Milan, July, 16th 2020 - More than 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and other Italian companies are now selling their own products, an expression of the excellence of Italian production, in the showcase dedicated exclusively to Made in Italy and available on the websites Amazon.it, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.com. Five years after the launch of Amazon Made in Italy, the number of companies has grown to the point of doubling in 2019, while the selection of products available in all stores has reached 1 million - 300,000 are available only on Amazon.it. Thanks to the continuous investment in tools and services to encourage the digitalization of SMEs, today over 75% of SMEs on Amazon Made in Italy sell abroad to countries such as France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA. About 50% of the selection on Amazon Made in Italy is available in the Home & Furniture (design) section, over 30% in Apparel & Accessories (fashion), around 10% in Food and Wine (food), while 5% belong to the Beauty & Wellness (beauty).

ITA and Amazon

In 2019, the rapid growth of companies available on Amazon's Made in Italy showcase has been also accelerated thanks to the agreement signed in May between the ITA and Amazon which to help Italian small and medium enterprises grow their businesses and promote Italian culture and entrepreneurship throughout Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. This agreement has been extended until December, 15th 2020 and includes the creation of a development plan for onboarding new businesses and products into Amazon’s Made in Italy store, offering trainings and support to help these companies grow their businesses, and marketing activities to promote their products and increase their sales abroad. As today, over 400 "new" SMEs have joined Amazon Made in Italy thanks to the agreement with the ITA, almost half of which were in a "zero export" condition (less than 25,000 euros of turnover abroad). Starting from December 2019, the advertising campaigns have generated over 530 million of impressions and reached more than 50 million customers in Europe. In 2019 alone, the ITA and Amazon dedicated 15 trainings and 36 webinars held by ecommerce experts to all of these businesses as well as provided access to digital materials on how to best develop the online sales process. Amazon is planning additional trainings on how to sell on Amazon Made in Italy split by topic: food, fashion, design and beauty.

“Consumer habits are increasingly moving towards digital channels, innovation and sustainability” says Carlo Ferro, President of ITA. “We must therefore help Italian companies, small and medium in particular, to modernize processes and adapt to the new paradigms of world trade and technological innovation. E-commerce is one of the six pillars of the ‘Export Pact’ and on this front ITA has an important role. Last year we had already organized an incredible modernization of the Agency towards digitalization; the commitment is now to accelerate in e-commerce and the agreement we have in place with Amazon represents a key point of our strategy to bring Italian companies to 25 structures in fifteen different countries. But the commitment is also in redirecting training towards the digital export manager and keeping projects for the use of blockchain technology to protect Made in Italy.”

“Amazon Made in Italy enables local small and medium businesses to sell their Italian excellences in our country and around the world. We launched this showcase 5 years ago with the ambition to support and empower SMEs in facing the continuing digitalization and finding new business opportunities” says Mariangela Marseglia, Country Manager of Amazon.it and Amazon.es. “DESI 2019 data show that only 1 in three SMEs is digitized and 1 in 10 uses the eCommerce channel. The program launched a year ago with the ITA intends to offer Italian companies and their Made in Italy excellences an opportunity to become digitalized and have a new, additional sales channel abroad potentially reaching millions of Amazon’s customers all over the world.”

Success stories: Coppola Foods and A. Rieper S.p.A.

Coppola Foods is a fourth-generation family-run company from Salerno with a long tradition in the production and marketing of food products. Although the marketing of their products is already dedicated to exports, Amazon has allowed the company to explore online commerce in Italy and in foreign markets such as Germany, France, Spain and the United States. "The program created with the ICE Agency represents a further opportunity to improve our visibility" explains Ernesto Coppola, CEO of Coppola Foods. “Thanks to an initial orientation course we had the opportunity to fully understand all the features and potential of the platform that offers us the possibility to sell online efficiently, especially with a view to managing volumes and customizing the offer based on customer feedback. " San Marzano tomatoes and ready-made sauces with no added sugar are among the most popular products abroad and during the lockdown Coppola Foods' sales quadrupled: “By selling basic necessities, we preferred to give priority to deliveries via Amazon in order to help people out, in our small way, in a time of great difficulty” concludes Ernesto.

Also, the family-run business A. RIEPER S.p.A. is very satisfied with the program created by the ICE Agency and Amazon. In 1860, Alois Anton Rieper purchased an estate in Vandoies, Val Pusteria (South Tyrol) and in 1919, his son, Alois Franz Rieper, started one of the first industrial mills in Northern Italy. Since then, the company has continued to invest scrupulously in the technological development of each production phase. "For some time now, we have been evaluating the opportunity to offer our products also on Amazon, as well as through our own corporate e-commerce. The program created by the ICE Agency and Amazon has given us the definitive push to approach this sales channel simply and quickly", explains Katrin Rieper, Director of A. RIEPER S.p.A. “The direct assistance from the ICE Agency has facilitated the process and the setting of the Made in Italy showcase has given further visibility to our products.” Before landing on the Amazon Made in Italy showcase, the company sold its products almost exclusively on the domestic market, but today it sells successfully abroad, especially in Austria, Germany, and Great Britain. “Since the beginning of the year our sales on this channel have doubled, both on the domestic and foreign markets.” Of course during the lockdown period there was a sharp increase in orders on Amazon for the A. RIEPER S.p.A. company, but they always managed to ensure maximum availability, and not only: “Some customers have gotten used to using this channel; having experienced its convenience they then repeat their orders. The products most requested by foreign markets are special flours, such as our mixes for homemade bread without any type of additive.”

For more information on Amazon Made in Italy: www.amazon.it/madeinitaly
For more details on the agreement between the ICE Agency and Amazon: www.ice.it/it/amazon

Holidays in Italy initiative

It is to Made in Italy that Amazon.it dedicates the Holidays in Italy initiative in collaboration with Lonely Planet: a journey to discover the “boot” through 20 itineraries, one per region, showing hidden places in the whole Peninsula, less-known areas as well as the most suggestive destinations. Each proposed route also includes a selection of the Made in Italy typical excellences of those areas, including food and wine delicacies and handmade products by Italian artisans. All details on those local itineraries are also available on www.amazon.it/vacanzeinitalia