From 29 May to 2 June, enter a special promotional window on Made in Italy in 11 countries: Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands join the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy this year.
19 May 2023 – The launch event of the “Giornate del Made in Italy Digitale” (The Digital Made in Italy Days), an initiative jointly promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Trade Agency – ICE and Amazon for the promotion of Made in Italy in the world through the Amazon website, was held today at the Farnesina by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani. The event was also attended by the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, the Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, who sent a video message to the participants, and Ilaria Cavo, Vice President of the Commission on Production Activities of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Tajani presented the initiative, which will take place this year from 29 May to 2 June, coinciding with the celebrations of the Italian Republic Day. On those dates, a special promotional window will be dedicated on Amazon to Made in Italy products in the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden and Spain, in addition to Italy, where customers of the online shop will be able to purchase a wide selection of products of the most famous Italian brands and thousands of SMEs, which reach all over the world through Amazon.
In his speech, Tajani emphasised “the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, i.e., the backbone of the Italian economy and fully-fledged protagonists of Italian know-how, thanks to their strong vocation for export. It is to these companies in particular that the tools and initiatives made available by the Italian government and coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the field of e-commerce, large-scale organised distribution, subsidised finance, and support for participation in international fairs and exhibitions are addressed”.
Minister Lollobrigida pointed out that “Made in Italy is a precious asset to be preserved, which we intend to enhance through an articulated strategy reasoning as Sistema Italia. In order to ensure effective action against the counterfeit market, MASAF has set up an ad-hoc control room at the Ministry. We have reinforced the staff of our Anti-Fraud Inspectorate (ICQRF) and the Carabinieri Command for Forest, Environmental and Agri-Food Protection. It is essential to open up to new markets in order to increase exports and make the Made in Italy brand, which is among the best in the world, even better known”.
For Minister Urso, “today’s event is the result of the teamwork we are doing as CIMIM – Interministerial Committee for Made in Italy in the World to enhance and promote Italy’s production chains. Amazon’s initiative,” he continued, “creates an important showcase for Made in Italy, involving over 20,000 small and medium-sized Italian enterprises and more than 4,500 artisans, creating 60,000 new jobs. Online commerce is a fundamental tool for companies that intend to go international and land on foreign markets: such a channel can never replace physical retail, but can successfully complement it to seize new opportunities”.
“As ICE, we are once again proud to support the launch of the Made in Italy Days promoted by Amazon. E-commerce is a great opportunity for businesses. It is a tool that has seen enormous growth (+32%) especially between 2020 and 2021 – a side effect of the pandemic that has made us realise the boundless potential of technology, an indispensable ally for our exports. Our foreign trade accounts for more than 600 billion, and B2C e-commerce accounts for about 9% of the total, with the fashion, agri-food and furniture sectors as the most representative triad. As ICE, we want to be at the side of SMEs also in this path of internationalisation: since 2019, we have signed 55 partnership agreements with the main world marketplaces, opening 45 showcases for Made in Italy products in 34 different countries. Together with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ICE wants to continue to strengthen this commitment to the digital internationalisation of businesses”, says ICE President Matteo Zoppas.
“The Made in Italy Days are a virtuous example of how the public and private sectors are able to work together for the benefit of Italian know-how, which represents us all over the world. Thanks to this action, we are certain that we can actively contribute to the economic growth of our productive fabric, which is the primary objective of our government, by accompanying the more than 20,000 Italian companies that have chosen Amazon with the aim of reaching EUR 1.2 billion in annual sales abroad by 2025”, commented Mariangela Marseglia, Vice President and Country Manager of Amazon.it and Amazon.es.
The event was then articulated in a round table introduced by the General Manager Brand Owner and Seller Success, Amazon EU, Anna Bortolussi, and moderated by Sky tg24 journalist Lavinia Spingardi, with four companies – Omada Design from Le Marche, Valle del Crati from Calabria, Mr Moris from Lazio, and Cear Ceramiche from Sicily – who spoke about their experience of internationalisation through Amazon and the Made in Italy Days. As it was recalled, the initiative has already produced significant results: over 13,000 offers available, more than 50% more than last year; over 5,500 Italian companies present in the Made in Italy showcase, about 1,000 more than in 2022. These figures testify to how Made in Italy is appreciated worldwide and a strategic lever to support the entire Italian economy.
According to Anna Bortolussi, “digitisation and internationalisation are not easy paths to embark on, and it is only with the right skills that the possibility of presenting oneself to an international audience becomes an opportunity. The synergy that Amazon is aiming at consolidating today with institutional partners responds precisely to this need. It is important to succeed in spreading an increasingly multi-channel culture, where digital represents an ally for the development of Italian companies”.
The initiative will continue, as last year, at the Italian Embassy in Washington, where guests will have the opportunity to discover a selection of Made in Italy products.
