What if the frontier suddenly moved? And what if it we no longer had to move further to the east to sell? What if the frontier was once again that of the West?

Not so fast, however, something is starting to change. The European Parliament’s popular decision last April to approve “Made In” labelling opens new scenarios. Of course the battle at the European Council will still be tough, but there seems to be a glimmer of hope. Italy’s six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union starting from July is a golden opportunity. Of course, that’s if the Government puts the “Made In” proposal at the top of its list of political priorities. What would it mean? An increase in production in Europe certainly, but also increased consumption of European products, not in a “buy European” style – we are not Americans! – but in terms of mindful purchases, European style. Some people in the industry are estimating an increase of up to 20% in the consumption of European products. The fact is that the top buyers of Italian footwear are France and Germany, with the USA in third place, where Italian footwear strengthened in 2013 and grew by another 18% in the first two months of 2014. Even Canada +12.7% and the United Kingdom +15.2% are showing positive signs. Italian footwear exports to Russia have dropped by 15.2%, Ukraine, for obvious reasons, has many uncertainties, Kazakhstan is in rapid decline. The Russian-speaking markets, which for years have been an outlet for many of our businesses, including small businesses, are changing and not for the better. What does this mean? It means that we either continue to attach growing importance to the Chinese market or go back to studying our English books (as well as law, marketing and finance) or focus on the Anglo-Saxon world  (Germany, which has always been the No. 2 market) that has been a little bit snubbed and forgotten. Of course, this means we have to forget about warm handshakes, dinners in fine locales and personal relationships for a while and move towards the colder and professional world of managers and lawyers who live in those countries. Little less sympathetic and a bit aloof professionals with a “business as usual” attitude. Will we be able to do it?