The Pakistani footwear industry is taking important steps to achieve the ambitious goal of becoming one of the leading manufacturing nations within the next five years. At Expo Riva Schuh we had the opportunity to talk about this and the sense of Pakistani presence at the show with representatives of the Pakistani Manufacturer Association, Zubair, director of UE Ltd, and Kashif Abbas, sales head of Service Industries Limited.

What does Expo Riva Schuh represent for Pakistani companies?

“We have been taking part in Expo Riva Schuh for 13 years, an event that we believe to be fundamental to meet Italian and European markets, which are a priority for Pakistani industries. After the year of stoppage caused by the pandemic, returning to see us in presence was essential to reconnect with customers: the fair is an excellent opportunity for discussion and even for a restart. We participated in this edition with a dozen companies, 7 of which under the umbrella of the Pakistani footwear association”.

What is the market trend of Pakistani footwear?

“The Pakistani footwear industry enjoyed a competitive advantage during the pandemic: we never closed our factories and we continued to work and export regularly even during the months of emergency. With the support of our Government and financing to industry, in recent years we have experienced a great growth based on several factors: the fact of having a product at an affordable price, the zero-duty regime with Europe, but also the economic conflict between the US and China has benefited us by making us an increasingly sought after destination for productive outsourcing. This is why we have set ourselves the goal of becoming one of the leading manufacturing nations in the next five years, also by leveraging the presence of a complete supply chain in our country, including a thriving leather industry”.

How did you end the July edition of Expo Riva show?

“The smaller dimensions of the event allowed our companies to be more visible and therefore to have more visits to the stands, with many new contacts, especially from Eastern European markets. That’s why, in general, our companies were satisfied on how they peformed at the show”.