Micam Shoevent Milan Fair Grounds 19-22 September 2010

P R E S S

MICAM SHOEVENT MILAN FAIR GROUNDS 19-22 SEPTEMBER 2010 THE FOOTWEAR BUSINESS IS BACK ON ITS FEET. MICAM GROWS WITH 42,329 VISITORS An outstanding result for the Fair dedicated to footwear organised by ANCI at the Milano Rho Fair Grounds from 19 to 22 September

“We felt sure the results would be good as MICAM has never lost any ground, not even during the worst part of the crisis, and because the sector’s figures for the first half of 2010 finally showed positive signs. But I admit that these results go beyond what we had expected.” It was with these words that the Chairman of the National Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers, Vito Artioli, commented on the figures for the MICAM ShoEvent, which today is drawing to a close at the Milano Rho fair with 42,329 visitors in total: +6.2% on the September 2009 edition. 21,103 foreign visitors recorded a 2.2% increase on last year’s edition; by the same token, the number of Italian professionals was also on the rise, with an increase of +10.5% and 21,226 visitors.

The Fair dedicated to mid-to-top and top-end footwear has once again confirmed its leadership on an international level for the footwear business, and remains an event those in the industry cannot afford to miss. “We have the right product in the right city on the right dates– underscored the Chairman of ANCI – that is why manufacturers and buyers from around the world all arrange to meet up in Milan at the MICAM. The decision to open on the Sunday to help Italian buyers also proved to be a winning strategy, given that numbers of Italian professionals were up considerably on the first day compared to the opening day last September”.

“ After the last two years which have involved major sacrifices for companies, now it is the companies themselves that are the real driving force behind the recovery. We have seen this in the event itself; after a very long time, the mood was really positive and sizeable orders were placed –Vito Artioli noted again. Not only was there an increase in visitors, of course significant in itself; we also saw an even more interesting fact, in the consolidation of the brands represented by the buyers. A double success then which was also signalled by the fact that orders recovered”. “ The positive business trend was evenly distributed across all the companies, more than one might imagine, and I feel that the signal or a recovery which we have seen in the sector’s statistics, which has also been confirmed by MICAM, is a good sign for everybody” Chairman Artioli emphasised. The four days of the MICAM ShoEvent revolved around the spring/summer 2011 collections of around 1,600 exhibitors, of which 585 were from abroad. The new layout of the event, which involved reorganising the layout of the different goods categories, proved a functional one that made it easier for visitors to get the most out of the fair.

“In closing this edition, I would particularly like to thank Fabrizio Poletti who has been the event’s Director until now, and leaves us a legacy of a MICAM fair in excellent health –Vito Artioli concludes. As has always been the case, the fair’s management will be handed over to the Director of ANCI, in the person

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Milan, 22 September 2010 D:\Docs\2017-12-29\0da08e5721dedb1005b96dc722307653.doc