Final curtain at Pitti Uomo. The exhibition, on its 97th edition, which took place in Florence, at the Fortezza da Basso, ended on January 10th. At the end of day three, organizers have first taken stock of the event. “In terms of attendance of visitors, we have been in line with the past editions. Buyers coming from Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Spain and France are in the best rankings”. Immediately behind, “Buyers coming from the United States, Korea, Russia and China, alongside clients from the other main European markets”, emphasized in a press release Agostino Poletto, Pitti Immagine chief manager.
Like a seismograph
“At this point plain figures do not say much, or do not say anything at all, about the real performance trend of Pitti Uomo, which is a global exhibition – continued Poletto –. As remarked by Claudio Marenzi (president of Confindustria Moda and Pitti, editor’s note) during the opening ceremony, few selected buyers demand for some considerable volumes of deliveries: if we make a comparison, we can say that a few years ago such orders could support hundreds of small stores”. Therefore, Pitti Uomo “is not only a sales and marketing fair”, but also “a seismograph monitoring social and cultural trends, which subsequently mirror shopping and communication attitudes”.
Comments
International exhibitors, who aim at the European market, must take part in Pitti fair. As evidence of that, pointed out Makoto Shimamura, from Kanpekina, a Japanese footwear brand (which makes use of Italian leather): “Domestic market drives 80% of our revenues. Sales are very rewarding in France; since we are now planning to join Italy’s market, we are participating in Pitti fair, for the very first time”. The same goes for N’go Shoes, a French fair brand. “We are currently working in 9 countries: we have pinpointed Pitti exhibition to get to know Italy’s market”, commented Ronan Collin and Kevin Gougeon, founders of the brand. The same applies to New Lab, another French brand specialized in sneakers, actively playing in Germany and Spain and aiming at Italy.
