First b2b shoe exhibition ends in India

The Expo Riva Schuh India exhibition was held on July 28-30 in New Delhi. This is the first exhibition of finished shoes and leather goods in India.

“The initiative of the exhibition company Riva del Garda Fierecongressi helps companies learn about  how to gain access to new dynamic and growing markets, ”says Roberto Pellegrini, President of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi,“ in fact, India is one of the countries where the middle class is growing the fastest, looking for fashionable products with an adequate price-performance ratio. ”

In India, more than 40 million people have an income above the average, comparable to Western European standards, about 200 million people consider themselves to be middle class.

Changes in consumer preferences and distribution channels can be called revolutionary. In India, the number of shopping centers is growing, in which most of the fashion brands usually open their stores.

Average market growth in 2009-2010 amounted to 20%, the same is expected before 2012, in some categories it is even larger. So, sales of men's shoes increased by 58%, and the average price of women's shoes tripled. The demand for children's shoes is growing.

Western luxury brands open their stores here - in malls and hotels with shopping malls. Trade is growing in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata.

“The goal of Expo Riva Schuh India is to become a meeting point for Indian and international buyers, a place where you can find a wide range of offers of all categories,” explains Giovanni Laezza, Director of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi.

200 companies from Italy, France, Spain, Austria and the UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the exhibition. Most visitors were from India and China.

According to Giovanni Laezza, an important agreement was reached at the exhibition with the Indian Council for the Export of Leather (CLE) for a long-term cooperation. Other associations were represented at the exhibition - the Thai Shoe Industry Association, the Guangdong Economic Association along with the Xiamen L&C Exhibition Directorate, and the Fujian Economic Trade Mission.

The exhibition schedule also included visits to local shoe factories. All companies had access to an information desk where they could get advice on doing business in India, taxes and local law.

The exhibition was accompanied by a business program. On the first day, a seminar “A Look at World Distribution” was held, where participants were able to discuss changes in the global system of footwear distribution. The lectures were given by Peter Mangione, former President of the United States Footwear Distributors and Retailers Union (FDRA) and Woodland CEO Harkirat Singh. Claudia Schultz, journalist and fashion expert gave a lecture on the trends of summer 2012 and winter 2013. Gerard Nikolaus, expert in quality control, and Kerstin Schult, specializing in chemical analysis of the composition of materials, shared their experiences.