Region Profile: Passion for Naples

It seems that the fate of Italy was a foregone conclusion from above. The peninsula, whose contour resembles an elegant female boot, God himself ordered to become a trendsetter in shoe fashion. But, as we know, Italy did not stop there. Today, along with shoe Italian clothing brands occupy the best places in boutiques and shopping centers around the world.

In Russia, the attitude to Italian products is special. For us, the Made in Italy label has become synonymous with quality and sophisticated elegance. Knowing this, Italian manufacturers perceive the Russian market as a tidbit. And everyone wants to break away from him more. Therefore, even those provinces in which the production of clothes and shoes have never been the main asset enter the struggle for their customers. One of these can be considered Campania (Campania), or rather, its administrative center of Naples. The Naples Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the participation of the European Union, has been implementing a special program for the fourth year in support of local manufacturers of clothing and footwear, within the framework of which presentations of goods of local firms are organized. Buyers of those countries are invited there, the market of which the provincial government considers promising. Russia is certainly on this list. But more on that later. So Naples.

Sin City

Naples has a stable characterization of the city of contrasts. Poverty and luxury exist in the neighborhood. This is the first thing that catches your eye. Luxurious buildings in new hotels and business centers stand wall-to-wall next to the barrack-style houses where many Neapolitans live. The sparkle of diamonds in high-end store windows contrasts with the stifling scent of garbage cans lining the roads, even in upmarket neighborhoods. And every evening, when it gets dark, the city becomes gloomy and frightening, and the bikers constantly rushing by (there are an unimaginable number of them in Naples) make them cling to their bags with a stranglehold. But this is precisely why the city is beautiful. This is how it differs from romantic Venice, spiritual Rome and, of course, Milan - a mecca for shopaholics. Naples is more conducive to walking along the promenade, in the shade of trees in city parks or along gloomy, narrow historical streets, rather than shopping and incessant running from one store to another. Nevertheless, the Neapolitans decided to try their hand at the fashion market in order to destroy the stable association "Naples - the city of sin".

Magic style

Magic style - the so-called meeting of buyers with Neapolitan manufacturers, which was organized by the Italian side in early October in Naples. In addition to Russian entrepreneurs, Japanese and American buyers were invited. “The support program for local clothing and footwear manufacturers started in Naples four years ago and was designed before 2008,” says Mario de Miranda, president of the Naples Chamber of Commerce and Industry. - Even before the start of the project, we selected countries whose markets may be of interest to Neapolitan manufacturers. As a result, we settled on the USA, Japan and Russia. For four years, we organized a series of on-site presentations for buyers in these countries, where we introduced them to our manufacturers. This meeting, to which we invited all its previous participants, was the completion of the project. ”

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At the presentation of Magic style, about 20 Neapolitan companies presented their products. Basically, these were firms engaged in the production of women's clothing and shoes (although in Naples, the men's fashion sector is considered more developed). “This meeting was originally aimed at raising the interest of foreign buyers in women's clothing,” continues Mario de Miranda. - We regularly devote men's fashion to certain events, which also attract buyers from all over the world. Therefore, this sector does not require government support. But with women's clothing and shoes, things are different. And now we plan to develop this type of industry, and for this we need to provide a sales market. ”

The interests of the Russian side at this meeting were represented by the Italian Consulate in Russia together with three trading companies (the IRTEX showroom, the Il Quatro chain store and Fashion house designer Sergey Pugachev). All of them specialize in the sale of Italian brands in Russia. The composition of the Russian delegation was approved by the Italian side. It was these companies that seemed Neapolitans promising in terms of possible interest in their products.

There were few shoe factories and manufacturers of leather goods at the presentation. It should be noted, to the great regret of the Russian side, initially focused specifically on meeting with shoe makers.

All of these manufacturers are still only dreaming of entering the Russian market, which is why we were especially interested in our buyers. “We created our brand, initially counting on Russia,” said Luigi Giliberti, senior manager of the Napule shoe brand. “Therefore, contrary to Italian shoe traditions, we make rubber-soled shoes so that we don’t slip,” Luigi continues, demonstrating summer sandals and clogs (the Russian summer, apparently, Neapolitans also imagine is snowy).

All participating companies urged buyers to pay attention to their hand-made products. Actually, this united all the represented companies. Meanwhile, in Russia there is no such trepidation to manual work. For our customers, design and workmanship are more important.

The greatest attention of our buyers was earned by the Nuova Varriale company, which has been producing leather bags for 30 years. The company presented interesting high-quality bags on the first day, but the meeting that interested buyers had planned with the company representatives the next day did not take place - and because of the company, which somewhat puzzled the buyers.

“It is strange that the company presented so many patent leather bags,” said Marina Barkhalenko, administrator of the Il Quatro chain of stores. - Varnish has already descended from high brands to lower ones. Nevertheless, the bags are good and fit very well for Moscow. ”

Although, the businessmen came to the conclusion, not all models that are popular in Italy will be sold at the prices offered by the participants of the presentation. For example, dresses a la Chanel (Coco), the purchase price of which is 700-900 euros. “I doubt that there are many who want to pay about 1500 euros for a model of an unknown Italian brand,” commented Victoria Vavilova, general director of the fashion house Sergey Pugachev. In general, the presentation did not attract much interest from buyers. Of course, the Russian buyer is in love with Italian brands, but their models must match his idea of ​​style. Only in this case he will buy them. And just the exact "hit in the Russian buyer" presented brands could not boast.