MICAM: once again, with the largest international call
FAIR INFO
The 50 years of existence of the Italian footwear fair -MICAM- were celebrated in a context of transformations in the sector in terms of the consumer and their way of relating to the product, as well as the production.
According to figures prepared by Confindustria Moda Research Center for ASSOCALZATURIFICI, the Italian footwear industry reached 82% of its productive capacity during the first half of 2019. The volume of production had a decrease of 2.3% in that period, while the value grew by 2%, compared to the same period of 2018. On the other hand, household consumption decreased by 3.7% in volume and 3.2% in value, according to what was registered by Sita Ricerca Fashion Consumer Panel.
Even so, the 88th version of MICAM - from September 15th to 18th, 2019 - concluded with satisfactory results. On this occasion, the trends for Spring / Summer 2020 were presented, together with 1,303 exhibitors, with an international participation of 608 firms.
The foreign presence was also noted among visitors, which was 60% of a total of 44,076 people. While the usual European countries remained stable, Switzerland grew by 10% and there was a significant visitors increase from Hong Kong and China. However, the Ukrainian and Russian concurrence fell 8.68% and 12.85% respectively.
In this regard, Siro Badon - president of ASSOCALZATURIFICI and MICAM - assured that they will continue to accompany the internationalization of the firms and will focus on Ukraine and Russia regarding the search for buyers. The leader of footwear sector assumed his role in the association a few months ago and was his first edition in command of the fair.
Aligned with the new interests of the visitors, from the organization of the event they presented the new space called PLAYERS DISTRICTS. There, both outdoor and sports shoes were the protagonists, in a space that had a positive response from the visiting public.
To this was added the varied usual programming in each edition. The talks covered topics such as the main footwear of the Spring / Summer 2020 season and trends in colors and materials for Spring / Summer 2020 and Fall / Winter 2020-2021, along with proposals in footwear for that season. In addition, they focused on sustainability, the consumer, technology and retail.
For its part, EMERGING DESIGNERS celebrated its second version, where 12 designers from diverse backgrounds presented their creations, while Fashion Square was the space where the MICAM Fashion Show was held, a catwalk with multiple collections.
The Spain delegation, was composed by 187 exhibiting companies, considered its participation in the Italian fair as positive, in terms of contacts and business. Despite the sales contained in fairs prior to MICAM, such as Expo Riva Schuh in Italy and Gallery Shoes in Germany, the turnover was satisfactory for most of the members.
On the part of the set of exhibitors of BRAZIL, an initial sale of more than 750 thousand pairs was estimated, worth US $ 14.5 million, with a projection for 2 million more pairs in the coming months. Brazilian footwear exports continue to grow due to the exchange rate and the greater demand of the United States.
Regarding the re-entry of ARGENTINA to MICAM, through a group of 10 high quality footwear companies, although the level of sales was limited, "it was very positive as an opportunity to make products visible and make new contacts in the international market," they said. the exhibitors
