Obuv mir Koži will start later than usual, with the next edition to be held from 24 to 27 October 2017:  in fact, the fair’s organizers were unable to satisfy the demand of exhibitors to hold the event right after the MICAM, and the show dates were pushed back even further.  Thus, the traditional appointment that brings the high-end range of Made in Italy footwear together with the Russian and CIS markets will start one month after the event in Milan:  “Or these dates or nothing – was the comment of Arturo Venanzi, Coordinator of the Assocalzaturifici Russian and CIS laboratory – there was no room for negotiation with the organizers… the ad campaign is accordingly going to last four months”.

The timing will be tight for optimizing the negotiations, but the first weak signals of recovery registered in the CIS market area over the course of 2016 and the positive trend registered at the beginning of 2017 create hopes for an eventual recovery of the shares lost by Made in Italy during the years of economic crisis.  In 2016, in fact, the quantities returned to a trend of growth (8,264,509 pairs, +6.9% over 2015), but with a rather sharp drop in the average price (-9.5%), for a final value of 457 million euros.  Instead, during the first three months of 2017, recovery was double-digit when compared to the same period in 2016:  +25.8%, but always with a concurrent drop in the average price equal to -10%.  This is why the confidence of Assocalzaturifici in the Russian market has been renewed, and it accordingly expects great results from this country, which, during the first quarter of 2017 registered +28.1% in quantity and +14.6% in value.

Thus, during the four days of Obuv, an estimated 150 Italian exhibitors (representing 70% of the offering at the event) will meet up with 8000 professional visitors, including wholesalers, agents and distributors, store chains, and boutiques coming from all the regions of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, in order to present them with the very best of the high-end range of Made in Italy footwear.

Organized by Assocalzaturifici and Fairsystem, which is owned by the Bolognafiere group, the event will benefit, as usual, from the series of initiatives realized in collaboration with the Moscow ICE Agency, including the organization of incoming services for buyers coming from the area’s most promising regions.