The presence of Spanish companies at Expo Riva Schuh has always been heavy, also at the last edition in July, with 20 brands present physically (about half of the regular exhibitors) and 7 on the digital platform. At the fair we met Imanol Martinez Gómez, Marketing & International Business Development Director of FICE the Federation of the Spanish Footwear Industry, with whom we talked about the trend of the fair and the market.

Has the restart edition for Spanish companies been successful?

“Our companies arrived at the fair with low expectations, but right from the start we were surprised by the level of contacts and the orders placed. In particular, in addition to Europeans, we also met buyers from Russia and the United States. A good sign, on the other hand it was time to return meeting us in person again, especially for a product like ours that needs to be seen and touched: digital fairs are a good support, but they cannot completely compensate for the physical moment, and Expo Riva Schuh offered us the opportunity to come back to confront each other. People believe in the importance of being there and, as soon as the Italian government released the restrictions on trade fair events, the response of our companies was immediate: our companies did not want to miss the opportunities that the event can generate”.

What is the market trend for Spanish footwear?

“On the European market, we see signs of recovery: as early as May, with the reopening of shops, customers have expressed their intention not just to buy summer products, but also winter restockngs. We believe that the situation will continue to improve from July. The domestic market, instead, is starting a slow recovery: in Spain we suffered from a heavy drop in turnover, around -40%, largely due to the drastic drop in tourism, with 85 million fewer visitors. Also purchasing behaviours changed penalising special occasion shoes, the classic men’s shoe, while sports and comfort shoes have had a greater push, due to the fact that we lived longer at home and will still do so in the future, given that many companies will continue to work in remote. As in other parts of Europe and the world, ecommerce has also registered a huge exploit in Spain”.