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CONCLUDING REMARKS/TIPS |
The future will be very different from the past and certainly more difficult. The alternation between positive and negative cycles typical of industry, and in particular the ceramic sector, may end in its current form. According to Romano Prodi, the European Commission President, “it is possible that the Italian ceramic industry will not be facing a temporary transformation phase, but a long journey of great relevance, different from all the others of the past.”
The need, therefore, is to get the best instruments to compete in this prolonged recession period, and to enter a new phase of development emphasizing research, innovation and knowledge. In this long-term perspective, the function of consumer services (final or intermediate) becomes very important. In simple terms, the resulting services can be presented in three categories: institution-oriented (trade association services), those traditionally offered by companies (training and technical assistance to professional operators), and innovative services (use of new media: Internet, e-commerce).
Strategically, the services will contribute to the building-up of a model based on competition, but also on growth and social quality that goes beyond simple adjustment to cyclical market fluctuation. Today this perspective can also be related back to the three European Union development issues defined by the 2000 Lisbon European Council: knowledge economy, information society, and sustainable development.
Italian tiles are first of all elements of culture: their use not only assumes but stimulates active participation by the consumer, who assembles, according to his/her own taste, the modules closest to its idea of the living space. The Italian product goes beyond simple fitness for use as a finishing material, and uses a combination of aesthetic, ethical and emotional approaches to respond to the realities of today’s global market. |
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