Has the recovery stalled? The Salone del Mobile comes just as companies must respond to a new shift.

The recovery had arrived, it is the pre-consecutive numbers processed by the FederlegnoArredo Study Center that say it. In particular, the furniture and lighting system performed particularly well, with 2021 closing with +11% compared to 2019 and a total turnover of more than 26 billion euros (it was 23.5 in 2019) and a positive trade balance of 9.3 billion euros, up +19.7% on 2020 and +9.3% on 2019.

On the domestic market, the Macrosystem furniture and lighting recorded an increase of +12.8% on 2019, +23.7% on 2020. Tax breaks and the centrality that the home has assumed in the lives of Italians during the pandemic are the main reasons for this recovery.

However, we will have to wait for the 2021 financial statements of companies to better assess this trend, given that already at the end of last year this temporary recovery has come to terms with the rise in commodity prices with the high cost of energy.

In this context of uncertainty, made more complex by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on the horizon there is the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the first edition, in 2022, with a return to presence and a new normality.

In-person trade shows are a key factor in trying to normalize exports and trade, at a time when companies in the industry are called upon to continue to be flexible and resilient as demonstrated during the darkest period of the pandemic.

The number one objective is to be able, in a short time, to move towards new markets that can replace the Russian one and those of direct influence, as the president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin, pointed out.