The crisis of granite and the success of marble: errors and market strategies. The Sardinian case

Since the beginning of the sixties, Sardinia (Italy) has established itself as a granite production area both nationally and internationally. The activity of quarrying and processing of marble began in the Orosei area (north-east Sardinia) by the end of the same decade. This study is aimed at describing the troubled time experienced by the Sardinian granite production at the beginning of the XXI century and the ongoing success achieved by Orosei marble. In fact, what was originally a less developed segment, the marble sector, became more established on the international market thanks to a number of optimal marketing strategies. The weaknesses and strengths of these two different sectors are described below. The paper gives an account of the current positioning strategies of stone industry in Sardinia with special attention to commercial development, the positioning of the product portfolio, quality and customer service. Although the Sardinian granite is a raw material with excellent features which are typical of commodities and is supported by the presence of skilled manpower, this industry has always had to deal with the high costs of the transport system and the lack of efficient infrastructure, until the Chinese competition gave it the final push. In contrast to the granite industry, the marble entrepreneurs of Orosei showed better marketing skills. The Sardinian marble industry has the strategic advantage of having all companies concentrated in a limited and homogeneous area of quarrying and processing activities. Furthermore, producers together with the Municipality of Orosei founded a Consortium whose aim is currently to manage waste disposal at the landfill with the idea of transforming the landfill itself into a Centre for stone materials aimed at secondary processing, where training sessions on different subjects pertaining to the Dimension Stone sector will be held and a historical route aimed at industrial tourism will be organized.