invaluable collaboration with ITA, there are currently 4,500 small and medium-sized enterprises and small producers present on Amazon.it’s Made in Italy showcase, with over 1 million products available worldwide. Such data confirms it is necessary to continue in this direction through concrete and concerted actions, such as the Made in Italy Days event.”
Today’s launch represents the first moment of visibility for the “Made in Italy Days” event, which Amazon will then extend to the United States with a special appointment at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC. As part of the activities for the celebration of Italian Republic Day, on 2 June 2022 Amazon will bring to the US capital city a delegation of Italian SMEs that sell Made in Italy products – from food to fashion to design – to display their most iconic products in front of an international audience and to tell their stories and corporate values at a significant moment for the Country.
Xavier Flamand, VP of EU Seller Services at Amazon, said: “Nowadays, it is necessary to adopt a multichannel approach, and therefore we are an ally for Italian and European SMEs and start-ups. We want to accompany them on their digitalization journey, and this is why we are always committed to supporting and making them competitive both in Italy and abroad. We will continue to invest in logistics, tools, services, programmes, training, and people in our team to help SMEs successfully sell on Amazon and express their full potential through digital channels.”
