Beyond baby boom in Italy: less baby beehives, more relax chairs
| In the countryside Bergamo In the 1970s and 1980s, there were dozens of factories that produced dining chairs for children, baby beings and strollers, toys and walkers, but the market collapsed after the birth rate in Italy has fallen by over one-third for the last 20 years. |
The manufacturer FOPPAPEDretti today continues to work, thanks to the earlier reorientation and diversification of its production, beginning to produce products for the majority of older people in the country.
Like many other producers in Bergamo, this business is beginning to develop after the war and the baby boom. Founder Eio Fopa Pedretti began to make wooden toys in 1945 from the waste in the production of the umbrella holder factory of his uncle.
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We started as a toy manufacturer, then we made babies products, but we realized that a major demographic drop was approaching.
Luciano Boets.
Their experience has been transferred to products of wood, furniture and garden appliances since the early 1980s.
Around 1990, his company usually managed to sell 100,000 tall baby chairs and 80,000 baby beds a year. « Today we sell 30,000 baby beds and perceive it as a success, » Bonti says.
However, the annual turnover remains constant after 2019 and is about 45 million euros, while such businesses reported a decrease of 20-30%.
| The birth rate in Italy, which is the most populated country in the EU, notes a record decline of 370 thousand newborns in 2024. The fertility factor dropped to 1.18 points, below the EU average in 2023 and far below 2.1 needed for a stable growing population. Italian Prime Minister Giorja Meloni Determine the priority of encouraging women to give birth. |
We are facing a birth crisis, which progressively erodes in Italy with over 35-40% and for the children’s products market.
Adriana Gepertunionist of Fiom CGIL, Federation of Metal Processing Industry
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Competition from low -budget manufacturers in China is another major challenge in Italy and abroad.
- Two years ago, a group of manufacturers of children’s and baby products made a gloomy script and a short documentary saying that in 2050 in the 2050 Italy Only one child will be born in an attempt to bring attention to a serious demographic problem in the country.
Alessandro Rosina is a professor of demographics and social statistics at the Catholic University of Milan, who says in the film that the situation in Italy is particularly disturbing.
- « The movie aims to make people think about the current situation and look forward by 2050 with the warning » Be concerned because the choices we make or not do have consequences for our future, « says Rossina.
Relax chairs for adults and retirees
Boets said he was considering expanding his business with products for the elderly, such as relax chairs, or deck chairs, although the market is overwhelmed. The reason is that this is a fast -growing sector in an aging Europe.
| « Maybe there is still room for us – in the end, these will be the same customers who have bought our children’s and household products in their lives and know our quality. » |
Other companies are under pressure to diversify their products with new offers, but may be late.
| « Companies can only suffer at this point, » said Gianfranco Ranieri, president of the Assogiocattoli Branch Association, which represents producers of children’s goods. |
« 80% of our members have an annual turnover of less than EUR 8 million. They do not have the capacity to invest. »
- Another company that is still working in the Bergamo area – CAM – Il Mondo del Bambino – has reached an agreement in April with the unions for 35 voluntary cuts of about 140 employees, according to the Fiom CGIL unionist, Manuel Carara.
- Trade unions suggested that the company move to the production of pet strollers or adjustable rails and the elderly. In a statement to Reuters, CAM points out that the pet market is already overwhelmed, with well -known companies, high brands and low labor costs.
At the same time, the sale of adult products is not profitable as many are classified as medical devices for which the company does not have the necessary expertise.
However, CAM states that it is open to production for other brands as it has production capacity.
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