S-Tiles - istruzioni per l'uso

THE TILE: INSTRUCTION FOR USE

The Italian ceramic sector is experiencing, like other economic sectors, a difficult time. The situation today is characterised by a rapidly evolving world economy and by the emergence in the market of new competition from countries very advanced in international trade. The main strengths of these new competitors are based on a strong domestic market, on fast acquisition of technologies, on a well developed practice of copying products, and getting them into export markets fast.

Without adequate strategic thinking, it will be very hard for the Italian ceramic sector to reach the production levels of the boom years. In particular, due to the present uncertain global situation, it will be extremely difficult to achieve the high growth rates of the past in the Italian and international building sectors, a field which is close to the ceramic industry.

The future lies in increasing quality in all its dimensions: research, product innovation, professional development, and consumer services. Stronger consumer orientation can be used to re-invigorate traditional processes, for example vocational training of operators or increasing user loyalty, but also to recapture strategic leadership against increasing international competition. It is extremely important to organise training and communication programmes on the value added offered by Italian ceramic tiles in order to establish a correct perception of the product by the various categories of users of products made in Italy.