The fair in Colombia confirmed the recovery of the sector
The leather, footwear and leather goods fair that took place in Corferias in Bogotá, from February 8th to 11th, left a very positive and encouraging balance for the 296 exhibitors, exceeding sales goals, and achieving business for more than 23 billion pesos -almost US$ 6 million-, a figure that exceeded the expectations raised, according to what its organizers reported.
IFLS+EICI presented the joint offer of manufacturers of footwear, clothing, leather goods and fashion accessories, with that of suppliers of materials, components and technology.
The exhibitors, mostly Colombians, came from the main producing centers of the country, such as Bogotá and Cundinamarca, Santander, Norte de Santander, Valle del Cauca, Antioquia and the Coffee Region. From abroad, exhibitors from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico and Portugal participated. The figures provided by ACICAM -Colombian Association of Footwear, Leather and Manufactures Industrialists- organizer of the event, reported a total attendance of 8,300 buyers, including 250 international ones.
ProColombia, the Colombian export promotion agency, managed to bring 40 buyers from 9 countries to the fair: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala, the United States, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
"This fair for the Colombian industry is essential because it becomes the basic center of both the commercial and industrial parts, making it the epicenter of the most important businesses in the sector in Colombia. It is the largest concentration of finished products for both footwear and leather goods, in addition to the largest exhibition of supplies and materials necessary in the design and production of the sector”, assured Jorge Andrés Zuluaga, president of the National Board of Directors of ACICAM.
The sales of finished products were intended to make up the first stocks of the season, to accompany a period of recovery in consumption. Meanwhile, on the part of manufacturers of footwear and manufactures, the expectations were to be able to access a sufficient offer of supplies and components, which could mitigate the negative effects generated by the logistics crisis and the shortage of materials faced by the footwear sector chain, which is in reactivation.
In general terms, the supply in Colombia is at a critical moment, where despite shortages, price increases and delivery delays, related to the situation in Asia, is looking for alternative suppliers to meet demand.
The event had an academic agenda of interest, where exhibitors and visitors received important information on trends, businesses, sector measurements, among others, which reflects the importance of the fair, which in addition to generating business, achieves an important strengthening for all production, design, commercialization and sales processes.
According to reports from DANE -National Administrative Department of Statistics-, the footwear industry —from January to November 2021— achieved an increase in production of 42.2% and in sales of 38.6%, compared to the same period of 2020. For its part, the leather goods sector showed increases of 27.5% in production and 24.5% in sales.
For the ACICAM-RADDAR footwear and leather goods observatory, Colombian households in 2021 consumed $ 3.4 billion, an increase of 38% compared to 2020.
Exports from the leather and footwear sector contributed more than 16% of the country's total fashion exports, totaling nearly US$ 167 million, with a growth of 72.2%, reaching 69 destinations with 401 companies, in 2021.
The United States was the country that bought more goods from these sectors with US$ 59.6 million and an increase of 33.3%.
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