Dec. 12 – Lombardia is crowned queen of design, especially when it comes to furniture. The Lombard export of furniture in 2011 exceeded €2 billion, a +5.6% compared to 2010, thanks to a promotional increase in the countries of Central Asia (+30.2%), East Asia (+20.5%) and the Middle East (+19.7%). If more than half of the exports come from Como and Monza (the latter ranking first, with about a third of total Lombard exports) Milan places third in terms of furniture exports, but first when it comes to imports, for a total of €214 million – approximately 55% of total Lombard imports. This is what emerges from the Milan Chamber of Commerce’s analysis of ISTAT data of company records for 2010-2011. With more than 6,000 companies in the furniture manufacturing business, of which 1/6 in Milan, Lombardia is the most active region in Europe (in the sector). Even in terms of region-State comparison, Lombardia still places seventh, gathering 5% of total active European enterprises in the sector. Italy thus gains more weight in the international arena (22% overall), with over 26 000 companies in the business, followed by Spain (17 000 enterprises) and France (almost 16 000).
