Marino Fabiani: “If not for Russia, we would have disappeared!”
“If it weren’t for Russia, we would have gone!” Admits Marino Fabiani, founder and owner of the eponymous premium brand of shoes from Italy. About 70% of the brand’s customers are buyers from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Shoes Report briefly talked with Marino Fabiani at The Micam, which was held in September in Milan, the fashion capital.
Today is the second day of The Micam, can you give your assessment of the exhibition, how successful is it, are you satisfied with the number of visitors?
For me, The Micam has always been a very important event, because at this exhibition I can practically realize what we have been working on for a whole year. But this year there is a moment that I do not like. I am not happy that the dates are changing. Last year, The Micam was held from 3 to 6 on September, in 2015 - from 1 to 4 on September, and this year its dates changed to 18-20 on September ... Due to the fact that there are no clear dates for the exhibition, many buyers cannot plan your trip to The Micam.
It seems that this year there are a lot of buyers from Russia at the exhibition, here and there the Russian language is heard ...
About 70% of our clients are buyers from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries of the former Soviet republics. People in these countries value beauty and elegance. We have been working with Russia a lot and fruitfully since 1991. Several boutiques under the Marino Fabiani brand have been opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
For several years in Russia we have been experiencing an economic crisis, which has a significant impact on the footwear market. Have you felt a churn of customers from Russia, and has the demand changed?
We also felt this crisis and Russia's problems related to European economic sanctions. But we always believed in Russia and were not mistaken, now clients are returning to us. If not for Russia, we would have gone!
What new can you tell about the Marino Fabiani brand, about the collection?
We are always on the cutting edge of fashion, always looking after all the changes that take place in fashion and are ready to change the direction in design even within a week in order to comply with the latest trends. But when forming a collection, we, first of all, try to measure quality, beauty and price. We produce elegant and comfortable shoes under our own brand. But in our factory in Italy, we also sew shoes for other luxury brands, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton. We produce about 45 thousand pairs of shoes per year, and I want to note that all our shoes are handmade.
Marino Fabiani was founded in 1979 in Italy. Under the Marino Fabiani brand, women’s elegant footwear of the premium segment is produced. The founder of the brand, Marino Fabiani, is personally involved in the formation of shoe collections. Brand boutiques of the brand are open in different countries of the world. In Russia, Marino Fabiani shoes are sold through brand stores, the Russian online store, affiliate multi-brand online and offline stores.
“If it weren’t for Russia, we would have gone!” Admits Marino Fabiani, founder and owner of the eponymous premium brand of shoes from Italy. About 70% of the brand’s customers are buyers from Russia, Ukraine and ...
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