The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: evidence from the footwear sector



To conclude, some general remarks on the footwear sector in Italy can be drawn.
Although a process of functional downgrading is occurring at district level by taking a
more systemic perspective our conclusions are different. The Italian high fashion luxury
industry is generally undergoing a process of functional upgrading and concentrating
investments in rent-rich activities linked with intangible characteristics of the products.
The global leaders in the chain exploit cross-industry economies of scale and scope in
branding, marketing and advertising. Most of the global leaders of this value chain are
Italian companies. Therefore, if the Brenta district is experiencing functional
downgrading the Italian fashion system, in contrast, is experiencing functional
upgrading.

The conclusion that can be drawn is that intangible activities are increasingly
becoming the major assets in the top brand industry. In the past, Italian industrial
districts, such as Brenta, have built their excellence on a mix of skills in design, fashion
and production but the small size of firms has limited their capability to face the
massive investments required to control intangibles in the global market. These
intangible activities have become the core competencies of a few large cross-industry
companies dominating the top brand value chain, which is assuming a leading role in
Brenta. Its expansion allows local footwear firms to continue exploiting their traditional
comparative advantage of highly skilled producers, maintaining a good performance.
Nevertheless, the top brand oligopolies, with their huge profits and large financial
capital availability, are the global leaders of this segment of market.

The recent agreements between Brenta and Barletta as regards the delocalisation of
some stages of production and the cooperation on training of new labour force is highly
positive for the whole Italian footwear sector, as a district such as Barletta which was
suffering from international competition and was running the risk of de-
industrialisation, will be rescued from the recent crisis though insertion into new value
chains, which are very competitive at the national level.

Finally, it is not clear what this will mean for the future of Brenta. Local firms are
winning a place in the rent-rich global top brand market but by focusing only on their
production skills they offer capabilities which can increasingly be found in other
clusters in the world and this may slowly erode their competitiveness and independence.
To date, a mix of factors prevent luxury companies searching for alternative
subcontractors in countries such as Romania or Brazil. They include the size of rents

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