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After more than two months of lockdown, the transalpine country is lifting many restrictions this Monday, May 18. Italy will thus see its cafés, bars and restaurants reopen today, as well as its shops, which have been locked for more than two months. This is a major challenge for the country considering that the Italian fashion industry, with brands such as Armani, Prada and Moncler, alone represents 5% of the gross domestic product. A very symbolic end of containment for one of the countries most affected by the Covid-19.
Back to relative normality in the peninsula
After the first partial lifting of restrictions on 4 May, Italy can now enjoy the taste of freedom even more.
Indeed, on the morning of Monday, May 18, the country entered “phase 2” of lifting the lockdown, further easing its restrictive measures, which have been among the strictest in the world.
Masses and religious celebrations were thus able to resume in churches, and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was able to reopen its doors to the public, all “signs of hope” according to Pope Francis.
Italy also witnessed the reopening of its many cafés, bars, restaurants and terraces, “turning the lights back on after 69 days of closure“, according to a solemn statement by the daily La Repubblica that very morning.
According to the Confcommercio employers’ confederation, 800,000 businesses are also involved in these reopenings: from hairdressers to beauty salons, including typical pizzerias, pastry shops and also 80% of the inevitable “gelateria” (ice cream shops), all of them have prepared to welcome new customers today while applying strict health protocols such as wearing masks, which is compulsory in enclosed areas, and maintaining a distance of at least 1 metre between each person.
But this Monday, May 18, it is above all the Italian fashion and luxury industry that is promising to rise again with the reopening of most of the stores nationwide.
Towards a rebirth of the Italian fashion and luxury industry?
A major challenge for the country when one considers that Italy, the fashion capital of the world, generates a huge annual turnover thanks to its textile industry (clothing, leather goods and footwear) and its Italian houses, veritable showcases of international luxury such as Prada, Armani, Versace, Cavalli, Dolce&Gabbana, Bottega Veneta, Ferragamo, Gucci and Tod’s just to name a few.
However the Made in Italy would have lost 3.5 billion euros during the first quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic according to Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), which federates Italian textile and clothing companies.
Easing of lockdown had therefore become urgent according to the President of the Italian Council Giuseppe Conte: “The principles remain the same, to protect the life and health of citizens. But we have to apply them differently“.
This is why the top-of-the-range Rinascente department store in Milan has taken every precaution in view of its reopening: an application is already up and running to count the number of people present in the store at the same time, clothes tried on in the changing rooms will be quarantined for 24 hours and store employees will spread perfumes on tissues rather than letting customers handle the testers themselves.
Its CEO, Pierluigi Cocchini, also plans to reopen its doors with discounts of up to 60% because, like most retailers, he has to liquidate unsold stock: “The hope is to take a step towards normality. It won’t be business as usual given all the protocols, but it’s the new standard for now and we have to accept it“, he told Reuters news agency.
The reopenings are a step towards a revival of the country’s fashion and luxury industry, although the absence of tourists continues to cause concern as tourists generated on average a third of the sales of the Rinascente store before the crisis and tourism in general contributed 13% to the country’s economic output.
Pending the reopening of European borders on 3 June, the speeding up of end of lockdown is giving hope to the 60 million Italians, one of the hardest hit countries in the world since the epidemic began, with some 32,000 deaths.
Read also > Coronavirus: Italy begins gradual ease of lockdown
Featured photo : © Prada / Facebook
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After more than two months of lockdown, the transalpine country is lifting many restrictions this Monday, May 18. Italy will thus see its cafés, bars and restaurants reopen today, as well as its shops, which have been locked for more than two months. This is a major challenge for the country considering that the Italian fashion industry, with brands such as Armani, Prada and Moncler, alone represents 5% of the gross domestic product. A very symbolic end of containment for one of the countries most affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Back to relative normality in the peninsula
After the first partial lifting of restrictions on 4 May, Italy can now enjoy the taste of freedom even more.
Indeed, on the morning of Monday, May 18, the country entered “phase 2″ of lifting the lockdown, further easing its restrictive measures, which have been among the strictest in the world.[/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=”This article is for subscribers only.” h2_font_container=”font_size:16″ h2_use_theme_fonts=”yes” h4=”Subscribe now!” h4_font_container=”font_size:32|line_height:bas” h4_use_theme_fonts=”yes” txt_align=”center” color=”black” add_button=”right” btn_title=”I SUBSCRIBE!” btn_color=”danger” btn_size=”lg” btn_align=”center” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true” btn_button_block=”true” btn_custom_onclick=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluxus-plus.com%2Fen%2Fabonnements-et-newsletter-2%2F|||”]Unlimited access to all the articles and live a new reading experience, preview contents, exclusive newsletters…
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After more than two months of lockdown, the transalpine country is lifting many restrictions this Monday, May 18. Italy will thus see its cafés, bars and restaurants reopen today, as well as its shops, which have been locked for more than two months. This is a major challenge for the country considering that the Italian fashion industry, with brands such as Armani, Prada and Moncler, alone represents 5% of the gross domestic product. A very symbolic end of containment for one of the countries most affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Back to relative normality in the peninsula
After the first partial lifting of restrictions on 4 May, Italy can now enjoy the taste of freedom even more.
Indeed, on the morning of Monday, May 18, the country entered “phase 2″ of lifting the lockdown, further easing its restrictive measures, which have been among the strictest in the world.[/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=”This article is for subscribers only.” h2_font_container=”font_size:16″ h2_use_theme_fonts=”yes” h4=”Subscribe now!” h4_font_container=”font_size:32|line_height:bas” h4_use_theme_fonts=”yes” txt_align=”center” color=”black” add_button=”right” btn_title=”I SUBSCRIBE!” btn_color=”danger” btn_size=”lg” btn_align=”center” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true” btn_button_block=”true” btn_custom_onclick=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluxus-plus.com%2Fen%2Fabonnements-et-newsletter-2%2F|||”]Unlimited access to all the articles and live a new reading experience, preview contents, exclusive newsletters…
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