ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Anna Garbagna reports from Italy on a new survey analysing the professional cleaning sector.

A survey analysing the professional cleaning sector has been carried out by Cerved ON for Afidamp. It shows very positive indicators from a sector in flux which spent the last two years, so difficult for everyone, responding effectively to a market and a society modified by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As happened in all the other sectors, companies in production and distribution within the cleaning sector had to face different demands, difficulty in deliveries and supply, and total closures which affected some of their customers. They have, however, shown they could react to these extraordinary events.

The total sales of the various categories that make up the sector were high for chemicals and machines but much lower for companies producing equipment, especially those producing fibres and cloths.

About half of production was for Italian customers, while for machines there has been a clear shift towards the foreign market (only one third of the sector produces for Italy). In terms of turnover, the trend for 2021 was positive for more than four out of 10 companies while a higher proportion showed an upward trend in chemical products (57 per cent).

As of 2021, 44 per cent of companies are forecasting a growth in turnover. This is even more true when it comes to companies producing machines (53 per cent) and equipment (50 per cent). Diversification of the offer and searching for new customers remain the main actions on which companies focus but they also consider that reinvestment of profits and customer loyalty are important.

It must always be remembered that customer behaviour had a higher impact during the pandemic: regular purchases were reduced or modified and customers were more demanding. Suppliers were forced to extend delivery times and to increase costs.

In such a scenario, industry and Ho.re.ca are the most promising sectors for professional cleaning.
On the other hand, as far as distributors were concerned, the survey analysed 1,650 companies generating a turnover of around €2.5 billion with fair growth compared with the previous survey carried out in 2018.

This was mainly due to the positive balance between new companies and closed companies in the relevant year and the total sales increase of companies already operating in the market. Increase in turnover was due to the pandemic crisis which generated value through the sale of personal protective equipment (PPE).

It is important to highlight that more than 80 per cent of companies in the sector now offer assistance services on top of sales, especially consultancy in relation to sales techniques and work planning.

Sales of chemical products (28 per cent generating €640 million) together with machines (18 per cent generating €500 million) and consumables (20 per cent generating €500 million) represent the main turnover figures in the sector. Again it is important to note the significant impact of PPE with €280 million in turnover for the sector.