Childcare sector downturn: 3,300 businesses lost in 10 years
15/12/2025 – Today *Il Sole 24 Ore* focuses on the childcare products sector, which has experienced a significant contraction over the past decade due to demographic decline, falling domestic consumption, and increasing international competition. Not exactly a comforting bedtime story for the companies involved.
According to Infocamere-Unioncamere data, between 2014 and 2024 Italy lost 3,300 businesses operating in the main segments of the childcare economy. By the end of 2024, active companies totaled 17,626, a 15.7% decrease compared to ten years earlier. Manufacturing has been hit hardest: firms producing toys, prams, and strollers dropped to around 1,052, down 32.7% over the decade.
Employment has also declined. The sector now employs 30,477 people, 6.7% fewer than in 2014, with particularly sharp losses in manufacturing (-26.4%). This trend clearly reflects weakening demand driven by the ongoing decline in birth rates.
The picture that emerges is of a sector under pressure, squeezed between fewer births, stronger foreign competition, and shrinking margins. Fewer children, fewer products, fewer businesses. A simple equation, even if it makes for grim reading.
