1.1 Definition and scope of the study

The home textiles sector, also known as household linen, includes all textile products intended for home furnishing. This sector can be divided into two basic product areas: "unpacked household linen," consisting mainly of yardage fabrics and bundle cuts, and "packaged household linen," which accounts for the main share of the sector's supply.

"Made-up household linen" is almost entirely intended for end consumers, who tend to favor aspects such as practicality and readiness for use.

In terms of this type of product, this market can be divided into two main categories:

Household linen intended for domestic use, which are the end consumers
Household linen on contract, i.e., restaurants, hotels, resorts, spas, airlines and shipping companies, hospitals and barracks, reached directly or through the industrial laundry channel.

These two areas are characterized by their own success factors and thus respond to different competitive pressures. However, within the scope of this study, we will focus only on the former.

The contract market is characterized by demand that is very sensitive to certain crucial variables such as price, washing resistance, and product functionality. In the second type of market there are also emotional and aesthetic variables for which the perceived message and targeted services are crucial. This particular sector is characterized by a marked tendency toward segmentation, based essentially on stylistic content, perceived quality, and the price variable, resulting in an increase in the number of collections presented. This trend seems to be confirmed by the interest shown in design lines, gift proposals with attractive packaging, and promotional incentives outside traditional sales periods.

it is also possible to make a further subdivision based on the different product categories that make up the household linen sector.

Thus, the following market segments are identified:

Bedroom: linens, which includes products such as pillowcases, comforter covers, sheets and matching sheets, and bedding, which includes quilts, comforters, bedspreads, wool blankets
Kitchen: dishcloths, tea towels, aprons and potholders (also coordinated)
Bathroom: towels, bathrobes, shower mats, hand and face towels

There is a strong historical consumption of household linen in Italy. After the crisis of 2008, economic priorities shifted elsewhere for a while, however in recent years the home linen market in Italy seems to have recovered with definite year-on-year growth. Italy is one of the top countries with the highest volumes of cotton consumption for bedding in 2018 (50K metric tons). Italy had 27K metric tons of cotton bedding production volume in 2018.

Due to the COVID pandemic, the focus of production has shifted to some extent from household products and more toward hospital bedding and cloth masks. The home textile industry in Italy is dominated by indigenous companies such as Vincenzo Zucchi, Rubelli, Gabel Industria Tessile, and Caleffi.

While almost everyone is inclined to consume this product, a foray has been made with millennials and GenZ. With higher disposable incomes, who do not live with their parents, they tend to appreciate the aesthetic aspect of household linens. More conscientious consumers also consider the country of origin, sustainability in manufacturing and consumption, and labor practices when buying these products.

1.2 A growing global market

In order to analyze the overall market for household linens, the markets for bedroom, kitchen and bathroom linens are considered. In addition, the market for textiles used in making household linens is also analyzed by assuming a correlation between the first three markets and the latter.

Bedroom

In the global market ...

1.3 The Italian market

In order to analyze data on the production sold and turnover of household linen products, the category under ATECO Code **.**.** is considered. The following are considered:

Blankets of wool, synthetic fibers and other textile materials; Bed linen made of knitted, cotton, linen, ramie and other textile fabrics and materials; Table linen ...

1.4 The international trade of Italian household linen

To analyze the state of international trade in household linen, we will use HS Code ****: bed, table, bath and kitchen linen. From the graph below, we can see that Italy is a net importer of household linen, as imports of these products have always been greater than exports.The figure can ...

1.5 The consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

The outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February **** resulted in, among other things, a general increase in the consumer price index. The textile sector was not exempt from the price increase, and the household linen sector also experienced not insignificant price increases. Between January **** and August ****, the consumer price index rose ...

2.1 Demand characteristics

Compared to global consumers, Italians own more home textiles on average: ** bath towels (***). This path was most likely influenced by the emergence and growing popularity of household linens supplied by large accessory and appliance companies such as IKEA and Leroy Merlin, which generally sell household textiles cheaper than specialty stores

Average ...

2.2 Geographical distribution of demand

Italian consumers of home textiles and linens are unevenly distributed across the peninsula. As the attached map and table show, the highest average monthly household spending on these items is in the Northeast regions where Italians spend twice as much as their peers in the southern regions. The Italian islands of ...

2.3 The dynamics of the housing market

A determining factor in the demand for household linens is the evolution of the housing market and the dynamics of the furniture market in Italy. In fact, a family that invests in a house will tend to buy new furniture and consequently purchase new accessories such as table linens, kitchen linens, ...

2.4 Home Living: the new trend behind home linens

We can sum up the concept of "Home Living" by defining it as a new way of furnishing the home, a new way of understanding and caring for it in every detail, following the rules of fashion and its trends.

After a long period when home care and home linens took ...

3.1 Market value chain

United Nations Environment Source: ****

Active players in each stage of the textile value chain are depicted in the image above, from fiber to finished products to distribution and sales. The household linen and textile upholstery value chain is an adaptation of the textile and apparel value chain, characterized by textile components ...

3.2 The enterprises in the sector

For this aspect of the market, we consider data provided by ISTAT for activities registered under ATECO Code **.**.** "Manufacture of bed, table and furnishing linen." The number of enterprises, legal form and number of employees are considered.

Enterprises

The number of enterprises involved in these activities in Italy appears to be ...

3.3 Distribution and outlets

For this aspect of the market, we consider data provided by ISTAT for activities registered under ATECO code **.**.** "Retail trade in clothing, furnishing and household linen fabrics." The number of enterprises, legal form and number of employees are considered.

Enterprises

The number of enterprises active in this sector has been on ...

3.4 Leading Italian home textile companies

The following graphs illustrate Italy's leading home textile companies. Specifically, the companies have been divided into businesses devoted to manufacturing and businesses devoted to retail.

Manufacturing

Leading Italian companies in the home textile sector, by turnover Italy, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Distribution

Italy's leading companies in the apparel, furniture and ...

4.1 Overview of the offer

Household linens can be segmented into six types of products:

Bed sheets, comforter covers, pillowcases; The bedding items: comforters, pillows, plaids, blankets, bedspreads, quilts, etc; The bathroom linen: towels, gloves, bathrobes; The table linen: tablecloths, napkins; The kitchen linen: dishcloths, towels; Textile decoration: upholstery fabrics, curtains, veils.

As for the fabrics ...

4.2 Prices

As the category of household linen is extremely broad and includes many product categories, in order to analyze the price ranges in this market, we will select one product category from each major sub-division of the market and compare its prices among different companies.

Bed linen: sheet sets; The bath linen: ...

4.3 The trend of natural fibers

Textile companies are trying to offer natural materials, the production of which is environmentally friendly, in order to meet the growing concerns of consumers sensitive to sustainability issues. it is highly likely that this trend will characterize future collections and could lead to a close association between the textile and agricultural ...

5.1 Market regulation

Textile products are defined as all products which, in their raw, semi-worked, manufactured, semi-finished, or semi-made-up state, are composed exclusively of textile fibers, regardless of the mixing or joining process used.

The following are assimilated to textile products:

products whose textile fibers constitute at least ** percent by weight; textiles, the textile ...