A steady result for the most important international event dedicated to the world of footwear, which has a great renewal project in mind.

The 80th theMICAM saw the participation of 30,801 visitors, of which 16,480 were foreigners. 1,443 exhibitors (of which 602 were foreigners) enlivened the stands of Fiera Milano Rho with the spring/summer collections 2016 on a net exhibition area of 64,175 sm. The visitors from Far East, Middle East, United States and Europe, excluding France, remain steady, while there is a considerable drop in the number of buyers from Russia, as already foreseen on the eve of the event considering the collapse of the ruble and the sanctions, Japan but above all Italy, due to a domestic market facing great difficulties.

«These data – says Annarita Pilotti, theMICAM President – prompt me to renew the plea to institutions to dedicate more attention to industry in our country in relation to important issues such as the sanctions against Russia, tax exemption for investments, recognition of ‘Made in’ labeling and easier access to European funding». Positive signals come from the synergy with MIPEL and the new exhibition path, marking an important cooperation between the two sectors. A look pointed towards the future emerges from the words of Annarita Pilotti: «We are working on a renewal project that we hope will see the light at the end of next year, in which we will focus in particular on Italian-made excellences».

Finally, the dates. Considering the companies’ needs and timing, the positioning of the event in the calendar for the second half of the year has been redefined. The 2016 dates will be February 14 through 17, from Sunday to Wednesday, and September 3 through 6, so the positioning will be from Saturday to Tuesday.