A platform for international business, a meeting point and liaison event, a laboratory of ideas, trends and prospects for the future: these are the main features of the 88th Expo Riva Schuh, which ends today with 11,224 visitors (a figure that is consistent with the data recorded in the June 2016 edition).
"This edition has strengthened the importance of the Expo Riva Schuh as a meeting point between the world's largest producers and European buyers, but not only that," says Roberto Pellegrini, Chairman of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi.With the Expo Riva Schuh Around The World project, we are working hard to give visibility to the most interesting emerging markets. In April, we launched our fair in South Africa, and we will soon hit Russia and Bulgaria. Our goal is to increase the international dimension of our fair. This means not only giving more professional opportunities to businesses and visitors, but also knowing how to identify and - whenever possible - anticipate new market trends."
On the 11th of June Titi Nxumalo, the Consul General of South Africa in Milan, visited Expo Riva Schuh and attended a meeting in which he stressed the importance of the footwear sector for the South African economy and the growing need for South Africans manufacturers to participate in events such as the Riva del Garda Expo to boost exports.
Together with SAFLEC – the South African Leather Export Council - Expo Riva Schuh has also hosted a new collective of South African exhibitors. Two other groups of exhibitors from Bulgaria and Russia (from St. Petersburg in particular) made their first appearance among the 1,464 exhibitors from over 40 countries, who presented their 2018 spring / summer collections in Riva del Garda.
Among the buyers, it is worth mentioning the presence of an important delegation of French buyers, reaffirming the key role that Expo Riva Schuh plays in Europe and overseas.
"At Expo Riva Schuh, we have reached an optimal ratio between the number of exhibitors and buyers who visit the fair - explains Giovanni Laezza,General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi. At the moment, the ratio is 1 to 10: it is ideal to guarantee high-quality business, a key factor in this event. In addition, we have noticed the increasing presence of new professionals among the visitors, very often related to the development of e-commerce. Some high-end producers also attend our event, looking for business partners to develop samples and collections. These are all new categories of professionals who are joining the long-established audience of Expo Riva Schuh, which today really is a fair that represents the whole footwear industry."
The opening talk “New strategies for footwear distribution: heading for omni-channel retailing”, which officially inaugurated the 88th edition, has been an opportunity to analyze the new distribution strategies of the footwear market and, in particular, the trend towards omni-channeling, the integrated management of the various sales channels. Daniel Agis Branchi, an international expert and distribution consultant, commented on how omni-channeling is increasingly leading to the overturning of traditional distribution hierarchies, but also to a rethinking of the season-based system and to a different perception of the concept of brand .
The talk with Giovanni Laezza and Carla Costa, moderated by Andrea Cabrini (Class CNBC Director), was an opportunity to reflect on the role of trade fair events which, in a context of omni-channeling, improve their potential to act as a driving force for the coordination and integration of the various components of the production and distribution chain.
"Online marketing and the theme of offline integration are two challenges that impact the trade fair industry too," says Carla Costa, Manager of the Riva del Garda Fierecongressi Fairs Unit, “even if the evolution process is considerably slower in comparison with companies. Online marketing is an important tool for our fair and, in the past few years, has helped us to pinpoint companies and buyers more accurately and to gain a better understanding of each other's needs. Ideally, in the future, the fair will still be an irreplaceable meeting point and business opportunity, and will also "live" 365 days a year thanks to online marketing and the creation of a community that continues to interact."
A glance at a promising future that looks forward to our next appointment, scheduled from January 13 to 16, 2018.