Economy

Italy transformed itself quite rapidly from an agricultural economy to an industrial and service-based economy in the wake of World War II. Enormous developments have occurred over the years, especially in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. Only a very small portion of the population is involved in farming, primarily in Southern Italy. Tourism also plays a major role in Italy and contributes to the Italian economy.

 

Italy has one of Europe's most dynamic financial and banking systems. It has many separate banks that control the entire Italian financial sector via their innumerable sum of branches. Privatization plays a key role in Italy, especially in the banking business. Italy's main trading partners are Germany, France, the UK and the U.S.A.

 

Italian consumers place major value on style and appearance, e.g., among clothing, furniture and their automobiles. Italian fashion holds a leading position both inside and outside. The Italian customer prefers Italian products to foreign products.  One good example is Fiat, an Italian automobile manufacturer, that holds over a 50% share on the Italian automobile market.

(Sources: Fedma, PDMS, Royal Mail)

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Direct Marketing

Italy is still in a stage of development in terms of direct marketing. To date, the direct marketing market in Italy has been perceived as underdeveloped. Only a few statistics are available for gaining an insight into direct marketing in Italy. However, it appears that direct marketing is increasingly gaining a positive reputation, and it is assumed that this market will subsequently grow and develop swiftly. Direct advertising is positively accepted among the general population.

 

Approximately 24% of all advertising expenditures are dedicated to direct marketing. The situation is somewhat different in the mail-order business. This market is sluggish, i.e., it has not gained popular acceptance among consumers because they already enjoy a wide selection at the large number of retail businesses. The Italian consumer has an adequate supply of products in his or her immediate vicinity.

 

Total direct marketing expenditures in Italy have been rising in recent years. In 2000, 2,641 million Euros were spent on direct marketing This figure increased to 2,689 million Euros in 2001.

(Source: PDMS, Fedma)