Together with Assocalzaturifici, Made in Italy continues to believe in and move forward with its projects in the markets of Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Thus, the meeting is between Italian companies and local buyers, retailers, wholesalers, and agents occurs during the Shoes from Italy Almaty workshop in the economic capital of Kazakhstan and at the Shoes from Italy Kiev workshop in the Ukrainian capital. Both of these events are organised in partnership with the ICE Agency and feature a special formula that merges the exhibition itself with specific promotional initiatives.
Fall 2018 is accordingly kicked off with Shoes from Italy Almaty from 31 October to 2 November at the Rixos Hotel: here, Italian operators will meet up with a market that seems to have found its way out of the crisis: after a 2017 that ended with exports down by -0.7% in quantity and up by +6.9% in value, 2018 started off on the right foot, with a rise in exports by +9.7% in quantity and by +2.2% in value during the first five months of the year. Expectations are according high for what is considered the crossroads of the vast Central Asian market, where the appeal of Made in Italy is always high.
The Ukrainian market, which is ready to meet up with Italian companies from 7-8 November at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, represents a slightly tougher challenge: after the rebound of 2016 that saw Italian exports regain shares (+44.2% in quantity and +30.4% in value), 2017 was instead stagnant (respectively +0.6% and -0.9%), and this trend was reconfirmed during the first five months of 2018 with quantities remaining unvaried from the same period in 2017 and values down by -2%. Thus, the appointment in Kiev will be key to verifying opportunities present in this market and intercepting an eventual trend reversal.
These will be the last two editions of Shoes from Italy with this formula. Starting in 2019, the two events will have a new striking format: “We reinforced the partnership with Emi-Ente Moda Italia, which is already successfully underway in Asia at the Seoul and Tokyo Moda Made in Italy events, for the workshops in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. – announces Marino Fabiani, Assocalzaturifici Councillor responsible for the markets of the CIS area – At Almaty and Kiev, Assocalzaturifici and EMI will jointly present themselves together, starting from the first half of 2019, with a total look proposal that better replies to the retail needs of these markets, which are in search of a complete offering that includes footwear, accessories, and apparel”.
