MICAM maintains its international leadership
At the Milano Rho fairground of Milan, Italy, it was carried out from February 16 to 19, the 89th edition of the most important international footwear fair MICAM, whose offer was composed of medium and high quality products, in charge of 628 Italian exhibitors and 577 foreigners, with a total of 1,205 participants. The proposal included different lines of footwear that as a whole was a faithful reference of the next trends.
In addition to the Italian exhibitors, the most numerous delegations were those of Spain, Portugal and Brazil, among others.
The event maintains high convening power in the international market, although this time the influx of Chinese and Asian operators was reduced due to the problems generated by the coronavirus.
Without specifying definitive figures, the MICAM organization reported that there was a slight 5% drop in the number of visitors compared to its previous edition of February 2019.
According to Siro Badon, president of ASSOCALZATURIFICI, the Italian association of footwear manufacturers, organizer of the fair: “it was an expected contraction. The decline of Asian buyers was added a decrease in British visitors, due to transport difficulties, due to extreme weather conditions. There was also a decline in German buyers who are going through a difficult economic period and of course, the generalized international health factor because of the progress of the coronavirus. ”
The positive note was the increase in buyers from Russia and the CSI area, which were supported by the Italian Trade Agency, who concentrated their purchases on high-quality Italian products.
As expressed by MICAM CEO Tommaso Cancellara, “the Italian fashion industry is working more and more in synergy, as a system, where numerous activities are integrated, such as Milano Fashion Week and other events that give visitors the possibilities of good business and discover the best of Made In Italy. ”
The fair itself is an area where the major brands of international fashion, and producers from different countries, are present to exhibit their new collections and the audience can participate in multiple conferences and seminars on various topics related to the creation, production and commercialization of footwear, in addition to an extensive service on trends.
BRAZIL
Among them, Brazil, through ABICALÇADOS, the association that brings together the main shoe manufacturers in that country, released a final report where it reported that the 76 exhibitors completed businesses that exceeded US $ 38 million, which meant an increase of 60% compared to the February 2019 edition. Contacts increased by 15%, covering the attention of 2,000 buyers.
For the experts, the result is due to the search for alternative suppliers to the Chinese, due to the health problems of the coronavirus.
SPAIN
With 166 exhibitors, representatives of the most prominent Spanish brands, confirmed the withdrawal of visitors, although they indicated that they obtained positive results due to the attention of regular customers. There was a coincidence in confirming MICAM as the main fair of the sector in Europe, within the international arena.
PORTUGAL
Participated with 102 exhibitors from different footwear lines, which despite the situation prevailing by the coronavirus, generally achieved acceptable sales, in particular to customers from Italy and other European countries and the United States, where Portuguese products enjoy good prestige and competitiveness. Like the perception of Brazilians, the new contacts obeyed the search for alternative suppliers to the Chinese.
