Burak Mutafoglu, Inuovo (Turkey)

“We have been exhibiting at Expo Riva Schuh since 2020 and, with this edition, we can finally confirm that the situation seems to have almost returned to pre-Covid levels. We are extremely satisfied: visitors appreciated our large and luminous stand and especially our new summer collection full of fresh and pastel colours. Despite the increase in the price of raw materials, energy, and the terrible inflation affecting Turkey, we managed to propose a collection with strong fashion content at advantageous prices. The mood for the next season? Fresh and vivid colours and natural materials like raffia, wood, rope, and leather”.  

Fernando Leite, 1 Hundred Shoes (Portogal)

“This June edition of Expo Riva Schuh was more important than ever before: people needed, after the distancing caused by the pandemic, to go out, meet up with one another, have new experiences, see and touch the products with their hands, and breathe in the general atmosphere… additionally, warehouse stock has by now sold out, and there are new budgets available with the desire to purchase. For us, Riva is the fair of reference, as well as the most international one. At the fair, we met many Dutch, French, and some English buyers, even if the absence of Russian and Americans was felt. Other difficulties of this moment are connected to the increase in the costs of raw materials and transportation, which are critical for a product like ours that is completely made in Portugal but destined for the international market. In terms of fashion trends, sneakers met up with an undisputed success, but at a competitive price, because women have a desire to change; the theme of comfort is essential, even when wearing high heels”.  

Alessandro Biagini, Fly (Italy)

“In these four days of fair, we met up with buyers literally coming from every corner of the globe, from Chile to Japan, and from Canada to South Africa. I believe it was even a better edition than the pre-Covid period ones! We met up with a great desire among visitors for travelling, socializing, and touching the products with their hands… Online interactions are undoubtedly useful, but being able to meet buyers in person is fundamental for a product like the shoe, which has its own story to tell, offering above all an emotional purchasing experience. We primarily met up with new customers, whom we believe might give rise to new substantial orders. Certainly, it is not an easy moment for the market in general, because consumers have seen their purchasing power diminish, while the increase in the cost of materials, transportation, and energy have affected the final price. We managed to limit the price increase to around 8-10%, but our main focus is above all on the design and quality for a winning product that captures the attention. In the children’s segment, instead, price is more important, because this type of shoe is only used for a brief period of time. For this reason, we have selected from among several manufacturers in China (we are responsible only for the design and marketing), those that have the most efficient production systems in combining quality and price, which helps balance out the cost of transportation”.

Martina Machado, Pedro Iniesta SA (Biostep), (Spain)

“We have been participating in Expo Riva Schuh for over 30 years, and after the long break brought about by Covid, we can confirm that this was genuinely an edition of rebirth! Buyers arrived from around the world, and we met new customers from France, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, there was a lack of visitors from the USA, but there was a great desire to travel, strike up new partnerships, and do business. For those of us in Riva, it is the fair of reference, where it’s possible to present the collection and fine-tune it based on the feedback of buyers. Comfort, which has always been a distinctive feature of our products, has become increasingly important with the outbreak of the pandemic. In the new collection, we introduced some changes that allows fashion content to be combined with maximum comfort and solutions like the elastic inserts on the sides for people who suffer from bunion”.

Jonas Rampe, Pole Cat (Sweden)

“This is our third time participating in Expo Riva Schuh. The two previous editions were extremely low-key because of the pandemic, but even if visitors were not numerous, they were extremely motivated and interested. In the June edition, there was undoubtedly an excellent turnout and our technical shoe, created for cold climates and trekking, met up with greater interest than the more economic Asian equivalent. We received orders and found new distributors in Europe, and especially in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, but also Canada. Our aim is to expand in the foreign market, which right now buys around 20% of our production, and even propose our shoes to countries with multiple seasons, because they are also suited to warmer climates, thanks to their ability to keep the feet always fresh and dry”.

Valentina Pera, Pera Carlo Shoes (Italy)

“We are very proud to celebrate 75 years of activity! In fact, I represent the fourth generation of the company, and since the Seventies, the Riva del Garda fair has been our fair of reference in presenting the new collection with strategic timing for large-scale retailers and wholesalers of footwear, allowing us to fine-tune the various changes and proceed with our seasonal production. This June edition was genuinely filled with emotion: we were finally able to see customers in-person after over two years of contact exclusively through videocalls and meet new customers coming from all over the world, including especially Asia, Japan, and Taiwan: we really missed all this! In recent years, we have focused our efforts on sustainability, proposing our clogs and summer sandals in LWG certified leathers, with bio-based insoles and recyclable soles. An effort that met up with great approval from foreign customers. Now, there is the problem of raw material costs and transportation costs, which unfortunately continue to rise, subjecting the prices of products to constant fluctuations, and so, we can only guarantee the validity of this price list until the next edition of Micam in September”.

Michele Ponath, Calcados Beira Rio (Brazil)

“This was undoubtedly the edition for restarting! We met up with a lively and dynamic atmosphere, with the arrival of buyers and new customers coming from Italy, Israel, Greece, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, and Dubai. Everyone is ready to leave their problems and difficulties behind them, strike up new partnerships and do business. Prices are always the most critical factor, along with quality and quick deliveries. Our new summer collection accordingly focuses on a striking and comfortable product, with bright colours and extremely feminine inserts like crystals. We have invested in new technologies and new materials to offer the best quality/price ratio”.

Mel Cohen, People (China)

“With the outbreak of the pandemic, we decided to focus our attention on this fair and today we participate only in Expo Riva Schuh. This is because Riva is the international fair par excellence, where we can meet up with our customers of reference, which include leading chains of retailers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. At this June edition, our usual customers visited us, and above all we met up with new buyers mainly coming from Europe. We are returning to pre-Covid levels and the atmosphere at the fair was extremely positive and characterised by business. As a designer, I can also confirm that in terms of new fashion trends there is a return to pastel and lively colours, but also to natural materials. In sandals, we also find wedges and platforms, which are especially well-liked by youths and considered fashionable”.

Anne Teutsch-Mohr, Jomos (Germany)

“We have been participating in Expo Riva Schuh for over 30 years, and I can confirm without a doubt that this past June was a very positive edition: the halls of the fair were packed, the stands were full, and the companies were busy ‘jotting down notes’… in general, there was a desire to look to the future with trust. We received visits by appointment from all our historic customers, but also from numerous new customers coming primarily from Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland, Israel, and Kuwait. When compared to Micam, here we presented as usual an extremely extensive and diversified collection, because based on the feedback we receive at the fair, we then fine-tune the final collection. Our motto is: ‘problem solving!’. For this reason, our collections of technical and trekking shoes are extremely fashionable and comfortable, but also characterised by special solutions like practical zippers that make them easier to wear. Plus, they are proposed both in standard and plus sizes (53 in men’s and 44 in women’s). This has guaranteed, as always, the success of our brand, which in fact has been around since 1928”.

Aloke Kumar Sengupta, Kompanero Bags (India)

“Our brand was founded in 2014 and today we are present with our leather bags and small leather good items in 40 flagship stores and in multibrand stores located in the USA, Cananda, and above all Australia, where we count 500 multibrand stores. Our products stand out for the high quality of the raw materials used and the workmanship that is then combined with state-of-the-art technology to create items with an artisanal style, which only improves with the passing of time and use. We have invested a lot in R&D, and we have our own tannery, so we can put the entire production process under the same roof, from the design to production. For us, Expo Riva Schuh is a fundamental fair, and we chose to participate starting with the first edition at Gardabags, because it allows us to have a direct comparison with Italian fashion and, at the same time, present our collection to international buyers and receive their feedback on it, while reinforcing our presence on the international market including especially the European one. This edition in June was extremely positive and I believe that things are proceeding in the right direction”.