Thursday, April 14, 2022 EXPO RIVA SCHUH & GARDABAGS KICKS OFF: THE NEXT SHOW, WITH A FOCUS ON TRACEABILITY, WILL BE HELD FROM 11 TO 14 JUNE

Riva del Garda, 14 April 2022. Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags, the international marketplace dedicated to volume footwear and accessories, will return to the Riva del Garda Exhibition Centre from 11 to 14 June 2022. More than 30 European and non-European countries will be represented by exhibitors and trade associations, confirming the leading role of a show that has set its sights well beyond its own borders. This is clearly illustrated by the companies and organisations planning to attend the show – from Italy, China, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Poland – which, for various reasons, are highly strategic for the reference market and represent the acid test of the show’s international nature.

“The last two shows were affected by the pandemic, but now Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags is again an event spread over multiple venues, with the town of Riva del Garda, the exhibition centre and the hotels becoming the backdrop for business relations in the world of footwear, leather goods and accessories. It is worth remembering that the show continued its activities throughout this period and that we have continued to invest in developing projects and services for international buyers. We will see the results in June”, commented Alessandra Albarelli, General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi.

And we should not forget to mention the presence over the days of the show of around 60 Chinese companies, attending both in-person and using the new hybrid stand service, which was successfully tested at the January edition and provides stands on site (with samples), coordinated remotely through the digital platform. Their presence is a further positive sign that we can overcome the limitations imposed by the public health emergency without affecting business (which in the case of China is equivalent to over 54.3% of global production, according to data from Worldfootwear 2020).

One of the outstanding features of Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags is its wealth of organisational solutions. For this edition, it has created an intense programme of incoming buyers from abroad, partly on the back of its effective partnership with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and a cutting-edge and highly customised business scout service, designed to facilitate buyers’ activities both inside and outside the exhibition. The buyers are after all the essential component for the core business of a trade show whose strength lies in the wealth of its display and the quality of its products.

“We are diversifying but without losing our identity; we are looking to the future but embracing the present, by focusing on an offer that reflects the trend towards inclusivity in today's world and proposes it season after season, embellishing it with the characteristics of innovation, creativity and sustainability that have always been the core values of our philosophy”, said GianPaola Pedretti, recently appointed Exhibition Manager of Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags.

The issue of sustainability is becoming increasingly fundamental in approaching the future, and will be the focus of events, talks, in-depth analyses and panel discussions that will pack the calendar of Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabagas. The programme has been devised under the supervision of the prestigious Scientific Committee, which is responsible for development and innovation at the show and all the initiatives and content linked to the educational and informative project Expo Riva Show. The team, consisting of professionals from international organisations operating in sectors that cross fashion, communication, innovation and sustainability, is coordinated by Enrico Cietta and Matteo Pasca, Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively, and also includes Alberto Mattiello (member in charge of Innovation), Ellen Schmidt (member in charge of International Sourcing) and William Wong (member in charge of Sustainability).

Still on the subject of sustainability, the focus in the June show will be on traceability, the key theme not only in an extensive programme of events and presentations in which the sector’s main players will be able to make their voices heard, but also the focus of the new event with Innovation Village Retail. What to all intents and purposes qualifies as Village 2.0 – created by Fiera di Riva del Garda with the scientific co-ordination of Alberto Mattiello – open to start-ups, companies, institutions and professionals, has been designed to share the culture of innovation and create networking and business opportunities between emerging companies and established players, mainly focused on product traceability. And that’s not all. Among the ten companies selected during the Start-up Competition, which will present their product or service vision geared towards the future, the winner will have the opportunity to take part as an official exhibitor at the next Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags.

In this sustainable tomorrow, a central role will naturally be given to the product, the result of an increasingly virtuous chain and evolving creativity that is at the heart of the Kind Leather Contest, in which Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags works with JBS Couros, a leading Brazilian leather manufacturer, Arsutoria School and Fotoshoe Magazine, the show’s traditional business partners. For the first time, a project aimed at professional designers in the sector will promote Kind Leather's core values of sustainability, recycling of materials and better resource management, culminating at the show with the awards ceremony for the winner of the 2022 edition.

Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags is looking forward to seeing its community from 11 to 14 June 2022 at the Riva del Garda Exhibition Centre (Trento - Italy) in complete safety, thanks to a strict anti-Covid protocol (https://exporivaschuh.it/it/covid-free), created in accordance with current safety regulations.