Dear Shareholders and Stakeholders, I write this, my third letter as Chief Executive Officer of Sabaf, at a moment when, for the first time in a long time, our hopes of overcoming our difficulties are finally more realistic than they were in the past.
First of all, our country has today a government that is wedded to that culture of action that is so dear to entrepreneurs’ and businessmen’s hearts. We have begun a journey towards reform that we all hope bears fruit, and it is undeniable that the prime minister has a great desire for change, and to overcome the immobility that has impeded Italy for far too long. The decision to award manufacturing the position it deserves - i.e. at the centre of the economic life of our country - is also highly commendable. In Italy, around 23 million people are in employment: 2 million in agriculture, 5.5 million in industry and 16.5 million in services. However, without those 5.5 million jobs in industry, many of those in services would also vanish. Italy is a manufacturing country - we have the ability to transform raw materials we do not possess into products that are liked by everybody on this planet. On my frequent travels, I notice the incredible desire for Italy, for Italian products. And I am really angry when I discover that Italy often fails to meet this demand, so that others take our place, selling products that are not Italian as if they really were Italian. The world is full of fake Italian restaurants, fashion boutiques with mangled Italian names selling clothes that are not only not made