shoes in italy

For the Italian shoes sector, 2003 ended with very negative results, leading Rossano Soldini, President of the Association of the industrialists in the sector to speak of "deep gloom". And 2004 is been only slightly more positive. In 2003, in fact, exports of Made in Italy shoes showed a decrease of 7 percent in quantity and 6.2 percent in value (282 million pairs exported compared with 303 million the year before). However, some first signs of recovery in the sector have now arisen. The occasion was provided by Micam, the main European trade fair for shoes, held at the Milan Fair in Italy. The outcome of the event, in fact, has been extremely positive, up to the point that a significant change in trend can now be discerned for the second semester of 2004, indicating a clear recovery in exports. The Micam Shoevent is a showcase offering a preview of the coming fashions and the shoes that will be in the shops and on the consumers' feet in Italy and in the most important international markets the same season one year later. Yet the home market is still facing problems. Italian participation, in fact, recorded a fall of roughly 2 percent in the number of visitors. "This result - says the president of the Association of Italian Shoemakers, Rossano Soldini, "represents an important statistic within this cycle of business trends in Italy that is not positive. Micam has been established as the main date on the calendar in the sector at the international level and a reliable indicator of the mood of firms. In Italy a shoes showroom in growth, in a phase as problematic as the one we are experiencing now, denotes an injection of trust for the whole sector". With more than 33 thousand visitors, Micam, in fact, ended by registering a global 5,05% increase compared with September 2003. The increasingly international character of the event is reflected by the significant increase in visitors coming to Italy from abroad (more than 14 thousand, equal to almost half the total), registering an increase of 17 percent compared with the preceding year. In particular, the strong presence of Japanese clients has afforded great hope, and points to a significant recovery in the Japanese market, while the presence of French, German, English and Spanish clients was also established. Excellent signals have come from Russia, a country where there is a growing demand for shoes in italy, and also the American market is beginning to show revived interest. The record number of visitors at Micam shoes in Italy was already expected from early indications, beginning with over 1361 shoes exhibitors (309 foreign and more than 52 percent compared with 2003) and an exhibition area of more than 50 thousand square metres. "The quality of shoes in italy and the ongoing creative research in the collections - as Soldini added - "have been prized by trade members, above all those from abroad, who are not only filling the corridors of the exhibition halls but in many cases have gone on to sign contracts with hundreds of firms in Italy. Looking at these positive results we must also bear in mind that alongside the important presence of exhibitors of well-established brands on world markets, representing the excellence of the sector, this year many firms producing handcrafted goods have also chosen to be present. The satisfying results from this shoes event hold in Italy will lead us to continue with the strategy adopted until now, which is to set our future sights on quality produce, and with an international character.