During APPLiA Italia’s most recent Annual General Meeting, held in Milan, the Association focused on the sector’s outlook and industrial priorities aimed at strengthening its competitiveness. The data collected is encouraging, but the context in which the sector operates is still characterized by significant uncertainty and complexity. However, APPLiA Italia’s Annual General Meeting reaffirmed the strategic importance of the Home Appliance sector in Europe, a point also confirmed by the speech of the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso.

During the meeting, market data collected by NIQ/GfK was presented, with a focus on the Home Appliance sector. In the first quarter of 2026, the Italian Tech & Durable market recorded 5% growth in value, reaching 4 billion euros.

Within this context, home appliances showed positive dynamics: +6% for Major Domestic Appliances and +11% for Small Domestic Appliances. The online channel also confirmed a favorable trend, with overall growth of 11% and particularly strong performance for Major Domestic Appliances, Small Domestic Appliances, and Home Comfort.

_{Stefano Pasini, President of APPLiA Italia}

Market data show encouraging signs, confirming the sector’s vitality. However, they are part of a scenario that remains complex. Consumer confidence remains weak, propensity to purchase is cautious, and price sensitivity continues to grow. Added to these factors are rising energy and raw material costs and increasing international competitive pressures.

The competitiveness of the Home Appliance industry was at the center of the assembly debate, in which the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, participated via video link. In his speech, the Minister emphasized the sector’s strategic importance for Italian and European manufacturing. He also highlighted the importance of including the Home Appliance within the scope of the Industrial Accelerator Act.

APPLiA Italia confirmed the need to recognize the Home Appliance sector as strategic for Europe. It also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening demand-support tools. In this regard, the Italian Appliance Bonus—dedicated to energy-efficient appliances made in the EU—has demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted measures: between November 2025 and April 2026, sales increased by 194,600 units, representing an 8.8% rise in volume, with aggregate value rising by 153 million euros, approximately a 6.9% growth in value.

For the Association, this model must be strengthened and coordinated at the European level, alongside measures addressing energy and raw material costs. Another significant theme is the revision of the CBAM, to prevent European manufacturers from being penalized compared to extra-EU finished products.

“Minister Urso’s action – commented Stefano Pasini, President of APPLiA Italia – sends an important signal to the entire Home Appliance industry. Bringing the strategic importance of our sector to the European level means recognizing the value of a supply chain that generates innovation, skilled employment, and sustainability. The inclusion of the Appliance in the Industrial Accelerator Act would represent the first concrete recognition, at the European level, of this sector’s strategic role for the continent’s industrial competitiveness. This is an important foundation upon which to build a path of industrial relaunch, innovation, and growth for the Household Appliance sector in Europe”.