First sales in EFICA allow to maintain the activity of the sector
With the exhibition of footwear for the Autumn-Winter 2023 season, the 107th edition of EFICA was held on January 8th, 9th and 10th, 2023, at Costa Salguero in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
85 exhibitors participated with 102 brands of women's, men's and children's products, in their different lines. Within the proposal, a great variety of footwear was observed, where the updating of the modeling, the quality of the materials and finishes stood out. In this regard, within the set exhibited, the High-end area made up of manufacturers of higher quality products stood out.
The number of buyers -more than 3,500- was enough to generate the first business of the season and to satisfy most of the exhibitors.
Although the Argentine footwear industry maintains its levels of activity, it is still not exempt from numerous difficulties generated by the evolution of the economy. For example, sustained inflation makes it extremely difficult to stabilize prices for purchases of materials and supplies, and consequently also for sales.
In another order, access to imported raw materials and components is altered by the new conditions imposed by the government, which causes delays and shortages.
Finally, the insufficient availability of labor, tied to its characteristics of temporality, ability and remuneration, still does not satisfy the labor demand.
Thus, the Argentine footwear sector seeks to maintain and grow its market share, at a time when the government still maintains control of imports.
In the summary of opinions and comments, from exhibitors and buyers, one of the recurring themes was the appropriate date for EFICA, destined for Autumn-Winter. Despite having opted for the month of January in recent years, a large part of those consulted were in favor of scheduling it in the first days of December, to anticipate purchases and avoid January, as the traditional month of vacations, and less commercial activity.
In this regard, an exhaustive analysis of sample preparation times, access to fashion information, availability of materials, and in particular, the coordination of the agenda with the EXPOCAIPIC supplier fair is necessary.
On the other hand, given the great transformations left by the pandemic where virtuality grew, an urgent reinvention of the physical and face-to-face fair is necessary, with the addition of new content, which really generates greater value and attractiveness to the event.
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