In a market still penalised by a persisting financial crisis and by the effects of Western sanctions, Mosshoes managed to guarantee, thanks to its original formula, an all-in-all dynamic edition. The show was held from 12 to 15 March in Moscow, in Halls 17 and 18 of the Crocus Expo, presenting buyers, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors coming from Russia and its surrounding countries, with a complete selection of products that ranged from men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes, to bags, leathers, components, accessories, and technology. “Mosshoes continues to be a success for its exclusive formula that prioritises a qualit

y offering over a quantitative one. – comments Vladimir Krupochkin, Development Director of Mosshoes – A made-to-measure fair for businesses: with a core business dedicated to footwear, and a segment dedicated to children, representing the largest selection in all of Russia. Not only the area dedicated to leathers and components, but also the Mospel bags area, which is now in its fourth edition, are experiencing constant growth: at the next edition, thanks to an agreement signed with the Chinese Association CCCLA, a Chinese collective will exhibit alongside Italian and Turkish producers”. So, even when faced with the current financial crisis, Mosshoes shows itself capable of responding in a proactive way, offering an even greater number of services to visitors and companies: from the trend area for shoes and accessories, to the bags trend area, a selection of logistics companies, and the conference hall that acts as a platform by allowing associations, companies, and leading figures from the sector to come together and exchange information, cement partnerships, and network.
During the fair, we asked some of the exhibitors to describe the most important on-going trends in the market and they answered us as follows. Present for more than 15 years at Mosshoes, at the fair Imac met up with “extremely positive feedback to our proposals, from both Russian clientele and other CSI countries, and as far as sales channels are concerned, there was a strong orientation towards e-commerce. – commented the representative of the company – The only difficulty regards pricing, which, when compared with the Chinese product, is too high. However, our customers are happy to spend a little more for the quality and comfort of Made in Italy”. For Marco Tozzi, the brand belonging to the large German collective of Wortmann, “The Russian market is very important: we have been present at the fair for ten years, but today it is more difficult to work in the mid-range segment of prices than it was in the past. – declares Eldar Schaffner, Eastern European sales manager – We rely on our historic customers and are counting on the new image campaign we presented at the fair, with Ksenya Borodina, the hostess of a famous TV show in Russia, as our new celebrity endorser”. Representing an even higher pricing segment is the English brand Barker: “We are present on the Russian market with 6 stores that are divided up between directly owned and franchises. Our customers are the Russian elite, actors, politicians, managers… – confirms Rai Vinay, chief representative of the company – We have been participating in Mosshoes for almost 20 years now, and we believe it is an excellent channel for meeting up with all of Eastern Europe”. The representative of Sportmaster, the Russian distributor of brands like Skechers, Fila, and Cat, instead complains: “We are witnessing a genuine division of the market between those searching for a low price and those searching for luxury products. Our price, however, is in any case of interest to retailers attending the fair”. At Mosshoes, the Russian producer of children’s footwear, Shagovita, generates 40% of its sales revenue, while meeting up with “buyers, distributers, wholesalers, and e-tailers from the Russian-speaking market – comments Maria Socoliuk – But what is most important is that at Mosshoes, we can observe on-going trends in the market and accordingly adjust our sales strategy”.

The next edition of Mosshoes will take place from 10 to 13 September.