TheMICAM tradeshow reports uptick in visitors

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Feb 18, 2016

TheMICAM footwear tradeshow, which was held in Milan on February 14-17, attracted 32,703 visitors. This is an 1.8% increase on the amount of visitors seen in February 2015, and a 6% increase on the number of visitors in September 2015, signs that the sector could be recovering.

The 81st edition of theMICAM had 1,456 exhibitors, including 821 Italian companies and 635 foreign companies, showcasing their collections over 64,144 square metres.

Half of the visitors to the event were from outside of Italy, the tradeshow said. The event had 16,343 international visitors, with Spain, Germany and France (which was up 12.5%) in the lead. The number of Russian visitors was up 13%.

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“We're very happy with the results,” says Assocalzaturifici chair Annarita Pilotti. ”theMICAM has confirmed its status as the world's most important event for the footwear industry, a unique international business opportunity. We started out in a climate of uncertainty, with a number of difficult years behind us before the year 2015, in which, even though sales largely held their ground, the industry has suffered the effects of a drop in domestic demand and shrinkage of a number of important foreign markets, such as Russia and the former CIS area. The results were good, however, and we saw a return of Italian buyers, whose numbers had dropped significantly."

"The participating companies' satisfaction is tangible, and they will be able to go back to work tomorrow in a more serene state of mind. We like to think that the vitality so evident at the fair is the first sign of a recovery in 2016. Italian footwear companies employ 77 thousand people, but are still on the defensive, and deserve more attention from the country's official institutions."

The next edition of theMICAM will be held in Milan on September 3-6.