Pitti Uomo to launch new e-marketplace ahead of September show
Florentine show organiser Pitti Immagine is revolutionising its e-Pitti virtual trade show by introducing the Pitti Connect platform. E-Pitti was launched in 2011 to amplify on the web the experience of the trade shows staged by Pitti Immagine. Pitti Connect will instead anticipate the shows: it will slot in at the start of the Spring/Summer 2020 season, at the end of June, ahead of the new digital versions of the Paris and Milan fashion weeks. The goal is to maximise visibility for the exhibitors of Pitti Immagine’s regular shows, especially menswear event Pitti Uomo, which has been postponed to September 2,3 and 4 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 crisis has prompted Pitti Immagine to accelerate its digital transformation by creating an “advanced digital platform and marketplace designed to generate new business opportunities, which will anticipate and integrate the physical shows scheduled in September. Pitti Connect is a response to the exceptional present circumstances, and its launch provides a new, essential tool that will contribute to the recovery of the fashion system as a whole,” said Pitti Immagine.
Pitti Connect will enable the exhibitors of the Pitti Uomo, Pitti Bimbo, Pitti Filati, Fragranze and Super trade shows to boost their visibility and activate commercial contacts in order to generate orders from June onwards. The plan is to reach out to buyers and retailers - Pitti Uomo’s 90,000 registered and certified users - including those who will not be able to travel to Florence in September, allowing them to browse the range of products on offer and discover the most interesting ones. As well as to “get in touch with exhibitors, plan meetings and view collections via video chats and virtual showrooms.”
Pitti Immagine stated in a press release that, with Pitti Connect, it wants to “transpose to the digital world the quality, selection, segmentation, design, communication and contemporary mood of its shows.” The service will be operational from June to September, when it will integrate the physical Pitti Uomo show, held as usual at the Fortezza da Basso venue in Florence.
“Pitti Connect will make it possible for exhibitors not only to better communicate all the facets of their brand identity, but will also have advanced functionalities for managing access to the marketplace and the order placement phase,” said Agostino Poletto, general manager of Pitti Immagine.
“We know all about the priorities and challenges that fashion companies and labels are facing at this time because we at Pitti Immagine are experiencing the same,” said Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. “For over a decade we have believed and invested in web evolution and, in the light of the far-reaching digital transformation in progress, we want to offer the very best existing technology with a totally new platform, and an editorial layout that is rich in content, just like a regular magazine,” added Napoleone.
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