SAPICA celebrates its 45 years of trajectory

The Leather and Footwear Show -SAPICA- will be held between Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13, Thursday 14 and Friday 15 March, 2019 at the Poliforum León fairgrounds in Guanajuato State, Mexico.
The footwear and leather goods fair is organized by the Chamber of the Footwear Industry of the State of Guanajuato (CICEG).
The exhibition offer will be spread over 45 thousand square meters of surface, with various pavilions dedicated to casual footwear, high fashion, lady dress shoes, cowboy, sports and kids, plus the exhibition of leather goods.
SAPICA has the participation of 850 exhibitors in approximately 2 thousand stands and in the four days of the fair, an international visit of 220 firms representing 40 countries, together with more than 3 thousand local companies, is expected.

Knowledge, fashion and business space

Simultaneous to the exhibition, activities will be developed that will complement the proposed of exhibited products, and will contribute new aspects related to the sector.
On the one hand, the “México es Moda” catwalk will feature the participation of renowned local designers such as Galo Bertín, Benito Santos, Iann Dey, Marco Manero and Milton Calatayud, who will add footwear and leather goods from local firms in their fashion shows.
In addition, different specialists will speak at the Knowledge Pavilion, with a program that will address technological innovations, marketing, e-commerce, among other topics.
International buyers will have the opportunity to know the profile of about 160 exporting companies, through SHOES FROM MEXICO. This space will offer information and advice to conduct business with national firms.

The most important window for Mexican footwear

Through its editions, SAPICA has positioned itself as a relevant commercialization platform in Latin America, as well as a meeting point and networking with national and global entrepreneurs.
In addition to this, the event is an opportunity to meet Mexican footwear and a constantly evolving industry. Currently, #HechoenMexico promotes the internationalization of products, backed by various benefits.
In this sense, the sector has a convenient location and companies with varied sizes, many of them specialized in leather footwear. In addition, there is a high quality manufacturing system and international certification programs.
Likewise, Mexico maintains free trade agreements that reach more than 44 countries.

A fair with a trajectory

The significance of SAPICA is reflected in the 45 years of validity and the 80 editions reached. Over time, the fair was evolving and expanding to adapt to the context of the sector and demands and needs of the footwear industry.
Its beginnings were in 1974, in which 150 exhibitors were part. After a few years, in 1982 they extended the proposal to cover the Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer trends, becoming biannual. The event showed signs of growth and increased the exhibition area. The interest in the fair became visible in 1986, with the record participation of 15 thousand visitors.
Already in 1999, the transformation in the structure by means of pavilions allowed the different types of footwear to have their specific areas.
SAPICA's internationalization proposal came in the 2000s, with a new image and complementing the exhibition with runways and fashion shows, aimed at updating in fashion. Also at that time each edition began to be held at the Poliforum León.
A varied complementary program was added to the exhibited products, with activities dedicated to fashion and the New Entrepreneurs Pavilion.
In addition, in order to meet the needs of the sector, the fair modified its dates from 2011, in line with the periods of footwear purchase and the fairs calendar globally.
Finally, in recent years there were established and consolidated fashion areas -México es Moda-, of information -Knowledge Pavilion- and business -Shoes From Mexico-.